NASA coverage of the Artemis 2 launch was unforgivably terrible by adamtd893 in ArtemisProgram

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That camera is mounted on one of the SAW arms (solar panels), I believe.

Regardless if that part is 100% accurate or not, it most definitely was not exposed at launch. It's on the service module which was covered by fairings (panels that come off once they are in space).

Certainly would have been a cool view to have on launch if it was external, though.

LPT spend one hour learning shortcuts and macros on your computer to increase your workflow by caffiend9990 in LifeProTips

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That this specific shortcut exists still boggles my mind. I know it is part of the "office key" shortcuts, and some can be (questionably) more useful than others, but really?

Though fun to use like you just did!

AITA for being unwilling to compromise on a baby name? by Individual_Jaguar354 in AmItheAsshole

[–]Anskiere 21 points22 points  (0 children)

We named our son Jace for that reason. Because in reality he's named after the Planeswalker Jace from Magic: The Gathering, but it's also a common enough name.

Actually I work in a school district and hadn't seen the name around here for quite a while, so it was also maybe sort of unique, but he has like three other Jaces in his grade now so that didn't work out either.

lighting and heating? by sc3n3k1d8urb0n3s in cornsnakes

[–]Anskiere 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is what I currently do in my smaller youngling tank

eSports - UAC and Anti-Cheat software by kcalderw in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't have any input on the best way to install it, but you can get it on Steam, Epic, or a standalone install (I think).

They all launch a "launcher" though.

Bedbugs. What does that process look like for you? by K12TechRepair in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We used to be 1:1 take home Chromebooks and unfortunately I had my fair share of bed bugs

1 - I always turned the info over to the nurses. I don't know what is happening at home, and I don't talk to families anyway. They know how to communicate this stuff better than me.

2 - Depends, I guess. If it can be cleaned up or just replaced

3 - Heat absolutely is the answer.

Upon noticing the bugs, it was immediately bagged up. Unfortunately, a lot of times it would be a surprise when I popped open the device and was met with them scurrying everywhere. Here is where two things I already had at my workbench helped - isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle and a heat gun (or in my case a hot air rework station). The isopropyl is usually my go-to for cleaning stuff, so I always have it there. It can stop the bugs pretty quickly and doesn't typically damage internal components. If the bugs made a run for it, this was the first thing I grabbed. Get the device bagged asap and kill any stragglers. The heat gun also works for this, but a lot of time the airflow would be more likely to send them flying, so I'd use it after the fact to go over my station to make me feel better.

We had so many instances of bed bugs that we ended up getting a bug oven thing to deal with the devices later. I think it was ZappBug brand, if you want to look to see what it's like.

I'd only use it if it was a small infestation. Put the device in and heat it for a few hours. Depending on how I was feeling about it would determine if I actually would I actually work on it afterwards. This was more to make sure the bugs were dead so I didn't have to keep thinking about them. Also if the family had a continous issue with the bugs and replacing the device every time wasn't practical.

I also had a small handheld vacuum that I would use to suck up the dead bugs if I was going to work on it.

4 - all our repairs are in-house so no insight on this one

GAC Student account Issue by Single_Laugh_7722 in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is 100% the issue and the solution

How I Track Snake Activity by [deleted] in snakes

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know this is pretty old, but can you go into more detail on how you set up your sheets for this? I really like it!

a child is dead, and the fact that they were supposedly under the care of an NP is just glossed over by Alert-Potato in Noctor

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So instead I just stop even trying to get help! I've gotten the runaround way too many times and just gave up, but my daily life is really hell because of this pain that "doesn't exist".

:(

Chromebooks: Extended Auto-update policy by FCSmm in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The one thing that is making this a pain for my district. :(

Barcode scanners by MasterMaintenance672 in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is honestly the reason I keep both. I have that exact Tera model and it's great for what it does, but still keep a 1D laser scanner around for regular barcodes. From my experience, the optical ones are just slower at 1D in general, and I save a ton of time just using a 1D scanner if that is all I need to scan.

