Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with system

Operating System Question

Noodles — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:02:38 -0800

I have 20 computer that don't have hard drives. After installing new hard drives, I plan on installing windows 7 on all 20 computers. My question is will I need to purchase 20 copies of Window 7? Does Mircrosoft have an option when outfitting multiple computers.

But Honey, Its Just Too Hard!

WalkerWestridge — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:03:49 -0800

I'd like to hear from people who have installed water softeners in their homes. What are the pros and cons, the prices, and the life expectancy of a whole house system? I'm not on a well. I have municipal water so would be most interested in answers from people who are also on municipal water. The other big concern I have is that I have an allergy to salt (yes i do) and wonder if the salt softened water would bother me. I can't get clean dishes at my house. Everything ends up coated in a white film. My old (it wasn't even all that old) dishwasher broke and we replaced it with a brand new dishwasher but the problem persists so its not the dishwasher itself. Also our laundry never feels clean or fresh. Our clothes look grey and dingy and worn out. Our municipal water comes from a lake carved out of limestone and is very hard.
My husband is leery of installing a softening system. He is under the impression they don't make much of a difference and are SUPER expensive. I have tried googling and cant find much information on the cost of installation and maintenance. I have heard that water softeners extend the life of your appliances like dishwashers and clothes washers as well as improve the life of your clothes.
I think I could convince my husband to get the water softening system but I am concerned about my salt allergy. I get a rash from ocean water. I never thought much of that until I used a salt crystal body scrub and my whole body swelled up with burning red wheals. Also I sometimes get hives after a really sweaty work out. Salt and I do not get along. Is the water coming out of the softener really very salty? Anybody have any ideas about how to check my tolerance of it BEFORE getting the whole system installed?

Any info much appreciated!

How do I build a support system?

dinosaurprincess — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:03:39 -0800

Hey mefites, how did you build up your friendship group and support system? Hey mefi! Basically I got asked out recently and I sort of freaked out, and I realised I felt that way because I don't have a support system here in university!! I have friends and acquaintances that I might go out for coffee with, or people I can chat to about trivial things, but I don't have a go-to support system who I know that in the event I get my heart broken, will stick around to pick up the pieces... And I just realised how terrifying that was! I know how to talk to people and make friends, but I feel like the people who are in my support system I stumbled on during classes in school. I don't know how to build a solid support system in this weird unstructured university setting! Do you remember how you built yours? And how do I feel more emotionally safe in the meantime?

CMS VS POD

pmaxwell — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:03:20 -0800

Content Management Systems allow users to manage/publish web content. A Print on Demand system allows users manage/publish print content. I need a single system that does both. I am looking for a system that allows for the creation and production of both web and print deliverables. For example, if I wanted to produce a 16 page report, I (or someone w/ access to the system) would login to the system, paste or key in the content into the relevant fields, add art from the library and once reviewed/approved, the system formats it into a pre-approved templated design. Once approved, I can output a hi rez pdf for printing OR port that content into a related template and output an html file for web usage.

I would like this system to be a repository for all publishing assets for this client – 20 different types of templates, eBlast templates, Microsites, banner ads – everything my client needs to manage and produce a variety of print or screen documents on their own – based on an templated design system.

One other note: I would like to have the ability to use fonts beyond "web safe" fonts for the print outputs.
Any ideas? thanks.

How to safely resell a barely used netbook?

AlmondEyes — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:33:13 -0800

I bought a netbook a couple of years ago and have probably used it a total of eight times since. I just resold it on Amazon and am now preparing to ship it off. I understand that under normal circumstances it's advisable to wipe the hard disc and then reinstall the operating system. My netbook has no CD drive and therefore no operating system CD. I'm told the operating system may be embedded in another disc but I don't have the savvy or patience to figure it out. Essentially, I'm wondering if it's OK and not totally stupid to to sell the netbook as is without reinstalling the operating system? I have never kept files on the machine, and don't believe I've done online banking on it, either, but could change all my banking passwords now for extra measure. What's the minimum I need to do to protect myself from having my private information hacked off this machine by its new owner (if she does in fact have malicious intent)?

