March 2009
Newsletter No.46
Websites
Is your school website up to date? Do you want help with with website design and/or management? Our comprehensive service is proving popular with schools. Further details can be found here.
Fujitsu-Siemens Computers
From 1st April 2009, Fujitsu-Siemens Computers will no longer exist. Fortunately this is not another sign of the credit crunch but the result of a buyout by Fujitsu. We have provided Fujitsu-Siemens computers throughout their 10 years of existence - originally through Lynx Education and more recently as an official reseller in our own right.
While this change has already seen a reduction in the range of models available, we believe that it will give us an opportunity to champion the needs of our customers - in particular schools. Along with TME who cover Cornwall, Devon and Somerset; and Launch Systems who cover Birmingham and the Midlands, we have begun to hold regular meetings to try to ensure we get the most suitable products at the best possible prices.
Prices
Unfortunately the current economic situation is still resulting in price rises for computers, servers, printers and in particular toner and ink for printers. As a result printing costs have increased dramatically. One solution is PaperCut - see below.
This week has seen a sharp rise in the prices of flat screen monitors - so far data projectors have not been affected so much (hope I'm not tempting fate) and prices of laptops at the cheaper end of the market are also fairly stable.
Promethean Whiteboards
Some good news on prices. Promethean currently have a special offer on their smaller (64") interactive whiteboards. They are available to schools with 'primary aged children' only for just £682 including delivery - a saving of well over £200. We do not know how long this offer will last.
Staff Laptops
Our standard teacher laptop is the new Fujitsu-Siemens Esprimo Mobile V5635 with Pentium Dual-Core 2 processor, 2gb memory, 160gb hard drive, DVDRW, wireless networking and a 3 hour battery life. Current prices are here.
If you require something with a higher specification then the Esprimo Mobile V6505 offers 3 gb memory, 250gb hard drive and a firewire port. Prices are here.
From 1st April for a limited period this model is available with £50 cashback and a free upgrade to a 3 year warranty.
Keeping Kids Happy and Safe
An interesting piece of research here that deals with aspects of e-safety from the child's viewpoint.
Disgo Video Recorder
In the last newsletter we previewed the
Disgo Video Live. This has failed to appear
but the Disgo Video Pro is available at
these prices.
With 2 hours of recording time and the
capability of taking web quality still
pictures, this is a really useful tool in
and out of the classroom.
BETT Show Report (a bit late)
The best new software I saw was 'I Can Animate' from KudlianSoft. It enables Wallace and Gromit' style stop frame animations to be easily created from a video camera or web cam and has a host of features to enable pupils to create professional looking animations. You can even buy 'Stikfas'; bendable models that can be used in stop frame animations. Naturally Lifeline discounts are available.
Click here for more information and examples.
The best new hardware was undoubtedly the Samsung NC10 netbook. With a 10" screen, full size keys, a 160gb hard drive and up to 7 hours of battery life this is easily the best of the netbooks currently available. They are available in white, black, blue and pink.
Click here for prices.
Generally a Vista Business licence (£34.37) will need to be purchased for each netbook to allow Windows XP Pro to be installed. This will enable the netbook to be setup properly on the school network.
If you consider purchasing any laptops to be used wirelessly in school then we are happy to arrange for a wireless survey which will inform you of your requirements.
Not at BETT (but still worth looking at)
ESP Music have exhibited at the BETT show ever since it began but this year they were surprisingly absent. That doesn't mean they have stopped producing educational music software - they have just gone online. Look here for a preview of what will soon be available. ESP Online can easily be integrated into Merlin, Fronter or any other VLE.
We will inform you of prices (and of course Lifeline discounts) as soon as we have the information.
Just 2 Easy news
With more schools starting to use VLEs, there has been a surge of interest in j2e. Recently added is a shibboleth login that enables users of VLEs to use j2e without having to login separately.
Also new is the freehand pen tool. Click here for more information
A full list of the new features is here.
Free subscription to j2e for all Lifeline schools has been extended until the end of 2009. If you have not registered and wish to do so then contact Martin (martin@lexiconlifeline.co.uk)
