Hello all, long time no see. I’ve got a full time job as the only IT technician at a school of 750 students and 50+ staff, just up the road. Because of that I’m usually exhausted when I get home. So understand when I say I’m sorry for not posting anything since my MS MVP award.
My job involves using an RM based network (based on win server 2003 r2 and xp) which is quiet easy to manage, and easy to build pc’s, this network is for the kids and teaching staff. We then have a win server 2003 r2 and xp active directory network for the admin side of things. The separation is due to our Local Authority needs remote access to a server to update SIMS (the Information Management System and Finance Software), so keeping the two separate is useful, and a security aspect. Now on Monday (3rd) I put in an exchange server on the RM system (since all staff have RM user/passwords) but not all have admin users, so it works out better. Now because of Powys, getting this setup took 3 days, and about a month before the Christmas break (the only person in Powys who has access/knowledge of the DNS/Gateway/Proxy system was away on holiday. Once I finally got hold of her, and after a few misunderstanding we finally got things working, OWA for staff and a little program called hmailserver with an IMAP client (asp.net/js based) in front of it for the students. All works quite well. Just have to force the staff to use shared calendars on it now :-P Now the nice thing about this new system compared the LA’s previous install, is that usernames and passwords are the same as the credentials used to log on the network. Which means the children have less to remember, considering at the start of term, on average I have to reset about 5 passwords each day.
I’m worked off my feet, mainly my fault, but sometimes others. Working with kids can be stressful sometimes, not that I show it that much.
I have to keep an eye on the kids in the ICT rooms during lunch and break, so even then I don’t get much free time, but it’s interesting, banging on Kiss 101 on the old computer to torture the kids :-P
Speaking of my MVP award, that got me in to the Windows 7 Private Beta, you know the one on connect. Got my copy of windows 7 yesterday, both x64 and x86, and just had to wait for a 8gb USB memory stick to arrive so I could install it on my laptop (laptop doesn’t have DVD drive). Just so you know there are instructions on HOWTO: Install Windows Vista from a high speed USB 2.0 Flash Drive - Windows Live detailing how to install Windows Vista from a USB flash drive. Now since Windows 7’s installer is built on Vista’s, you can use the same processes, and I have to say, it’s quite easy to do, and a bit quicker than using a DVD.
I can’t wait to test my DVB-S2 tuner with Windows Media Center in Win 7. 1080i HD BBCHD and ITVHD. Just can’t wait for C4 HD to join Freesat.
Anyhow, see my Windows 7 Album:
Posted
Jan 09 2009, 08:07 PM
by
Nick