Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

I would like to pick up one of these for $350. Apple really is discounting to compete. Pretty impressive.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Cobb County wants to spend nearly $70 million for 63,000 students and teachers to get state-of-the-art Apple laptop computers, complete with Microsoft Word and iTunes.

After months of negotiations, Superintendent Joseph Redden announced the cost and scope of a potential deal with Apple Computer. If the school board approves the first phase of the four-year, $69.9 million proposal, the first iBook G4 laptops would be distributed this spring.

By fall, four high schools would be outfitted as demonstration sites. Within a year, high schoolers could be working with a computer that, at 5 pounds, weighs less than most textbooks. Within three years, each of Cobb's teachers and middle and high school students could have a laptop.

The iBooks would come with Apple's latest operating system, plus Microsoft Office and wireless capability. Software would include Apple's iLife, which could be used to make digital movies, photos and music for school projects through programs like iTunes and GarageBand. The iBooks would be compatible with the school system's existing PCs.

"The kinds of things the students will be using out in the work force today, they'll be using in our schools," said Deputy Superintendent Donald Beers. Part of the cost goes to build a wireless network for schools countywide.

If fully implemented, it would be one of the largest school laptop programs in the country.

Apple would provide seven employees dedicated solely to training and operations, and operate a repair facility in Cobb. The laptops would have a four-year warranty, and the deal includes extra batteries.

Parents would be responsible for insurance, expected to be $50 a year. Redden said the school system's education foundation would work on fund-raising to help low-income families pay for the insurance.

The Cobb school district, which spent months negotiating with companies including IBM and Dell, claims the best price per laptop of any school system in the country: $271.26. Michigan paid $275 per machine in its recent laptop contract with Hewlett- Packard.

Add in the extras Cobb negotiated for � including support, training and maintenance � and the total cost is about $350 per person. For comparison, the cheapest retail price of the same computer loaded with the same features was $1,248 on apple.com.

John Seral, who has children in Cobb County middle and high schools, said he was "personally convinced this thing will be successful." He learned the details while working on an advisory panel for the school system.

Seral said he believed students would gain skills that have become invaluable in business. "Voice mail is virtually dead in our company," he said. "You have to have a laptop to function."

The Cobb deal would boost Apple's efforts to capture the k-12 education market. Vice President Barry Wright would not say what Apple's market share is, but the company has landed other major initiatives, including the nation's first in Maine and one in Henrico County, Va.

Mark Weston, who worked for Apple three years ago, when it provided laptops to 37,000 students and teachers in Maine, said the Cobb County deal would have people talking.

However, "the technology is just one piece of the equation for enhancing learning and teaching," he said. "The ultimate test will be how everyone uses these incredible tools."

Cobb County will pay for the program's start-up through a 1 percent sales tax voters approved in 2003 and which will expire in three years.

Most school board members seem comfortable with providing teachers with the laptops, but need assurance about the students.

Questions from the public include concerns about online security and at-home use. School officials have set up a Web site and e-mail to address questions and will conduct four information sessions before the board's March 9 vote.

The school system still needs a provider for wireless connectivity, as well as an Internet partner in the community, Redden said.

Proponents of "one computer to one student" point to reports of increased school attendance and fewer discipline problems. They say laptop programs bridge the "digital divide," putting cutting-edge technology in the hands of young people who otherwise could not afford it.

Some researchers, however, say more time is needed to understand the long-term impact of such programs. Critics say the money could be better spent on smaller classes and teacher development.