My Boss asked me to put the current fixed IT project work into a GANTT chart for him (a quick list on pen and paper obviously being too low tech) so I whipped up a quick summary in OpenProj and emailed it to him together with a link to download the application.
Back came a message that he was 'too busy to learn a new application' so would I put it in a spreadsheet for him?
Bah!
Not specifically saying it applies in the case of this Apple kit, but sometimes paying more just gets you your desired brand name/image rather than anything more.
A rather left-of-field example from me today: I benchmarked an Adaptec 1210SA PCI SATA controller against a 'generic' (Newlink) equivalent in a Linux box I was building. Both cards are based on the humble SiL 3112 chip. The performance difference was negligible, but the Adaptec controller was £48, the 'generic' was £12.
Sony and Apple, in particular, strike me as examples of manufacturers that demand/expect a price premium for the brand name. Sure, there are elements of 'first to post' development costs built into their pricing, but in general you can usually buy better kit with more features for less.
I worked as a freelance IT engineer for Schools and Colleges in West Sussex and I am a school governor so I can speak from direct experience of sitting in the classrooms and working with ICT teachers. Sorry to note that your environment was not so good.
The school is *not* reliant on me - they have an IT technician who is capable of handling the situation and has already setup a 'spare' PC to learn more about Linux + they are on County-funded courses for apps such as php and Moodle and so it getting more and more exposure to the Linux world. The school can use the technician/support resources of County Hall 'as and when required' even though they are able to use their IT expenditure under their own control. The technician speaks to other technicians who are also Linux savvy via local schools forums etc.
A full business-like approach was taken in assessing the pros and cons of all possible systems, including a full SWOT analysis, post-installation support, equipment warrantys, training needs (minimal) etc.
SOOOOOO many people here are spouting off their thoughts on the subject without knowing the full fac...oh, sorry, forgot where we all are.
Please tell me you used a server motherboard with ECC memory in that machine. I've seen a few businesses get into trouble because they used non-server hardware in their "server". It just doesn't last.
I'll admit that they didn't exactly use top grade consumer stuff either though, and this was with windows nt 4, so swapping the hardware from under the OS was a huge problem (couldn't get the same hardware anymore, with it being cheap consumer grade stuff and all).
Also, did you get a proper backup solution in place?
--> External portable tape + hard disks, kept off site
Do you regularly test the spare chasis?
--> Yes
Do you have a (hot)spare harddrive in that RAID configuration?
--> System is RAID 1 - a mirrored pair. Clarify please.
Good comments - yes, access to trade pricing helps + I started im IT around the same time as you. If you consider you can get an HP Proliant server chassis with a 3 year next business day warranty for £190...
(HP ProLiant ML110 G4 Xeon 3040 1860-2MB/1066 Dual Core, 1x512MB, Non Hot Plug SATA 160GB, DVD/CD-RW, 3 Year Next Business Day Warranty): http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128282...then speccing up a server + spare chassis for around £500 using decent kit is perfectly feasible.
Damn - I managed to lose the first para of my reply, which was explaining that in my son's school the approach taken to IT teaching is very practical and that I have seen examples in other schools where the approach has been far from sterile.
The sad thing is that the interpretation of the curriculum requirements is variable - at my son's primary school they have used their ICT suite to research their history projects, write letters to 'pen pals', compile brochures for imaginary businesses as partof a maths project and even to edit a film made about the history of the school and village as part of a funded project that even had professional film makers and editors visit the school and spend time teaching various techniques. Sure, they have learned about the basics of how a computer works, but that was not a major part of the syllabus.
The kids don't play with word processors or spreadsheets - they use them as tools to help them with curriculum work - such as writing history reports or using them to collate stats. One time I sat in an IT classroom (I used to work as a freelance IT technician for the schools in my county), the pupils were gathering numeric information in Excel to help with a history project.
Apart from learning the basic WP and spreadsheet skills, schools ICT teaching is not a series of 'how to use Word' sessions.
Please state which part of my spec was 'skimped' - oh, sorry, you can't as you have no details of what I spec'd.
All parts are branded and there is a spare chassis for the IT technician to use while parts are exchanged under warranty - something they are fully capable of doing. *You* may need a third party to replace a dead PSU, but this school doesn't - in fact, with their kit they can be up and running in a matter of minutes rather than waiting for an 8-hour call out service.
Sure, if you do not have the skills in house you may need third party support - this school has in house resources.
"A quote for £000's is money spent on peace of mind". Eh? Not if it's inappropriate - or do *you* say 'yes' to every quote you receive without weighing up the options.
You do not have all the fact so are in no position to make specific judgements. Maybe you work for a maintenance company?
