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Latest ICT News and Offers - updated March 2012
SIMS Support from Capita
Capita have now extended support for the following operating systems and Office as shown below:-
Windows Server 2003 support – extended to Summer 2013
Windows XP support – extended to August 2013
MS Office 2003 support – extended to Spring 2013
MS Office 2007 support – extended to Spring 2013
If you require more information and any upgrade services please contact the Service Desk on 0800 073 4444 option 1 and 1 again.
Sophos Anti-virus Software Lifecycle Details
Sophos Anti-virus upgrades and the current proposed retirement dates:
Enterprise Console 4.5 30 - June 2013
Enterprise Console 4.7 30 - April 2014
Enterprise Console 5.0 31 - December 2014
Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows 95/98, v4.x 30 - September 2012 - No upgrade. Product discontinued.
Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows, v9.5 30 - June 2013
Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows, v9.7 30 - April 2014
Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows, v10.0 31 - December 2014
New Curriculum Server Solution ENCOMPASS - ***NOW TAKING ORDERS***
We are proud to announce our new curriculum server solution Encompass. We are now taking orders so if you are considering changing or upgrading your curriculum network and looking for a cost effective system please contact Phil.Jones1@Babcock.co.uk for a free consultation or further information.
The Encompass solution provides a “start from fresh” ICT system based on industry standard software with servers running Windows 2008 R2 and workstations and laptops running Microsoft Windows 7 and Office 2010. The solution provides a stable and secure networked environment which can be tailored to each individual school’s needs.
Google Changes
There have been some updates on what is happening with two of the new Google changes, and YouTube for Schools was launched and there were some issues with it, namely students could by pass the filter and go to an unrestricted version of YouTube. Philip Pearce at E2BN has been working on this with his team and they have found a solution. Please read the full update.
Free Remote Support for Your School
Centrastage is currently used by Babcock 4S to allow the Service Desk to remotely access your school’s SIMS server and SIMS admin machine. We are pleased to offer this extended service to all schools who have purchased our In-school Support, or Service Desk Services.
Free Laptop Encryption for Your School
If you have purchased the online back-up service with Babcock 4S this year, and as part of our drive to improve our services, we have the pleasure in offering you a free 10GB data backup and encryption tool. This can be installed on any laptop of your choice within your school.
Online Backup
If you have our Online Backup service for Admin and/or Curriculum and have not received your daily backup notice email or it advises you have errors please log a call on 0800 073 4444 Option 1 Option1 and we will resolve the issue for you.
Dell Operating System Software Changes
Dell have now removed Windows XP from their operating system options. This means that all PC’s and laptops are now shipped with Windows 7. For schools that still require Windows XP we can downgrade the operating system onsite during the install but please be aware this will take additional installation time.
Centrastage Remote Software Privacy Settings
We have now moved all supported schools across to our new Remote Management Software. By default when installed the software does not require the user to give permission to us when we need to access the PC to fix a fault. If you wish to enable the privacy mode please locate the Centrastage icon on the taskbar near the time. The Centrastage icon looks like a sideways blue S. Right click the icon and select privacy mode options, then tick privacy mode.
Online Backup System State
Microsoft has changed the way the system state is backed up on a server using Windows Server 2008. The System State contains the operating configuration files for the Windows Operating system. Due to this change the system state backup file is between 7-14 GB in size. We are currently looking into this issue and will be updating you shortly.
Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 64 is now fully supported
Please be aware if purchasing and building Windows Server 2008 for your Admin network that SIMS is now supported on Windows Server 2008 R2. Workstations are also now supported for Windows 7 64 bit.
Please note however that Microsoft SQL 2008 R2 is not supported as yet by Capita.
Licensing
You may be aware that the Surrey Select license has now changed companies from Ramesys to a company called Phoenix.
Contact details : Stephen Piercy - Tel: 0845 265 1311 Mob: 07739 919196 stephen-piercy@phoenixs.co.uk
For further details please go to: Software Licensing
Windows 7 is the latest version of Microsoft Windows.
There are many benefits for the latest operating system:
• Loads programs and boots or shuts down faster
• Easier to navigate and multitask
• Greater stability
• Enhanced security
• Multi-touch capabilities
We will be supporting Windows 7 on the admin side after the Spring upgrade to Sims.net.
Server 2008
Windows server 2008 is the latest version of Microsoft Windows Server. It is the most secure Windows Server so far, helping protect against failure and intrusion of servers, networks, data and user accounts. We offer support for Server 2008 on the curriculum side and are currently testing for Admin, with the rollout and support expected shortly.
One issue that is worth highlighting is the fact that you can no longer back up to tape with Windows Server 2008. If you want to use tapes for your backup you will need to purchase some 3rd party software for this to work. However, backups to external or internal disks, DVD’s, shared folders or using our Online Backup system works fine.
If you would like further information on our In-School and Remote ICT Support, please contact Lorna Higgs
lorna.higgs@babcock.co.uk
0800 073 4444 ext 834093