What type of audio connectors are these?

woolite — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:39:26 -0800

What type of audio connectors are these? I'm attempting to help my brother-in-law hook up his home audio system. These unknown connecters connect to some speakers that are mounted in the ceiling.
There are also a few RCA outs that run from the wall with the TV to RCA outs in the same closet that have these unidentified audio connectors.

Here is a photo

Should I go with a wireless or wired sound system?

zagyzebra — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:45:30 -0800

I'm wondering whether to go with a wireless sound system or in-the-wall wiring. The walls in my house are coming down, and I have to decide whether to wire the entire house for sound, or to go with a wireless system (like Sonos). The house is about 2500 sq ft, with high ceilings, and a downstairs basement. I'd like to be able to have the option of sound in almost every room. That said, the master bedroom is on one end of the house, and the downstairs basement on the opposite end. And it's a long house. The four most important rooms are the living room, master bedroom, kitchen and basement.

I'm no audiophile. Music is important to me, but I'm not a hardcore connoisseur. I'd like to be able to listen to music in the basement, the master bedroom, the kitchen and the living room (and maybe in the side yard and/or the outside deck if that's not asking for too much).

With all the new wireless technology, I'm unsure whether it makes sense to even do wiring in the walls anymore. Besides, how many speakers can you run off of one amp? On the other hand, this will be my only chance to do wiring in the walls, and I don't want to miss an opportunity.

Unsure quite what to do, and thought I would turn to mefites for advice and recommendations.

I have a bunch of undeletable podcasts on my iphone 4s that I would like to get rid off but can't.

krautland — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:44:06 -0800

I have a bunch of undeletable podcasts on my iphone 4s that I would like to get rid off but can't. this is what it looks like: http://imgur.com/oiNKY this happened because the downloads failed (blame the craptastic chinese mobile connections). I cannot redownload these episodes, I cannot play them, I cannot swipe-to-delete them, I cannot see them in itunes. a restore was no help because my last backup already had these "ghost files" on them. I don't want to wipe the iphone because maps in ios6 is even worse in china. do you know how I can still get rid of these unusable files?

Computer for parents

nickhb — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 09:04:23 -0800

What's the best, fastest way to set up a computer to do nothing but surf the internet? My parents have a new-ish dell computer in their kitchen. They use it to check their email, surf the internet, and watch hulu and netflix. It's currently running Windows 7, and it gets slow sometimes. What's the best custom operating system or setup to make it a lean, mean, websurfing machine?

Note: THIS HAS TO BE DEAD SIMPLE TO USE! My parents can navigate their websites and webapps, but that's pretty much it. Thoughts?

Reconfiguring Prefs After OS Reinstall (MAC 10.6.8))

Quisp Lover — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:32:46 -0800

My Mac (OS 10.6.8) is behaving wonkily, and I need to reinstall the system software. I'm wondering if there are any tricks for helping me reconfiguring my various prefs after the reinstall. Some of my prefs are fairly extensive (e.g. keyboard shortcuts, spotlight privacy exclusions, etc). I'd rather avoid swapping back old pref files (e.g. com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist) because I don't want to inadvertently swap back any corruption.

I was planning on taking zillions of screenshots of all the panels to guide me in the reconfiguration after the reinstall. Is that really the best way?

I'm wondering if there might be some app that captures all pref data in a reference-able form....something like that?

Also wondering if it would be prudent to swap back pref files from third party add-ons, e.g. Growl, Default Folder X, etc. Are they in any way sandboxed from OS innards?

