AV Laptops

[Peter F]

I've got 8 brand new Windows 8 laptops sat in front of me. They are to be dedicated AV presentation machines.

 

What do I need to remember to put on them?

What essential tweaks should I do before I send them on their way?

 

This is probably the last time I will ever get them all together in one place so I would quite like to get them setup right.

I have a good idea what I need to put on them but I would really like everyone else to throw in their suggestions so that I don't forget something that I will be cursing about afterwards.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter

[jason5d]

what make and model of laptop?

[Peter F]

what make and model of laptop?

 

Err? Something cheap and generic made by Fujitsu. AH512.

 

Why?

 

Peter

[Pete McCrea]

Anti virus.

 

VLC and codec pack. PowerPoint, Microsoft Office and all updates as a start.

[themadhippy]

Linux :P

ok then,how about remote access software so if theirs a problem or you need to update/install software you can do it without having to have the machine returned to base

[bruce]

Build one to your satisfaction. Take a disk image of it. Clone that to the other 7. That means that in the future it's easy to restore the machine to the way it left your workshop, no matter what's been installed in the interim.

[jason5d]

tbh. I was wondering what people consider to be an av laptop (we use macbook pros)

 

you need image editing software like photoshop and of course a decent video application, not just vlc. (it's ok, it has a play list, but it has no time line and not much real-time stuff)

[DrummerJonny]

I'd recommend a start menu app to replicate previous versions of Windows.

 

I'd imagine the majority of your users will not be familiar with the Windows 8 UI and this will act as a good transition for them.

 

A number of them also provide customisations as to what state the PC boots up in, allowing you to bypass the Modern UI, which is worse than useless for actually doing work.

 

I'd recommend A specific app for you, but tbh I'm still shopping around to find one that I like better than the others.

[Modge]

Build one to your satisfaction. Take a disk image of it. Clone that to the other 7. That means that in the future it's easy to restore the machine to the way it left your workshop, no matter what's been installed in the interim.

Definitely. Though you need to think about how you manage updates in this scenario: if you send out a freshly re-imaged machine in a years time the first thing it will do is beg for updates for all it's software - not just windows, but power point, antivirus, vlc and what ever else goes on there. Probably your best bet is to disable them in any thing that allows it and do them by hand (first vetting the updates as to what problems they'll cause...) when you re-image it. I have known hire co's reimage their machines every-time, which is nice if you get the chance.

 

Also not yet mentioned, possibly because it's so obvious (but I've received machines where it hasn't been done); what you do with regards sleep and screen saver needs thought - almost certainly they should never do either. Black desktop. Enough access rights to allow you install stuff.

 

Tip of the hat to nod32 as sensible anti-virus in these circumstances - it's very light weight, scans memory sticks when they're inserted and has a pretty good detection rate.

 

Also all the codecs in the world ever. You never know what you may be asked to playback - flash player may, regrettably, come in handy at some point as well.

[Tom Baldwin]

I have known hire co's reimage their machines every-time, which is nice if you get the chance.

 

To turn that around, you mean there are hire companies out there who *don't* re-image each time? :blink: Nasty.

If I'm hiring a laptop for something as visible as AV, I would want to be sure it's in a decent state when I receive it, not "damaged" (malware, software packages half-uninstalled etc) from a previous hire.

 

Imaging is definitely the way to go.

 

I find mplayer (and the GUI for it, SMPlayer) to be able to play almost any file out there. It's also very lightweight, and installing it doesn't fiddle with Windows the way some software does. Might be worth having as a tool of last resort?

[lite_lad]

Simple things like turning off the screen saver and making a black background on the output. Simple but easily forgotten...

[Oldradiohand]

Upgrade to Windows 7! (if you've got 8pro you can "downgrade" to 7pro for free)

Seriously? a cheap usb soundcard so you don't have to take an audio only feed from the nasty 3.5mm jack socket would be my first (but rather biassed) purchase. And don't forget to password protect the admin logon....

[gyro_gearloose]

And don't forget to password protect the admin logon....

Re-imaging every time you get the laptop back is by far the best way to protect against any software that gets added or removed by your customers. Much easier than faffing around trying to protect the laptop from users who deliberately or accidentally ruin the OS/software. Just reformat and re-image. Simple solutions are always the best.

[J Pearce]

And you won't have to deal with customers ringing at 1am asking for the admin password so they can install the obscure codec that the CEO has encoded the last minute video with.

[Oldradiohand]

And you won't have to deal with customers ringing at 1am asking for the admin password so they can install the obscure codec that the CEO has encoded the last minute video with.

 

Hmm, good point.