A vulnerability has been found in MS-Stick 1.0 that may allow malicious attackers to insert a piece of their stick into the original, thus causing further damage when the stick is poked in the eye.
This so-called DDoS (Deeper Destruction of Sclera) attack can be prevented by installing Stick Service Pack 1, which adds an outer layer of additional protection to the stick thus preventing third parties from snapping the stick and re-assembling it to include their extension.
A tool is available to check your stick to see whether it has been affected by a malicious attack. The tool detects stick size changes - ask your stationery supplier for the '30cm ruler' tool.
My 7 year old Son's school (West Sussex, UK) approached me for advice on replacing a very ageing Windows server that was hosting all the students' work. The school manages their IT budget independently of County Hall and so can make their own choices for equipment, software and suppliers. The school did have a quote from the UK's top supplier of computer equipment to schools (RM), but with the quoted cost to supply and install being several thousand pounds (yeah, for one server for a primary school!), the school felt they needed a second opinion.
To cut a long story short, the school now has a custom-built server running Linux (CentOS 5) with RAID 1 mirrored drives in trayless caddies AND a spare 'cold swap' chassis that the school computer technician can use if the main server dies (which can then be repaired at leisure). Total cost was around £500
Just think - if you had the video, you could throw a decent screen of Ballmer throwing a decent chair after he threw all his toys out of his pram.
Re:We need this type of thing done in the classroo
on
Hand-Made Vacuum Tubes
·
· Score: 2, Informative
The 'silvering' in most tubes isn't a screen but is caused by a process called 'gettering' where a small amount of a magnesium or calcium-based compound is burnt off (evaporated) by an external induction coil as part of the final manufacturing process. As the valve is 'gettered', the magnesium/calcium 'cleans out' any small traces of gas left in the envelope.
Slashdot Mirror
Is that an 8 or 16-port hubris?
Whoa - a drapes fetishist!?
PS: It's 'curtain' (pet peeve)
Who says I didn't send him a PDF?
Actually, I sent him one plus a hard copy in his mail tray + I installed dotproject so he can see things online.
My Boss asked me to put the current fixed IT project work into a GANTT chart for him (a quick list on pen and paper obviously being too low tech) so I whipped up a quick summary in OpenProj and emailed it to him together with a link to download the application. Back came a message that he was 'too busy to learn a new application' so would I put it in a spreadsheet for him? Bah!
Yep - and change it to "you're and idiot" and the phrase is completely within the English language ;-)
Fair point, my perspective was more PC Laptop and MP3 player based rather than Macbook-related.
Not specifically saying it applies in the case of this Apple kit, but sometimes paying more just gets you your desired brand name/image rather than anything more.
A rather left-of-field example from me today: I benchmarked an Adaptec 1210SA PCI SATA controller against a 'generic' (Newlink) equivalent in a Linux box I was building. Both cards are based on the humble SiL 3112 chip. The performance difference was negligible, but the Adaptec controller was £48, the 'generic' was £12.
Sony and Apple, in particular, strike me as examples of manufacturers that demand/expect a price premium for the brand name. Sure, there are elements of 'first to post' development costs built into their pricing, but in general you can usually buy better kit with more features for less.
"And how old were these kids?"
7-8
Welcome to the brave new world where your son knows more about operating the PVR than you.
I worked as a freelance IT engineer for Schools and Colleges in West Sussex and I am a school governor so I can speak from direct experience of sitting in the classrooms and working with ICT teachers. Sorry to note that your environment was not so good.
Love the approach to support - 'I could always Google it'.
Stick that on your CV - you will go places. None of them IT oriented though.
The school is *not* reliant on me - they have an IT technician who is capable of handling the situation and has already setup a 'spare' PC to learn more about Linux + they are on County-funded courses for apps such as php and Moodle and so it getting more and more exposure to the Linux world. The school can use the technician/support resources of County Hall 'as and when required' even though they are able to use their IT expenditure under their own control. The technician speaks to other technicians who are also Linux savvy via local schools forums etc.
A full business-like approach was taken in assessing the pros and cons of all possible systems, including a full SWOT analysis, post-installation support, equipment warrantys, training needs (minimal) etc.
SOOOOOO many people here are spouting off their thoughts on the subject without knowing the full fac...oh, sorry, forgot where we all are.
You mean I should not be managing the IT and comms infrastructure for 30 veterinary clinics, a diagnostic lab and an animal surgical hospital?
You mean I should stick in a (I think it came to about) £3-4K solution when a £500 one will do the job?
I hope you never apply for a job with me - we couldn't afford your lack of corporate fiscal responsibility.
Please tell me you used a server motherboard with ECC memory in that machine. I've seen a few businesses get into trouble because they used non-server hardware in their "server". It just doesn't last.