Help organize and streamline my work process, pretty please

rachaelfaith — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:52:59 -0800

Can you suggest a system that could help a group of employees manage a long, many-stepped process? We're driving ourselves bonkers in the meantime. So, the process in question is for creating an item for sale online. The product is selected, imported, assigned data (size, color, etc), has photos taken, and about a zillion other steps in between and after. In total there are about 30 steps, multiplied over 3 to 4 different vendors. Four to six people are currently involved with this process, and it's a pain to communicate back and forth about what's done for which products and what's next and where there's a hold-up and so on.

Here is a list of the steps for one of our vendors.

Currently we're using a spreadsheet I whipped up, but there are more steps than there used to be, more products coming in than there were previously and it's inefficient and inconvenient to access and interact with.

Is there some sort of program we could have written, or a website we could create that has check-boxes for each step, or something creative I'm not thinking of? Our company isn't small enough to have one person manage all the steps, nor large enough to have 'departments' to forward things to when a step is complete.

Also, these items arrive and are worked on/completed on different timelines, so it's important that they can be accessed and updated individually.

Can you help me come up with an organized solution?

no digital love

threeants — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:45:56 -0800

Index card lovers unite! Looking for non-digital ways to manage citations, sources, etc. for academic research projects. I know I probably eventually need to enter stuff into EndNote or what have you, but I'd find an analog organizational method the most helpful. I'm a very tactile, kinesthetic sort of person and any system that involves entering things to disappear into a digital black hole isn't something I can successfully sustain. I love writing things down...it feels fun to me, so I actually do it.

Anyone have any suggestions? Hoping for something more methodical than simply "write things on paper" but also not something with a zillion moving parts. This may place me as an outlier in dumbness, but I found Getting Things Done way too intricate, confusing, and theoretical for me to really grasp.

Ideally I'd love a system that involves just index cards or something, and derives its flexibility and power from the way you note/organize them, but I won't be too picky.

Thanks!

How do I find an adult psychologist in Boston or Manhattan available on short notice?

jcrcarter — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:01:25 -0800

Help find a Boston or Manhattan psychiatrist who takes 1199 insurance and can see a new patient soon. My dear friend is in serious distress. Her two-year-old boy has a life-threatening illness. His care requires frequent ER visits, extended and unpredictable travel, vast amounts of paperwork, and crippling expense. The boy is being treated in Boston but the mother has to come back to NYC and work two 12-hour shifts each week to keep her family's health insurance. She's exhausted, anxious, fearful, and sad in ways I can't begin to comprehend. I fear for her and she fears for herself. I've offered to help her find psychiatric help. I work in a large academic medical center and meet regularly with (non-psychiatric) clinicians in the disease for which her child is being treated. I know lots of people. Despite this, I haven't come up with anything. Everyone tells me to ask someone else. The referrals I have found so far, through work or through friends, sound great but can't help. They're completely booked, don't take her insurance, charge exorbitant fees, only see family of patients treated in certain hospitals, or don't answer phone calls/emails. What do I do?

How to find a leak in a sprinkler system

allison00 — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:54:18 -0800

How can we find out if there's a leak in our sprinkler system? My husband and I bought a house in March 2011. In July 2011, we had concrete poured in the back yard for a patio. The next month, the water bill sky rocketed. I am inclined to believe that the process of putting in the concrete broke something in our sprinkler system, and we have a leak underground somewhere. My husband thinks the increase is just because we now have the sprinkler system turned on in regular intervals. How can we find out if there's a leak? I've already looked for wet patches in the grass and haven't found any.

Painful digestive condition - causes?

Seeking Direction — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 08:23:42 -0800

Embarrassing, uncomfortable digestive condition - what the heck is it? I regularly experience pain, constipation, bloating, and flatulence. I also get rashes regularly. I eat healthy and drink lots of water. Bread seems to trigger it - is it IBS, celiac, or something else? Hello everyone,

I'm 21, male, and about to be a senior in college.

For the past few years, I have been dealing with a very irritating digestive condition. It really flared up when I started college (bad roommate and a whole new level of stress).

