theriver

Gosh, this one could run and run ;-) Er, off the top of my head: Lack of engagement or representation from the user community Disconnect between user requirements and system capability (see also: planning, above) One that particularly annoys me is IT defending their turf instead of attempting to be useful to the organisation Also - people attempting to introduce technology instead of finding the root of problems. Beware of the management type who tells you that you need to install Sharepoint to fix all the communication problems rather than start by trying to figure out what the communication problems are and then what processes and tools might be used to fix them. Related to this is attempting to introduce the wrong tool for the job (e.g. everyone's favourite database application, Excel).

A note of caution I'd sound about fireproof safes is that it may not be practical or possible to access them in the event of an incident. Unless (as in elsieg40's case) your site is so spread out that you consider it possible to keep the backup 'separate' to the servers, a fire that destroys the server room could make the room containing the safe unsafe, and you won't be able to access it. Offsite backup would then be essential. And schools do catch fire with alarming frequency! Also - in terms of backup, what do you *really* need? If the school burned down tonight, what would you need tomorrow? SIMS backup? How about the SIMS software to restore it to, and your licence info? Do you need all of the year 10 geography field trip photos? A caveat about cloning: it's OK if you're restoring to identical hardware, but if you're restoring to something else then you take your chances. For example, an image of a five year old server might blue screen when booted on a new box, leaving you with the headache of a 'hardware problem' as well as everything else.

A quick and dirty option would be to, at the time of the backup, count the number of files and folders you *think* you should be backing up, then do a restore (do a different machine!) and do a count of what comes back.

Good luck! As a follow up to that, I'd say that I've a couple of times come up against a tape drive that needs a couple of cleans to get back up and running - so this is a good thing to try next. Have you got a brand new tape you can try with? Could it just be that your tape stock is past its prime? If all this fails, is the drive under warranty? Have you got someone you can call to troubleshoot it?

Have you got a flashing LED on the front panel of the tape drive? One of our servers used to behave like this if the drive needed cleaning. A quick zap with the cleaning tape and all was back to normal. Also, have you tried a different tape?

That's excellent, but given the slogan I find it funnier that they've had to discount it :-)

The big boys are experimenting with warmer server rooms: Temperature · Google Data Centers Google: Raise Your Data Center Temperature » Data Center Knowledge

Not a tent, but related as it's a campervan - if you can call it that: http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ZDwMXgOs3I8/Tq1f0di95OI/AAAAAAAAAQE/wRZ_9EllV2s/s1600/image%25255B65%25255D.png

THen just say it's for a friend ;-)

It is currently illegal to copy your CD's to MP3 ( Intellectual Property Office - Can I copy a CD that I have purchased onto my MP3 Player?), although this is set to change. However there are many places to purchase and download MP3 files legally (Amazon, for example). So unless you know the source of the files, you can't say whether your user is breaking the law or not.

Unless their name genuinely is Mr Tui Shi* then I'd say tough. Exceptions are just going to cause trouble / admin. * I have no idea what I just said.

Your ASP page is trying to connect to a data source, but either there's a problem with the connection library it's trying to use, or it's not installed on the new server. Do you know what the connection string is? This will tell you what provider it's trying to use.

I can confirm that this is true - today I had a call from a bloke from a Tesco store wanting to know why his pay was short this month.

Hi. Small display problem - if you narrow the screen the search box masks the links. If a link is partially obscured then it cannot be activated. On FF v8.0.1

It sure is. I was saying to a colleague only yesterday, "what's with all these threads on Edugeek about vertical charging at the moment?".

Certainly - it's PowerBee Executive Solar Phone Charger for iPhone 2G 3G: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Thanks to all for input on this. In the end I went for a Power Bee product that is along the lines @mac_shinobi found, but with a greater capacity, and as a bonus got it delivered in time for the weekend's trip. So with this and in line with @Danp's suggestions of using only when needed I managed to eke power out for 5 days, with about 50% of the charge left in the Power Bee. And that was having used the phone as a mobile hospot for about a half hour, so I am quite pleased with it. If only we'd had some sunshine, so I could test the solar charging properly . . . .

LOL! It's just too useful, not least for settling pop culture arguments round the fire. @mac_shinobi, the car will be static for most of the time, so I am not sure I fancy charging from it.

Hello Will probably go camping over the summer, minus electricity. Whereas my early mobile phones would go for days without needing a charge, this one won't make it through a weekend, so I've been thinking on how to charge it. Does anyone have any experience with solar chargers for small devices? Any recommendations?

Large organisations have extremely risk-averse IT departments, and those still using XP will have spent the last year or two building a support infrastructure for Windows 7 that includes compatibility testing applications, devices etc. They won't be able to go to Windows 8 as it takes a long time to gear up for such a big change.

I think not - the DB create script won't work on MySQL without a rewrite, and it's unlikely that the SQL generated by the application is basic enough to be understood by both.

It is true that MSSQL Express doesn't accept remote connections by default, however there is a way of enabling it. First up, ensure your Windows firewall allows the relevant connection - Configure Windows Firewall for SQL Server 2008 Access Next, enable networking in SQL Server: How to: Enable Network Access in SQL Server Configuration Manager (SQL Server Express) After that you've got the task of configuring your application to connect to the correct server/instance.

Then you'll be wanting one of these: The-BackUp | The Bedside Gun Rack

I'll take your word on that! I reckon his odds aren't good though.

Good grief. I managed 2:30 before I had to stop it due to feeling motion sick. I presume he dies spectacularly.