--> HP ProLiant ML110 G4 - Dual-Core Xeon 3040 1.86 GHz
--> 512 MB (installed) / 8 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM - Advanced ECC - 667 MHz - PC2-5300
I'll admit that they didn't exactly use top grade consumer stuff either though, and this was with windows nt 4, so swapping the hardware from under the OS was a huge problem (couldn't get the same hardware anymore, with it being cheap consumer grade stuff and all).
Also, did you get a proper backup solution in place?
--> External portable tape + hard disks, kept off site
Do you regularly test the spare chasis?
--> Yes
Do you have a (hot)spare harddrive in that RAID configuration?
--> System is RAID 1 - a mirrored pair. Clarify please.
Next....
Thanks Mike.
Good comments - yes, access to trade pricing helps + I started im IT around the same time as you. If you consider you can get an HP Proliant server chassis with a 3 year next business day warranty for £190...
...then speccing up a server + spare chassis for around £500 using decent kit is perfectly feasible.
(HP ProLiant ML110 G4 Xeon 3040 1860-2MB/1066 Dual Core, 1x512MB, Non Hot Plug SATA 160GB, DVD/CD-RW, 3 Year Next Business Day Warranty): http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128282
HM the Queen runs Monux
Damn - I managed to lose the first para of my reply, which was explaining that in my son's school the approach taken to IT teaching is very practical and that I have seen examples in other schools where the approach has been far from sterile.
The sad thing is that the interpretation of the curriculum requirements is variable - at my son's primary school they have used their ICT suite to research their history projects, write letters to 'pen pals', compile brochures for imaginary businesses as partof a maths project and even to edit a film made about the history of the school and village as part of a funded project that even had professional film makers and editors visit the school and spend time teaching various techniques. Sure, they have learned about the basics of how a computer works, but that was not a major part of the syllabus.
...go for it - what's the problem with this approach?
Like the other AC poster, you are commenting from a position of ignorance.
The kids don't play with word processors or spreadsheets - they use them as tools to help them with curriculum work - such as writing history reports or using them to collate stats. One time I sat in an IT classroom (I used to work as a freelance IT technician for the schools in my county), the pupils were gathering numeric information in Excel to help with a history project.
Apart from learning the basic WP and spreadsheet skills, schools ICT teaching is not a series of 'how to use Word' sessions.
Please state which part of my spec was 'skimped' - oh, sorry, you can't as you have no details of what I spec'd.
All parts are branded and there is a spare chassis for the IT technician to use while parts are exchanged under warranty - something they are fully capable of doing. *You* may need a third party to replace a dead PSU, but this school doesn't - in fact, with their kit they can be up and running in a matter of minutes rather than waiting for an 8-hour call out service.
Sure, if you do not have the skills in house you may need third party support - this school has in house resources.
"A quote for £000's is money spent on peace of mind". Eh? Not if it's inappropriate - or do *you* say 'yes' to every quote you receive without weighing up the options.
You do not have all the fact so are in no position to make specific judgements. Maybe you work for a maintenance company?
A vulnerability has been found in MS-Stick 1.0 that may allow malicious attackers to insert a piece of their stick into the original, thus causing further damage when the stick is poked in the eye.
This so-called DDoS (Deeper Destruction of Sclera) attack can be prevented by installing Stick Service Pack 1, which adds an outer layer of additional protection to the stick thus preventing third parties from snapping the stick and re-assembling it to include their extension.
A tool is available to check your stick to see whether it has been affected by a malicious attack. The tool detects stick size changes - ask your stationery supplier for the '30cm ruler' tool.
My 7 year old Son's school (West Sussex, UK) approached me for advice on replacing a very ageing Windows server that was hosting all the students' work. The school manages their IT budget independently of County Hall and so can make their own choices for equipment, software and suppliers. The school did have a quote from the UK's top supplier of computer equipment to schools (RM), but with the quoted cost to supply and install being several thousand pounds (yeah, for one server for a primary school!), the school felt they needed a second opinion.
To cut a long story short, the school now has a custom-built server running Linux (CentOS 5) with RAID 1 mirrored drives in trayless caddies AND a spare 'cold swap' chassis that the school computer technician can use if the main server dies (which can then be repaired at leisure). Total cost was around £500
So there is hope.
Just think - if you had the video, you could throw a decent screen of Ballmer throwing a decent chair after he threw all his toys out of his pram.
The 'silvering' in most tubes isn't a screen but is caused by a process called 'gettering' where a small amount of a magnesium or calcium-based compound is burnt off (evaporated) by an external induction coil as part of the final manufacturing process. As the valve is 'gettered', the magnesium/calcium 'cleans out' any small traces of gas left in the envelope.