What happens is that I will get constipated for a few days, with bloating and discomfort in the abdomen. Sometimes, it feels like there is hot lava in there. I feel the urge to have a bowel movement several times a day, but all I will get is a small amount of pellet stool that doesn't come out very easily.

Then, at some point (often after I eat a lot of fiber), I have to rush to the bathroom and I have diarrhea or loose stool. As soon as I step out of the bathroom, I find myself having to go again!

The diarrhea or loose stool is sometimes accompanied by a bad taste in my mouth.

I don't remember having problems to this extent when I was younger, though I often had excessive gas.

I remember having more bowel movements per day as I got older. However, I first really noticed this cycle about four years ago, the summer before senior year of high school, when I studied for three weeks in a country with "contaminated" water. I remember having to run to the bathroom with diarrhea almost every day in the middle of class!

My senior year of high school, I was OK for the most part, but when I got to college, with its added levels of stress, the condition became worse than ever.

I had a full endoscopy/colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy done last year. Nothing was found except for a small polyp that was cut out. What else could it be?

Also, this condition (especially in the constipation "phase") can flare up as I am ready to go to sleep, and probably has caused me to lose sleep many times. Drinking water soothes the discomfort and can help it "advance" to the diarrhea phase (the diarrhea is actually less painful than the constipation, not that it is in any way pleasant).

IBS-C is where the diagnosis stands - for now. However, IBS is ONLY based on symptoms, not on causes - hence, why I feel this needs to be investigated. I need to find the root of the problem.

I forgot to add: I get terrible rashes on my hands (wrists, top of hands, and thumbs). They are worst in the winter, but can return at any time of year. Corticosteroids help; however, I don't know what causes them in the first place. They are ugly, itchy, and bleed easily. Are they related? I have seen reports of rashes in certain digestive disorders.

I remember getting a similar rash around my lips starting from when I was ~ 12 years old. It would come back regularly, and various creams were prescribed. I haven't had it for two or so years (knock on wood), but of course, that's when the hand rash started.

Now that I think of it, I remember getting constipated often as a child along with the aforementioned excessive, embarrassing gas. My parents had to give me laxatives of various types.

Fiber/water can only help so much. They make it easier to "go", as they should, but only in relative terms. The pain and bloating don't go away easily.

Bread seems to trigger the condition. Is it gluten? High fructose corn syrup?

I remember a few years ago, I went for a blood test for food allergies. They tested milk, wheat, tree nuts, etc., with completely negative results; however, I'm not sure if this tested for celiac (sprue) or intolerances. Should I ask my doctor if the aforementioned conditions should be tested for? Any others?

I'm drowning in sorrow, water, frustration...

silsurf — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 17:07:41 -0800

I have been battling with the sprinkler system at my house for almost a year (previously on MeFi) and I am about to give up as it appears that it has gotten the better of me, here is a brief history... When we moved in the outdoor watering system was a mess, there were drip lines on 24 hours a day, many of the sprinkler valves were not working properly, etc. I have spent many hours fixing, replacing and getting a better understanding of what is going on out there, I found multiple system and wiring all dead from neglect, quite a mess. Today I would like to say that it is all running smoothly and perfectly.

I have mapped out all the sprinklers and the watering lines, I have removed old vestigial systems, I have blocked off areas that we do not want to water and I have replaced about 80 of the valve heads with news ones.

Up until recently things were looking pretty good. All the valves were working properly and it seemed I had finally done a good thing for our house which spent 22 years neglected before we moved in.

A few weeks ago I changed out a few more valves and since then things have gone haywire. IN a nutshell two of the three "circuits" I have seems to be under pressured, and even more confusing is that one of them half the circuit is perfect and then all the sudden the valves all are just sputtering and cannot fully extend.

Before I go nuts, I would love to find out anything I can about how to really troubleshoot this situation, here is what I know.

