Easy Speak Microphone

With the Easy Speak Microphone you can record voices, sounds or music on the move with this new MP3 recorder for schools.  Attractively designed as a microphone children can be the roving reporter or singing star, without being attached to a PC.

• The Easy Speak microphone lets children easily record directly into the microphone.

• Playback remotely or download your files straight to your PC through the attached USB

• 128MB built-in memory that can record up to 4 hours (high quality sound)

• Downloaded files are WAV or MP3 format

• Audacity Music Editing software is provided as file on the Easy Speak microphone

• Built-in battery charged through USB

Available in black or yellow.

Winner of a Gold Practical Pre-School Award 2009.

Special offer pricing at £33.99 each or buy five and get one FREE!  Offer ends 11 June 2010.

SchoolCare – one of the South of England’s leading provider of ICT solutions for education.  Schools ICT Solutions nationwide.

New Casio Green Slim Projectors

Casio have released their next generation of high-brightness projectors, using a mercury-free laser and LED hybrid light source. Created with what they call their “clean & green” concept, Casio is releasing the range of data projectors as part of its green slim range. Current projector lamps capable of 2000 lumens or more have contained environmentally harmful mercury but Casio’s laser and LED light sources provide a mercury-free option now available in affordable mass production. Furthermore, the new range of Casio green slim projectors only require one watt of energy when on standby, the lamp has 20,000 hours of use before likely to need replaceing and, being only (LxWxH) 297mm x 210mm x 43mm they are very portable and perfect for moving from location to location. The range also have a USB 2.0 port options and so it is possible to do presentations without having a PC or laptop handy.

The range includes the XJ-A130, XY-A135, XJ-A145, XJ-A140, XJ-A150, XJ-A155, XJ-A240, XJ-A245, XJ-A250 and the XJ-A255.

The key features of the Casio Green Slim Projectors:

•    Very portable being no bigger than an A4 piece of paper and 43mm slim
•    Lightweight only around 2.3 kg
•    Quick start and stop
•    No cool down needed when turning the projector off.
•    Enhanced bright colours through upgraded colour purity;
•    Lamp life of 20,000 hours, up to ten times that of high pressure mercury lamp projectors;
•    Wide-angle 2X optical zoom
•    WXGA Real display at 1280 x 800 dots (16:10);
•    USB function for projection without a PC
•    Capability for wireless communication with PCs (XJ-A255/A245/A155/A145/A135 only)

This exciting new range of projectors from Casio are ideal projectors for the classroom or meeting room environment.  The range includes the XJ-A130, XY-A135, XJ-A145, XJ-A140, XJ-A150, XJ-A155, XJ-A240, XJ-A245, XJ-A250 and the XJ-A255.

Ask us about an onsite demonstration of the new Casion Green Slim Projectors at your school or college.

Buy a laptop from Toshiba after the 12th April and get your money back if England win the World Cup 2010!

As proud official consumer electronics supplier to The England Team, Toshiba are offering you the chance to get your Toshiba laptop with the latest Intel® Core™ processors free if England win the cup.

	The offer applies to selected models and purchases between 12 April 2010 and 10 June 2010.  You will need to register your application to win within 7 days of purchase at Toshiba's website. Call us now for more information and then get ready to follow England!!

Toshiba, the official consumer electronics supplier to The England Team.

Toshiba is a trademark of the Toshiba Corporation. *Offer on selected models only purchased between 12 April 2010 and 10 June 2010 and subject to availability. Terms & Conditions apply, see www.toshiba.co.uk/england for full terms and conditions. Intel, the Intel Logo, Intel Inside, Intel Core, and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countriesIntel Core™ processors free if England win the cup.

What are the Advantages of Windows 7 in Education?

Windows XP Pro is the current operating system that most educational organisations in the United Kingdom rely upon for the smooth running of their network.  It is trusted and everyone is used to the interface, but now with the advent now of Windows 7, Microsoft will start withdrawing support for XP.  It is arguable how important such support is (ongoing support can be paid for) but it will mean that freely available security patches will no longer be forthcoming.

Schools, colleges and universities can take advantage of the new Windows 7 system through upgrade licensing and, therefore, many are now considering the swap to Microsoft’s latest platform to future proof their network.  But what are the advantages and implications of such a move.

Microsoft introduced the world to Windows Vista as a planned replacement for XP but this operating system proved universally unpopular despite lots of great features.  Vista proved to be memory hungry, slow and more unstable than XP Pro.

The new Windows 7 seems to be a much fitter product; faster with much more efficient memory use, more meticulous security control (particularly if on a Windows 2008 domain), more features and all providing a stable platform.  For network administrators Windows 7 does bring a number of advantages with improved deployment tools, ease of applying new polices, support for IPV6 and remote working.

The Microsoft website provides information on the features of Windows 7 at http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/.

However, before making the commitment of changing your schools operating system to Windows 7 there are a few important elements to consider that may effect the use of your network.  Perhaps the most crucial of which is the hardware specifications of any existing PC’s, laptops and netbooks.

Your existing machines will need sufficient processing power to manage Windows 7 (if you already running Vista then you’ll probably be fine) but check that the devices you wish to use have at least a Pentium 4, 1.6Ghz (or equivalent) and preferably better.

Whilst Microsoft recommends 1GB of RAM (32bit version) and 2GB of Ram (64bit version) though for efficient and fast use, we would recommend 2GB and 3GB respectively.  Windows 7 is also going to take up a fair amount of hard drive too with 16GB needed for the 32bit version and 20GB for the 64bit version.  

Using the Windows Upgrade Advisor at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor will scan your hardware and highlight any potential issues with graphics cards, USB devices, etc.

Schools should also consider all associated printers and other peripherals as these will require the latest drivers in order to work with Windows 7.  Most machines bought in the last 3-4 years will probably be fine and manufacturers like HP are very good at supporting such upgrades – but check first.  

Legacy software is another issue as some titles may not work with Windows 7 so again, you need to check with the providers as to compatibility.

Of course, introducing a new operating system is also going to be an upheaval for the end users too, especially as XP has been around for so long, and so training is probably going to be a good investment to think about.

So is moving to Windows 7 at your school the thing to do?  Overall yes, this new operating system will future proof your network and give beneficial features but do consider the possible costs that may be necessary.

SchoolCare are specialists in ICT Solutions for education.  Based in Dorset, SchoolCare support the ICT requirements of schools and colleges across the South.  SchoolCare can be contacted through their website at www.schoolcare.co.uk.