Our former labeling "solution"

Our business requires us to print large volumes of labels on a fairly regular basis. Our eVideon system for interactive patient care and hospital IPTV uses small, low-power set-top boxes in each hospital room; we label each set-top box we deploy for easy identification. We also label all network equipment that we order and deploy as part of our network engineering operation.

Until recently our labeling “solution” left a bit to be desired. It was a Brother P-Touch label machine with a built-in keyboard. This approach had a few major drawbacks:

• Manually entering label text was slow
• We wasted a lot of label “tape” as each individual label produced a good bit of extra space on each side of the text
• Any advanced formatting, such as multiple lines or graphics, wasn’t practical

This led me to some research online for a better solution.

The Brother PT-2430PC Label Maker

We ordered the Brother PT-2430PC from Amazon and immediately found it to be a good fit for our needs. Here’s how our unit looks:

The PT-2430PC is fairly compact. It is approximately the size of an external hard drive. A door opens on the side to allow loading or switching of the tape cartridges. Incidentally, the label maker uses the exact same tape as many other P-touch label makers from Brother, allowing us to continue using the tapes we already had in stock.

Here are a few other benefits we’re enjoying:

• The PT-2430PC connects to a PC via a USB cable and does not require a driver or extra software. The label maker will mount itself as a USB drive, and the software used to create labels run directly from the drive.
• The label maker has a standard power cord, but it also takes batteries, making it easy to use away from the office.
• An auto-cutter in the PT-2430PC cuts the tape automatically. This is an option that can be toggled in the included software.
• The software makes it much easier to make more elaborate labels, such as labels with multiple lines or graphics.
• We can create larger volumes of labels in much less time.
• The price was excellent. The unit cost us just over $40 from Amazon

We were very happy with the new label maker but had one other need. We often create labels that need to follow a given sequence. For example, when labeling set-top boxes for our eVideon system, we number them sequentially:

STB-100, STB-101, STB-102, STB-103…

It’s easy to create these sequential fields in Excel, but there isn’t a built-in function in Excel that allows you to easily concatenate a large range of fields. So I put together a small web-based tool for generating sequential labels. It allows you to specify:

• The prefix for each label
• The starting and ending numbers
• The number of spaces to place between each label

The output of this tool can be pasted into the P-Touch software and printed in a long strip. We then cut off each individual label and apply it.

If you use the tool for generating labels and have any questions, please leave a comment below. Let us know if you use this same label maker or have found another solution that meets your needs!

Zeeland distributed iPads to 1800 district high school students as parts of its iLearn 1:1 computing program.

The idea behind Zeeland’s iPad program was simple:

Provide learners with a portable computing device so they can create, collaborate, communicate, and critically think.
–from Zeeland’s iLearn Website

But long before the first iPads were handed to students, Zeeland administrators realized the load from so many wireless network devices would be best handled by the creation of a new network infrastructure.

To build this new network, they turned to Optimal Solutions.

The challenges and requirements of the project included:

• The need to handle 30+ computing devices per classroom using the network
• Network authentication that ensured prompt access to the right resources
• Centralized management of nearly 300 wireless access points
• Locating and blocking unauthorized access points using wireless sensors
• Supporting the district’s Acceptable Use Policy and the Children’s Internet Protection Act
• Providing power-over-ethernet for lower costs and energy savings

After reviewing the project needs, Optimal Solutions submitted a project plan and budget that were eventually selected by Zeeland Public School administrators. The project to design and install the new wireless network included several important steps:

• Step 1
• Ordering all necessary wireless access points and wireless controllers
• Configuring, testing, and documenting all hardware “in-house” before deployment
• Step 2
• Meeting with Zeeland administrators responsible for the iPad initiative to finalize project needs
• Configuring the core network switch based on Zeeland’s specifications
• Step 3
• Conducting an on-site survey to determine the quantity and placement of access points
• Documenting the final wireless deployment plan
• Step 4
• Installing the core network switch in Zeeland
• Configuring network infrastructure for all necessary servers and services
• Step 5
• Physical installation of all wireless access points
• Configuration and testing of access points and controllers
• Step 6
• Providing Zeeland with training on overall operation of the system
• Answering any questions and making final adjustments as necessary
• Step 7
• Providing hard-copy and electronic documentation for the entire network infrastructure
• Step 8
• Meeting with Zeeland Public School administrators for a final walk-through and project closeout

The switchover from Zeeland’s old network to its new, best-in-class network took place over a 5-day span during Christmas Break in 2010. And the results were outstanding. The network met all requirements for the project, allowing students to use their iPads easily throughout the schools without losing signal or stressing the bounds of the network’s capacity.

If you would like to ready more about Zeeland’s iPad initiative, various news outlets have covered it, including the USA Today.

And if you’d like to talk to Optimal Solutions about your next network project, please use the form below. We would love to answer any questions you have and help ensure your network is a powerful, reliable asset for your business.

Our Fall 2011 SchoolFinance meeting are now complete, and they were a big success. We traveled to four different locations throughout Michigan to make it as easy as possible for our users. Optimal Solutions also hosted an event here in our office. We had over 90% attendance from our users.

We’re also happy to report that great progress is being made on the new requirements for reporting employee- and employer-paid premiums on 2012 W2’s. SchoolFinance is in full compliance and will have this important release out to clients mid-December 2011!