Water pressure at the house is great.

Five weeks ago they were all working great.

There are no broken lines as far as I can tell, certainly nothing obvious, no sink holes or muddy areas.

There are three circuits we are using at the house. Ones works fine.

One has half that works fine and then the rest all sputter and cannot getting started

The third circuit works if I cover one of the valves and keep it closed and allow the other ones to open completely. This would seem like a pressure thing, but I am pretty sure it is not.

Oh please help me not lose my mind over this. And if all else fails, who do I actually call to figure this thing out for me once and for all?

Thanks peeps

How can I bolster my terrible immune system?

pluckysparrow — Mon, 28 May 2012 20:09:37 -0800

How can I bolster my terrible immune system? I catch every single bug or germ that comes around...usually 10x worse than most people my age. I am just getting over a debilitating case of "hand foot & mouth disease," that had me unable to walk or touch anything up for a few days.

Background info: I am 40. I had a baby last year. She is 13 months old. I am still breastfeeding. I work full time. The baby goes to daycare where there are lots of germs. I've basically been extremely sick without stop for the past 13 months: I have had: 3 intestinal bugs, including one that put me in the emergency room at 3 am; 4 sinus infections and a lingering cough that comes and goes. I've been on antibiotics twice. I've had various tests done by my Dr who says "this is just the way life is for moms of toddlers who go to daycare." I feel like this is what life is like for someone with a compromised immune system. My life was not like this until I had a baby.

My toddler has been mostly healthy thankfully, my husband is usually unscathed or will get very mild cases or what I get. If a stomach bug goes through the house, he will be ill for part of a day and then go for a 3 mile jog that night. I will be dramatically and violently ill for 3 days and will feel weak for days after.

I am completely wrecked by each of these illnesses and it seems like with each one, I get a little weaker and more vulnerable to catching stuff. I am missing out on so many events, family gatherings and fun things because I am sick all the damn time.

I eat pretty well. I don't eat red meat or most fish. I don't fast food and try to avoid high fructose corn syrup. We cook all our own meals. I eat lots of veggies and fruit. I am not overweight. I don't exercise as much as I should but sometimes I ride my bike to work and I always take the stairs. I take a multi-vitamin and vitamin c supplements. I drink a bunch of water and "green juice." I don't smoke. I get as decent of sleep as you can get with a teething toddler in the house. I am just at a loss for what I can do to be healthier and less susceptible to catching every single bug that passes through the daycare.

Have you been through this? How did you survive? How can I keep myself from becoming catastrophically ill with every little germ I am exposed to?

Seeking a better understanding of the immune system.

kristymcj — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:51:59 -0800

Seeking a better understanding of the immune system. As I understand it: #1 I am exposed to bug. #2 I get bug. #3 I am now immune to bug. I understand that open wounds, chemo, or ailments that suppress the immune system would cause a person to fall ill more easily. How could a product effect a person's immune response?

Having trouble restoring Mac OS X system software

Dr. Wu — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 05:37:20 -0800

Please help me restore Mac OS on my wife's MacBook! I am pulling my hair out. I've seen this question, which addresses a similar but not identical issue. The problems with this MacBook are a little more ... persnickety.

OK, so.
The hard drive on my wife's 5-ish-year-old MacBook crashed. We bought a new one, installed it, and the computer seems to recognize it. So far, so good.

I dug out the old "Mac OS X Install" discs that came with her computer - they are for 10.4.10. Old, but that's fine: I can update it later.

I can boot from the first of the two Install discs and run, seemingly successfully, the first stages of the system restore. But then, after the computer is done with the process on Disc One, it DOES NOT ask me to insert Disc Two, but, rather, restarts and reboots in COMMAND LINE MODE. I do not know why.

I have not entered any sort of computer code since I took a class in LOGO in fourth grade, so I am baffled. I did find the instructions for "use fsck," which I followed to the letter, but this did not help in any way. So I am stuck with a MacBook with a partially (?) installed, old system, that is running only in command-line mode.

