“When school starts in August, every student at Kelly Walsh High School will have a new Apple MacBook laptop computer,” Jasa Santos reports for The Casper Star-Tribune.
“Roughly 1,400 computers are being distributed to KW students and staff members, as the school transitions into a 1-to-1, high access environment,” Santos reports.
“The computers are part of a $3.8 million lease purchase agreement Natrona County School District made with Apple Computers [sic]. The agreement was approved by the district’s school board in June,” Santos reports.
“More than 3,000 computers were purchased through the agreement and will be distributed to elementary, junior high and high schools in Natrona County,” Santos reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “MacCowboy” for the heads up.]
Can I enroll just to get one pretty please?
Let’s just hope that by the time these kids enter the real world work force, their employers will let them choose their machine of choice, unlike other staid organizations that have a strict Windows only unofficial policy.
Thank goodness I can use Safari here
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so now all the students will have a laptop that is worth more than their mobile home… awesome!
@Kevin “Let’s just hope that by the time these kids enter the real world work force, their employers will let them choose their machine of choice, unlike other staid organizations that have a strict Windows only unofficial policy.”
That would be nice, but IT deparments want identical machines for a very practical reason. If they have 1000 laptops to support, it’s far easier to swap hard drives into an identical system, than it is to back up the user’s data. It’s far easier and cheaper to support a homogenous user base, so it’s better to be all Apple, all HP, all Dell, etc.
Wyoming?!?
thats….. carry the 3….
2.7 macs per state citizen!!!!
S**t
I support three times that many Macs between the 2 school districts I service.
Pantywaists!
I wish they would DISTRIBUTIE to me
They’re not giving the kids Big Ass Spheres?!
Migod, laptops are, like, soooo 2007! 🙁
“That would be nice, but IT deparments want identical machines for a very practical reason. If they have 1000 laptops to support, it’s far easier to swap hard drives into an identical system, than it is to back up the user’s data. It’s far easier and cheaper to support a homogenous user base, so it’s better to be all Apple, all HP, all Dell, etc.”
yes, far easier to be lazy than to actually treat the users you support like you work for them.
i worked IT for 15 years, and i have no sympathy for the ones you describe. people who think they work for the computer or the company rather than the end user. screw ’em.
@zaxxon4 How about Vista as a universal OS? XP? Windows? Electric typewriters? Xerox copiers? Manual typewriters? Gestetner Manual copiers? Paper & biro, ink pens, pencils, wood blocks, clay tablets? papyrus? Cave drawings?
Do you understand what I am trying to say?
I don’t think you do, so here is the answer anyway:-
Even when we had one homogenous system, it was never enough hence the progressional development.
UK education is still stuffed up the microsoft ass. At any one time half our school computers are down. Apple UK please show these people the easy, productive and cost effective way.
@shen “yes, far easier to be lazy than to actually treat the users you support like you work for them.”
@Crabapple “Even when we had one homogenous system, it was never enough hence the progressional development.”
Most companies I’ve dealt with have a widely dispearsed user base, with the typical user being located too far from the user to provide on-site support (it’s better support to have the user swap the hard drives, than to make them wait a week for round trip shipping). These user’s are upgraded periodically, and at a pace where the first user in the chain is upgraded a second time, shortly after the last user in the chain gets their first upgrade.
Many IT crews don’t care what they are supporting, as long as the number of systems is limited.
shen, I to do IT support and its not being lazy its all about turn around time. All the office users have the same computer. If I for some reason dont have a spare and someone is out then I can move someone to a new desk or just swap their computer for the time being. But usually I have a few extra computers identical so I can get them back to work as soon as possible. I work for my company and the end users and myself trying to make it as easy and quick as possible as I can to be the most efficient. Having different computers can just make more of a pain. Just imagine having 100 employees and everyone of them have a different computer. Either older or newer, bigger drive, different brand, different mobo, etc.
@zaxxon4
that sounds like a logical plan, seeing how I have sales reps who aren’t always in makes it vital that I can fix their issue as soon as possible.
bullsh!t. like i said, been there, done that. lazy.
“Just imagine having 100 employees and everyone of them have a different computer. Either older or newer, bigger drive, different brand, different mobo, etc.”
100 different computers? wow, boggles the mind…..
if i can personally serve over 400 with machines i had to build myself from stuff the state government threw out, generally on free linux software because we couldn’t buy an OS, then you and your lazy @ss can handle an even hundred.
….unless you are using windows. then all the support problems stack up, don’t they? so how is that “all dell all windows” plan work? poorly.
Just think, this is the iTele Generation. These kids will grow up believing that intergalactic teleportation is the norm.
Distributie = dutie to distribute
Lucky little SOB.
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@zaxxon 4 . . .
while i agree that the theory of sameness would be nice for IT depts, the problem is the implementing of it.
Let me tell you a little experience i just had when my work (hp) crashed on me the other week. So i switched machines with another guy that just left, also an hp. Different model sure, but still an hp. I wanted to swap out memory so that i could use my faster memory in the new computer, but that was a no go since the memory types were different. so i thought about swapping out hard drives. Again, a no go b/c his hard drive was samsung and mine was a . . . what was it??? IDK . . . anyways, there have to be at least 6 different models of HP’s in our area of 10 people. Compatibility and sameness my @$$.
And let’s not forget which tech company is routinely harped on for their “sameness” . . . Apple . . . b/c they “only” offer several different models, not the plethora/myriad of HPXPS6836LBU sh!t that HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, etc. offer
There’s 3,000 kids in Wyoming?
(rimshot)
distribooty
To my fellow IT guys:
You are all correct.
Sometimes it is best to have everyone on as identical computers, to make service as quick as possible.
Sometimes it is best to have users using the computer platform of their choice.
The first is for interchangeable, low dollar value drones. Windows is good enough for them. Get them back up and keep them working!
The second is the unique, high dollar value creative and other thought based types. They often lean towards Macs. The right computer tool makes them more productive, and they are not one-size-fits-all.
I’ve worked in environments were both were the case.
So both sides are correct, in their circumstances.
Peace, all.
The school is paying $1,266 per laptop. You’d think Apple could have been a little more competitive on their pricing considering this is a school, it’s a huge bulk order, and since they’re leased, the school is basically “renting” these laptops for full price. What happens when that lease is up? The district sends Apple back 3,000 computers, the school is out 3.8 million dollars, and has no hardware at all to show for all the money they spent.
I don’t understand why schools and corporations pay full price to rent computers when they could just buy them outright and keep them longer than 3 years or at least auction them off in three years time, get something back for the investment.
I suspect that the total cost was not $1266 per computer. Perhaps there was a longer warranty included, carts for storing and distributing the computers, maybe even Airport base stations.
Perhaps printers for the classrooms.
Before making your assumptions …. check the RFQ, or the finished contract.
OMFG! I went to Kelly Walsh HS. Those lucky bastards. How I regret being born 24 years too early!
I didn’t think Wyoming would ever do anything as progressive as give away Apple MacBooks to students in Casper. But I wonder if the other HS got the same deal – the article didn’t mention NCHS…