And as always, the user meetings gave us excellent opportunities to connect with our great users. We collected dozens of suggestions from these meetings that will help SchoolFinance remain the outstanding, affordable solution for financial management in the educational market.

If you are an existing SchoolFinance user, be sure to log into the client section. There are a number of important webinars coming up during the month of December that will help you stay up to date while getting the most out of your SF system.

And if you’re looking for a solution to help manage your district’s financial and personnel assets, please get in touch with us.

Friday, November 4 ~ 9:00am – 1:00pm
“West” at Manistee ISD, Manistee MI (w/lunch)

Wednesday, November 9 ~ 10am – 2pm
“Up North” at COP-ESD, Indian River MI (w/lunch)

Thursday, November 10 ~ 9:00am – 1:00pm
“South” at Mendon Schools, Mendon MI (w/lunch)

Friday, November 11 ~ 11:30am – 3:30pm
Optimal Solutions office, Wyoming MI (w/lunch)

Friday, November 18 ~ 10am – 1:00pm
“East” in Frankenmuth, MI at the Bavarian Inn (w/lunch)

Topics of discussion currently include:

• Review of new W2 reporting requirements and SF2k’s build out of employer paid and Benefits Module to accommodate these changes.  This will significantly enhance reporting, budgeting and planning with this data fully integrated.
• Review of Web Portal and addition of W2’s to the portal – no more printing, stuffing and mailing W2’s to employees!  Plus review of FID updates in the portal, new professional development features.
• Review of updates including summary of W2, FID, REP and ORS changes
• Review of wage table implementation, new reports, budgeting tools, what if scenarios for contract negotiations
• Calendar Year End Processing quick tips and reminders
• General Ledger Updates, new features, quick tips
• Reports, extracts and imports overview, new features, how to’s and quick tips
• Review of November software upgrade and new feature releases
• Review of SF2k platform migration/upgrade to SQL Server – enhanced capabilities in years to come
• General SF2k Q&A’s
• Survey requesting feedback on misc. features and functions will be available for all.

(Note additional topics will be added and agendas sent to all several days prior to the event)

If you would like to attend, email or call Rebecca at (616)281-6040/(888)832-3400.

A PDF document of this announcement is available for posting.

FYI, we are actively recruiting new clients!  SF2k has attractive district pricing models for joining the SF2k community.  Let us know if other districts in your area would like to learn more about SchoolFinance!

As a Novell Gold Partner with decades of senior engineering expertise in this technology, Optimal Solutions has been very busy with a full load of OES, GW & ZCM upgrades, virtualization, new HP servers, HP storage, backup and so on – so we too have been anxiously awaiting new announcements.

Two of our senior systems engineers with many Novell miles (Lee Steinbach and Mary Mathews) just returned from BrainShare with a lot of things to communicate.  Two high level Novell employees (Dean Lythgoe, Director of Collaboration Products, and Karyn Victory, Sr. Sales Specialist for the Central Region), will be on site for this meeting and ready to answer questions related to Novell’s products and direction.

Topics will include the following:

• Attachmate acquisition and new direction toward the common good of its customers (what you can expect to see)
• GroupWise 2012
• FILR – (New Product) – eliminates drive mapping, easy end user sharing, etc – enhancements to the user experience
• ZENWorks (ZCM) – discussions on Novell’s new focus on the product, commitment to stability, newer strategies and upcoming functionality/performance (add ons, improved key manipulation {AJAX}, etc {common customer requests})
• Q & A

Having Novell executives on hand will give us all an opportunity to hear from them while voicing our ideas and concerns.

If you or your technology staff would like to attend, email or call Rebecca at (616)281-6040/(888)832-3400. 

Keeping with OSI tradition, we will provide the usual snacks, etc.

eVideon allows school districts to avoid the cost and maintenance of traditional coax-based television systems by distributing video over the existing IP network. Tippecanoe’s installation included a bank of video encoders converting standard television channels into digital streams for network distribution. These digital channels were then viewable on televisions and computers throughout the district.

In addition, TSC  wanted to establish video studios in each school that could broadcast live digital video throughout the district, allowing students to view announcements and special events. Capturing video within the studios was accomplished with the Tricaster 300 — essentially a portable digital recording and editing studio designed for portability and ease of use. Video from the Tricaster units was then captured and rebroadcast to the entire network using the Wowza Media Server.

As the central hub for video on the network, eVideon tied these services into an easily-managed application. Access to channels and streams were controlled via the eVideon web interface. In addition, teachers and administrators could upload video to eVideon so that it could be accessed easily from the classroom at any time.

Woodland Elementary, part of the Tippecanoe School Corporation, and a new eVideon user

For more details, view the full article in the Grand Rapids Business Journal:

Hospital Televisions not so Dumb Anymore : May 23, 2011

The eVideon Healthcare system provides end-to-end IP-network-based delivery of video through an interactive TV interface. eVideon is designed to fit seamlessly into the technical operations of healthcare facilities to manage video content and deliver TV channels, on-demand movies, patient education,hospital generated video, surveys and more to patients, staff, and guests. In addition to the eVideon software, Optimal Solutions provides a completely integrated hardware platform for digital media delivery, including encoders, set-top boxes, and video-on-demand (VOD) servers.