OK, so, in the AskMe thread I linked above, the MeFi user kirilli suggests getting a-hold (ahem) of a more recent version of the system software. I have done this on my own computer, on which I now have a DMG file of that software.

The thing is that I can't install the newer system on my wife's computer FROM my computer, and here's why:

I read the instructions on how to install the new OS using DVD SHARING. But part of the instructions on how to do this is:

On the computer where you're installing Mac OS X, select the Remote Disc under Devices in a Finder window sidebar.

The trouble is that I cannot get my wife's computer into conventional GUI mode, so I cannot access the Finder, or any sidebars in any of its windows! In fact, the only way to start up her MacBook in anything other than command-line mode is to boot up from that 10.4.10 System Install disc, from which point my only option is to run the Installer ... which does not work.

Is there SOME way to get a Mac OS X (old or new) on this MacBook?
Why does it keep booting up in command line mode?
Can I set up her MacBook to "receive" DVD sharing?

Oh I am so confused.

Thank you for any advice.

Wheatgrass for cancer?

gardenbex — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:04:46 -0800

Have you or anyone you've known had luck with an alternative cancer treatment - wheatgrass in particular? My SO's father is ill with complications from surgery to remove cancer of the esophagus (following a round of chemo and radiation). Since the surgery, he's had a few bouts of pneumonia and temporary kidney failure. He's now on a ventilator, is being fed through a tube, can't swallor or speak. [ But hey, they got the cancer...wohoo or something like that :/ ] His kidneys are failing again and will need dialysis, but after 4 months at the hospital, the doctors are recommending shutting everything down. We don't want to give up on him. We believe that if we had a chance to boost up his immune system and he could kick the infections in the lungs, his kidneys may resume their function and he could potentially buy a few more years.

We'd like to try some alternative therapies for the reinforcement of his immune system - not necessarily alternative cancer therapies but rather, an extraordinary high immune boost. Do you or anyone you've known had luck with this? Any experience with wheatgrass in this type of situation? Potentially the most challenging - how can this be administered in a hospital setting where it's likely that the hospital won't consent to administering anything that's outside its treatement protocol? Any other creative ways that wheatgrass can be absorbed beside through the mouth?

Thanks in advance for any light you may shed on this!

Two Careers & Retirement

CollectiveMind — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:49:56 -0800

Three questions: (1) How many current civil service employees are also reserve/national guard members, (2) How many current civil service employees were also active duty military service members, and (3) How many of both groups retired from the military? I've been to DOD, the Census, OPM ... I'm not having much luck.

How do I restore a laptop hard drive to factory settings through my desktop?

New England Cultist — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:09:25 -0800

How do I restore a laptop hard drive to factory settings through my desktop? I have a laptop hard drive (HP Pav Dv5) that I want to format via my desktop. My reasons for doing this is that the laptop has pulled a funky and won't boot. I think the bios is corrupt; I slipstreamed XP onto it shortly after buying it with VISTA pre-loaded.

The hard drive is partitioned into C and D, with the latter containing the image file that restores the drive back to factory settings.

This is Ms Cultist's old laptop. She now uses a Mac, but I'd like to have a go at fixing this one, if only to use as a back-up. I have removed the drive from the laptop and am accessing it via usb on the desktop.

How do I reformat the C drive using the image file on D via the desktop, without potentially making the desktop drives unstable? I'm a fairly old hand at formatting, but I've never loaded an OS onto an external drive in this way.

