kingswood

Yes. Our SIMS server has *never* been defragged! It has less that 10% disk space left, is slow as a snail, and I suspect some of the DB connection issues are exactly due to a failing server. Not that it matters for long- we have just ordered a brand new admin server. I can tell that's gonna be fun! On the LM side of things, I'm wondering whether our Systems Manager *has* applied the June update (that broke LM) in anticipation of applying the July update. Meh. Glad it isn't in my job description ;-) Paul

Having major problems with SIMS.net this last week. Registration groups not showing up; slowing down of the whole experience; SQL DB time-outs and things. I am *hoping* my Systems Manager didn't apply the JUNE update, but that's what the sheet said. We had previously been told to wait for the JULY update. Has anyone had the July update yet- and if so- how is it going? What issues are you seeing (if any)? Thanks. Paul

Thanks all. I have sent an enquiry in to Ultraversity, and should hear from them soon. The course looked like it would take a lot of time- I am worried that this will be a major battle for me. But like I said, talking to them about my concerns first would be a good way to go. If I do start I will be going in on the September intake. At the least it sounds like it will be rewarding. And that's a good thing. Since I still have plans to become a teacher (yuck!) it would be perfect for me. If I have any questions/points, I will get back to you all. In any case, good luck with your ongoing studies! Paul

Welcome back! Hope your wife gets better soon. Some TLC from you and she will be right ;-)

I'm still thinking about this one. Could I ask what you studied this past year and how you put it all together? I'm just a little worried that it's *too* loose to be useful. Does that make sense? Thanks! Paul

Except that there are those who believe, or purport to believe, that the fundamentalist christians are crusading again, and that they are defending themselves against attack. The Crusaders were not fundamentalist Christians- if by that you mean to say Christians who believe that there are parts of the Bible that should be taken as literal historical accounts of events in the past. Catholicism (the faith basis of Crusaders back then) is actually a very allegorical faith. And so unless you define what is meant by "fundamentalist" and "crusading again" (which presupposes that they have done this type of thing before) the discussion can't move on. Being defensive (as you put it) is extremely different from a jihad or walking into a crowded room with bombs strapped to your belly for "the cause" and extinguishing life. To most Muslims this would be a sickening thing to do. To just about all Christians it's just as repulsive. And I guess it is hard to not be defensive in a world where you are labeled "fundamentalist" in the same breath as decrying radical terror-fundamentalism that leads to bombings and the killing of fellow humans. What you are doing by linking these two in the same breath is making a mental assumption that they are one and the same thing. And it simply isn't true. Paul

You cannot discuss something if you have little or no idea of the facts, ideologies or reasons behind something that has happened. You can accuse, berate, and talk about some mythical 'them' but this is not discussion- it is speculation and accusation I have a degree in theology. One of my subjects was "Comparitive Religions". One religion studied (among many) was Islam. I think there is a lot of ignorance out there about what (exactly) certain texts do and do not say about warring with non-believers or states etc. I am not about to get into specific facts pointing at particular religious beliefs. This isn't the place for that. The comments that have been made are on the whole opinion. Take them as that. See it as a comparitive commentary on current events taken from a slice of the populace and what you have is discussion. Take the comments as anything more and proportion is being altered by twitching eyes. Of course there is speculation. Over the last week as many as four attempts at mass killing have been made in this country. The Police and Government will be speculating. All of us have thoughts about what and why. Accusation is another thing for sure- if we didn't have anyone in custody for these crimes then that would be a valid point. But the *fact* is we do have *accused* and these people are being added to every day. Be careful about not ascribing to these same people an ideological/religious basis for their actions based too on speculation and accusation! Let's get raw. Of course we can discuss what has happened without recourse to ideological or religious/political background information. It was a terrorist attack on UK soil. No matter the weird thinking behind it- it was a criminal act and should be judged as such. Paul

I have been using a Nokia E61 for over a year now with no problems. It's a fantastic phone and lets me do all the other bits I need to- PIM, documents to go etc., that Windows Mobile is so good at (without having to use Windows Mobile). Before that I used a Dell Axim and a phone. I'm still skeptical about the iPhone. It's beautiful, has some very innovative features, and that's only the 1st gen version...but business will be hard pressed to integrate it into their systems without support for Exchange and other things. Whereas my lowly E61 lets me use the BlackBerry Push service, Exchange, and IMAP (or all three at once). I don't know. I probably will buy one, but it depends on the price of the thing when released.

It's worse than the IRA. These terrorists take "terrorISM" to a new dimension. Look at what they do and how they do it in Iraq, and then imagine multiple car bombs of the size and ferocity you get over there happening here in crowded areas. It's too horrible to think about. These were feeble attempts using hashed together bits to try and make an impact. What if they go further and these were just trial runs? We need to deal with these people harshly.