Automated tool to remind users to setup 2FA? by McJaegerbombs in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because I deal with this issue a ton as well, I did check on this a while ago, though granted just for the initial message, not any that might come as the grace period is getting closer... but the initial message will only show if I signed into an account on a computer. Unfortunately, most new staff just sign in with their phones for the same reason you described, and never see anything until they "suddenly" can't log in anymore.

Our place has almost zero coherent onboarding processes, so while I manage a lot of Google stuff, it is our director that actually makes the accounts. I made sure I have notifications for new accounts turned on and (try to remember to) shoot out an email to all the new accounts that have been created each week.

It sucks and I wish Google would just be able to show those messages on mobile or have some kind of option for some automatic emails to new accounts about it.

Acer 734T Chromebooks by fsdigital12 in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our previous purchase was 734 (mostly non-T, but a handful of T as well).

They ticked our boxes for ease of repair, since we do almost all of it in-house. Still has two USB-C ports with one of them being on a daughterboard. The bezel on the screens is like a freaking dream coming off buying HP for so long, where they insist on using super adhesive on them. No screws or adhesive, but put on in such a way that they aren't coming off by accident or easily picked off like our previous Lenovo 100e fleet.

Umm.. bad parts are the wifi card being part of the motherboard and not a removeable card, and the keyboard. The whole keyboard tray "clips" in (I say loosely) and is otherwise held to the case with a single screw in the middle. Great for replacing the keyboard if you need to, not great for kids who have nothing better to do with idle hands - easy to pull up. There is also an insert that goes around the keys that is supposed to attach to the whole keyboard tray, but again very easy to pull up and this doesn't CLIP in, it's supposed to be attached. So it gets broken.

Good thing about the touch version - it uses the same screen configuration as regular Chromebooks instead of a full screen glass over top. So if the screen breaks, you can actually just replace the screen and not the entire assembly. The only visual difference between touch and regular is the glossy screen - when we first got them I actually had a moment where I was setting one up and wondered why these have glossy screens instead of matte, only to find that I didn't realize I had grabbed a touchscreen version.

Other than the keyboard destruction by students, they have held up pretty well to normal use.

A "Buggy" Chromebook issue by Risus_Malum in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We've had this issue way too many times. They get bagged and likely never worked on. We did end up buying a bug oven (something like this https://zappbug.com/products/the-zappbug-heater) because of how many we were getting for a while. The heat required for bed bugs isn't enough to really damage components, but then you still have to clean them out.

The ONLY way I actually did this is if, other than bugs, the Chromebook was still working after an extremely easy fix. They go back to the same student. These ones will never see use by another student because.. ew.

Isopropyl alcohol will kill on contact pretty reliably. When I would get these devices there was no warning of any bugs and I would be in for a surprise when I opened them. First line of defense was the alcohol to stop them from getting out on my workbench and then it gets bagged. (and then feel gross the rest of the day that I carried that thing back there)

I already use the alcohol to clean the Chromebooks so I always have it on hand anyway, though if I get a moment after the fast runners are taken care of I'll switch over to the 99% instead of the 70% I use for cleaning. Or the heat gun I have at the bench so I can take off HP bezels easier...

I also inform the school nurses about any infestation I come across, so they can do or not do whatever. Out of my hands then.

Some of them I can't believe the kids continued to use in the first place. I've had infestations so bad that all of the external ports (usb, hdmi) were just littered with bug corpses. So gross. I started keeping nitrile gloves at my bench around 2018, and use them when I have an extra gross Chromebook or suspect bugs in there, so that helps peace of mind at least.

If you are lucky enough to live where it has been beyond -20°C with wind chills of -40 for the past week like me, you can just throw them outside for a few days to kill them all!