Best way to maximize sound system setup?

conifer — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 03:07:33 -0800

Physics/Sound Engineering/Speaker Setup Question. More = lower volume? I'm setting up my newest bar. As always with bars, one of the concerns is to minimize the sound from the sound system that leaks out into the neighbourhood, without killing the volume level inside. Here's the question. Imagine Bar A. It has 6 large speakers spread out throughout the bar. They play on volume level 10. Imagine Bar B. It has 20 small speakers spread throughout the bar. They play on volume level 3. Will it sound just as loud inside Bar B as in Bar A?
My logic on this is that in Bar B customers will always be close to a speaker, so there's no sound "wasted" as it travels (relatively) long distances, as in Bar A. That means less leakage out of the bar and less problems with neighbours.
Any sound engineers or physics people out there can help?
Cheers.

How do we make our PBX grow with our company?

MrBobaFett — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:41:09 -0800

Where should I look and what should I look at for replacing our old Norstar/Meridian PBX? Should we replace the hardware or switch to a hosted solution? Our current phone setup is running off a T1 that we will likely be dumping in a year. The T1 was serving as both our phone and internet but was not cutting it anymore for our data needs but we have a contract so we are stuck with it for a while.

Recently we got a Comcast Business cable modem installed. So we moved our data network over to that while leaving the voice on the T1 since we are paying for it anyway.

Current setup is a Norstar/Meridian PBX with Norstar phones on the desks. Currently we have 19 extensions, 5 incoming lines for voice and one for fax.

Our small company is growing and splitting into two divisions. My boss would like to have two different number for the two divisions, but they would ring in at the same front desk. So the receptionist would need to be able to see which number is ringing in, also if it could hunt to the proper extensions if the auto attendant is on. We would need voice mailboxes and also we have a large warehouse that we need to be able to use the intercom system for paging people in the warehouse.

Should we just be getting phone service thru Comcast? Or can I leave it as a data plan and use some other form of VoIP? Telephony is not an area I have much experience in, but it has fallen to me to investigate this.

Also I would love to just call in a good, reliable company that deals with many different voice communication solutions and can come in and consult with us, I just don't know who that might be. We are just north of Chicago. (The guy who helped us with our original phone system is no longer available.)

A web-based publishing system for a school?

argybarg — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:58:56 -0800

I like the idea of a content management system for an elementary school, so students can write and publish in a clean system with a back-end database. Help me understand the dimensions of the idea. Currently students at the school (about 500 students) go (infrequently) to a computer lab, type documents in MS Word, save them to various folders on a server and print them. The result is a rubble of work, difficult to manage and impossible to collocate into usable results.

I dream of students sitting down to a login window. They select a project set up by the teacher, and then they see a ridiculously clean, full-screen editor, something like Write Space, with a very few options on the side. For the youngest kids, they might have a few icons to contend with, and perhaps more formatting options for the older kids. There's no saving, no file management, no formatting to contend with.

The teachers (most of whom don't want to muck with technology) pick from among a few presentational templates for the students' work. They'd get help.

The fields the students type into are fields in a database. An admin can pull all the work together by class, by project, by student, by teacher, or combinations. The admin would be able to publish the work to printed reports, possibly to publish to the web, to send in emails, to view on iPads. It has to have flexibility built in.

We have a mix of desktop CPUs in the lab, and some in the classroom. We're also bringing iPads into the process, and there are the computers in students' homes. So I want the front end relying on accepted protocols (HTML5, etc.) and not a proprietary system of software installs.

The database needs to be scalable to potentially swallow up all areas of the process — teacher materials, student data, etc.

I'm a former graphic designer and avid tinkerer with code, currently trying to get up to speed on PHP, MySQL, etc. The tech guys are supportive and strong with server support, network security, and so on. There is no timeline but I drive myself like a maniac when I have a juicy project with many moving parts. So a year or two, building over time?

My questions:

— Where should I point myself? Drupal? WordPress? Homebrew combo of server-side stuff and CSS?
— Are there real-world examples of hyperflexible publishing systems based on Web-standard tools like MySQL and so on?
— If I were to pick a small, strategic spot in the process to bring in a consultant, where would it be?

That's plenty. Many thanks.