Hi, I have refused to allow their sales guy to visit, they really are a shower (my personal thoughts). I see no point in wasting my time talking to someone who is going to make me very angry. The Connect system has a few good ideas, but none of them have been implemented properly. Although I suspect that they may be taking some of the flack to heart as they appear to be making changes within the help desk. We'll see!
Effectively it appears that we are likely to get a highly restrictive (and MS centric) Intranet as a replacement for an Internet connection. With even the "you won't have to pay for it" part being suspect.
Well, this would save them a lot of money - little or no filtering to do. I haven't used it for years, but CompuServe used to be like this with a 'portal' to the 'real' net - when the 'real' net was all textual. I was actively kept out of meetings with RM as I kept asking awkward questions. A decision to purchase was made (I suspect) before the first sales visit - 10 billion flies syndrome . They even ripped us off with £1800 delivery charges! Any honest company would have delivered for free. They didn't even unpack the kit! If I had known I wouldn't of helped unload the vans! I also feel that some of my comments to the RM list are censored. They just don't arrive even if interspersed with postings that do arrive, even if re-sent. These are usually concerned with the offer of software that I have written (strange!). Grrrr! anyway, it's the weekend now! :-) Sorry Roger, I wasn't intending to turn this list into a RM slagging area. :-) Adrian
<SNIP>
The other part this is an "RM recommendation" to "Upgrade Internet Browser to Internet Explorer 5.5".
Quite a few things about this seem very Windows centric... </SNIP>
Interesting, since one of their techi big cheeses specifically told me NOT to upgrade, but stay with V4 of I.E. after asking if they thought it worthwhile upgrading.
To be honest I am rather less than happy about the whole thing. (Especially after talking to Richard Selwyn from BECTa.)
Effectivly it appears that we are likely to get a highly restrictive (and MS centric) Intranet as a replacement for an Internet connection. With even the "you won't have to pay for it" part being suspect.
So far as RM's technical department are concerned they are very much in my bad books over reporting that I was unable to support what I had said to the head teacher, through the senior education officer.
In a some direct communication I supposedly had with RM. When the only person I have talked to at RM admitted they were completly out of their depth and were not actually a "techie".
-- Mark Evans St. Peter's CofE High School Phone: +44 1392 204764 X109 Fax: +44 1392 204763