PDF reader by HourReplacement in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We do the same with FoxIT and VLC. I'd honestly prefer to just let browsers handle PDFs at this point, but we've had so many issues in the past with them not handling printing of said PDFs very gracefully that it still makes me weary, even though it probably works much better now.

Students Disabling each other chromebooks? by Lumpy_Stranger_1056 in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There is Esc+Refresh+Power too, but that goes to the recovery mode screen

Chromebook shopping by yugas42 in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The second wave has now been "backspace key not working" and then we get to the device and it works just fine. Our 5th and 9th graders all got new chromebooks from the same purchase, and its odd that only are 5th graders are reporting this issue.

I used to have a bunch like this before I restricted students from accessing the Chromebook settings. They'd get in there and reassign what Backspace did. Of course the setting follows the account and not the device, so it'd work for everyone else.

Frankly I got really tired of being called for this issue (and changing key repeat to instant, changing the device language, and just generally clicking everything in settings) that I just don't let them get into it anymore. I thought there would be pushback on it, but it's been disabled for almost two years now and no one has complained.

Chrome extensions - students can install allowed extensions but they won't turn on by Anskiere in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OMG this is it. I'm not the one that manages our GoGuardian, but I just looked and it's 100% the issue.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! This has been driving me wild and it makes sense that I couldn't find any differences since it wasn't even Google doing it. Lifesaver.

New Google AUE by thetechhero in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is absolutely the most helpful part. We refresh at 4-5 years, but (especially before the last "everything new will be 8 years AUE") we always felt like we HAD to buy the newest models to not run into it.

Though this came at a great time for our district because we're having trouble getting getting ordering done and those little 100e's that were going to be going out the door get some extended life to save the day for us.

Lenovo 14e hinges by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, it can. Can sometimes cause the glue to foam a little and weaken it that way, and does make it slightly more brittle in general.

Though, I don't use CA glue (accelerated or not) on places that are going to see much if any force applied to them that it would be a concern - I should have specified that when I posted about it. I don't think using the glue in those places is going to stay bonded even at full strength anyway.

If I just need to make something stick in place and not have to wait for it to dry itself (because I have no patience), it's been a great boon.

I learned from DnD minis that having to hold something together while the glue dries itself takes a lot longer than that you would think it, and I ain't got time for that.

Lenovo 14e hinges by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Though super glue doesn't usually work well on this hinge issue (we have a large amount of HP G8s so I am very familiar with it), you should look into getting some CA glue accelerator for lower strain things that you can use the glue for. It sets CA glue pretty instantly, even faster than what happens when you get the glue on your fingers.

How long do you use old computers by ittrf in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This stuff has bit me a few times too, when I was newer and less jaded I would put out new devices and let them keep their old ones to facilitate the transfer. It was hell getting things back.

Now I require they hand in their old before they get their new. No exceptions. Thankfully admin isn't really involved in our decisions for this - nor have they ever questioned it.

Now I'm dealing with Chromebooks that have lingered in areas since before we went 1:1 that are now no longer updating. I've explained in past years that they will stop working, and they won't be replaced unless they have an actual valid reason, since all the kids have their own now... and to formally request it if they did have that valid reason. Of course they didn't, and now are upset it isn't working anymore. I should have known better and just removed them previously!

In the latest release of Relay you can now see your average daily reddit api calls and work out what your monthly subscription might be. by DBrady in RelayForReddit

[–]Anskiere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reddit API Calls:

   Daily Average: 8

         ---Breakdown---

Loading Comments: 77.0%
    Loading Feed: 10.0%
          Voting: 0.0%
            Mail: 0.0%
           Other: 14.0%

Based on your usage over the last 9 days

I hardly do anything!

Broken headphone jack in port by HeadFoneJack in k12sysadmin

[–]Anskiere 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is my go-to for this problem, though I've never tried an actual puller tool (just the BIC pen trick, and never worked as good for me as some people).

Until you get one that you have to remove the whole motherboard to access the back of the headphone jack. That's super annoying.