Photos: On the ground at the BETT show

Microsoft, along with other large vendors such as Dell, Novell, Symantec and Apple, had stands at the BETT show — an indication of the growing importance of the education sector to IT providers. However, Microsoft was dealt a blow on Wednesday when it emerged that Becta, the government's lead agency on IT procurement for schools, had advised its members not to adopt the tech giant's new Vista operating system for at least 12 months.