A complete nutter. That's who. When I first read your response I thought it said "What on earth.." I'm tired so didn't read it properly. Had you said "what" my answer would have been worse. :twisted:

I think resented is a better description- though it isn't often personal. It's an issue of function. Teachers sometimes perceive that ICT should work a certain way and when it doesn't (or they don't think you are making it work that particular way) they resent the way you *are* making it work. Teachers are functional beasts really- it's got to work, and all the time, for it to be effective ICT. At our place the staff are actually extremely forward looking and approachable. And that in turn makes me want our team to be more approachable and proactive in our support and development of ICT in school. I am becoming functional too- and perhaps that's the deal? If we become a little more of what they need resentment gives way to team-work (I just love that word, "team"). But yes- there are the odd few who moan and gripe (behind your back to others) about this or that issue, but who when challenged about their comments melt if you actually look and sound concerned about their issues and want to help ;-) Paul

Why would anyone want a TV for an essential management workstation? Wouldn't you have been better with a portable solution- a Lenovo laptop with Santa Rosa chipset or something along those lines? Each to their own ;-)

That's an excellent idea actually. We use mainly Dell Optiplex too- so it shouldn't be too hard to roll all the drivers in. Cool.

Glad I came on here today- Papercut looks like just the tool I need...

Cool information! Thanks

We used to carry out ghost installs with boot floppies but I have recently changed that so that we utilise PXE on the clients to start a ghost session over RIS. Much better- and no need to carry around floppies etc. I am also looking at a single ghost image for all systems- rather than a specific image for each room (since we use Prism to deploy applications post-install this isn't that much of a deal). I am now looking into WDS- but this won't come for a few months yet.

I haven't got time to detail the steps you need to take- and besides others have done it better on here and on t'internet (particularly here: http://www.bombich.com/mactips/activedir.html ) but in essence you need to make you server an OD Master and also bind it to your AD domain. Take a look at the linked document and that pretty much says it all. If you get stuck, scream for help and there are some good people on here who can help more. Good luck! Paul

In your Ghostcast Server application window, are you defining an upload task? It sounds like you haven't set up a session to connect to and so although your clients are getting an IP they aren't actually involved in any kind of transaction with Ghost itself. Set up a session in your Ghostcast application window, define a name for the session and point to where you want the image stored (and give the image a name), then make sure you have selected the radio button "upload image" (this might vary depending on your version). Click "accept clients" and then run off to your client and use your Ghost boot floppies to connect to the session. You don't need your clients attached to the domain, and running Sysprep before uploading the image should make sure that when the image is used to install clients they get a unique SID from Setupcl.exe. What you put in your images is a matter of choice: we make sure all updates are on there, that they have things like Flash Player and Adobe Reader, but that's about it. Prism does the rest for us post-install. However, you can put all your applications on there (I know some who do this); just make sure you realise the image size increases when you do this (though this is probably obvious). HTH Paul

Thanks, funny enough i all ready have that one, i am pleased to know it was a good first choice. Please, keep the suggestions coming! In that case, if you haven't already got them try the Trainsignal N+ course. Otherwise the suggestion about getting as much experience as you can is a good one. I would say though- a years' worth of studying etc is a good foundation for Network+. Hammer away at some of the practice tests and make sure you score well in those and you should be fine. Like I said- all the very best. Let us know when you pass Paul

I have a used 70-290 ("managing and maintaining a server 2003 network") study guide (Microsoft Press). If you PM me and can pay the cost of postage, it's yours. Paul

Hi. Best of luck with your exam- I am sure all that hard work will pay off. The best Network+ book that I know of is this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Network-Certification-Guide-All-one/dp/0072253452/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/026-1648230-3331652?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182275131&sr=8-2 Paul

Nearly. But when you look at their prices, they aren't much different from lower end offerings from Dell. They do give a good warranty, but I wondered how they would deliver their side of the bargain given their relatively small size. If Dell offer me three years onsite next business day (which they do) for less than £50 a system, I can pretty much count on it that they will be around for the next three years to honour that agreement. If ANother company, much smaller than Dell or HP, tell me the same thing even though I might save another £90 per system, I think I would look at them with very slant eyes and take my money somewhere else. A four year warranty is a *very good* deal at that price and with that spec, no doubt about it. Just have a good think about it is all I am suggesting... I had a call from the lovely Nikki at MikeSoft today, concerned about my own reference to the all-in-one solution that they provide and about the general course of this thread. Apparently it has led to some lost sales. Now, after some clarification by Nikki about the general structure of the support system at the company and a little explanation about how they can provide an on-site warranty the way they do, my own concerns have been negated. I see no reason not to look at MikeSoft now and consider them in any school purchase alongside other companies like Dell or HP. References to "turkey basting tin" were inappropriate, though tongue in cheek and my apologies go out to both Mikesoft and their sales-person for any offence taken. Thanks to Nikki for maintaining some restraint over this matter! Paul

Thats like saying "have you used an automobile lately?" "I was in a diatsu getz the otherday and it was crap so all automobiles must be crap..." Which "linux", which version, what you using it for, on what hardware...??? And probably more importantly judging by your statement, who installed it? You? Funny guy. Linux isn't version though- technically it is the kernel. If you mean "what distribution", then I use Fedora and Ubuntu mostly. And the applications in both have a tendency to be perpetual beta. I hope you weren't being a weeny and trying to imply that I can't install/use Linux etc. That would be childish.

We use TALMOS for "bigger things" and the implementation of this solution is really getting off the ground now; but I am also using Moodle for ANother project and love it. Moodle seems the way to go as far as I am concerned...

It's. A. BETA. It. Will. Crash. Come on people- it's no different in its "beta-ness" than Microsoft products or even (dare I say it) Linux software releases. I mean, have you really tried to use Linux lately? I think this is a bad move from Apple, because running any software on Windows will make said software look crap from the outset. But I am running it myself (on Vista) and I like it. And it hasn't crashed once yet. But if it does- well- it's a BETA....