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L.A. School District Halts iPad Contract As FBI Seizes Documents
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Grimlaking
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So wait, how long did it take for that deal to fall apart again?
Comixbooks
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Using PCs in school is the worse thank god I don't have to stare at some stupid Ipad
made in China by slave labor. School districts are made up of Libs that shove cabbage down the throats of kids saying it's good for you.
made in China by slave labor. School districts are made up of Libs that shove cabbage down the throats of kids saying it's good for you.
It was halted in the early pilot stage, but that obviously wouldn't be outrageous enough for some.
heatlesssun
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I think it may have to do with the FBI seizing documents, that tends to make headlines.
So you're saying there's a chance??
or steals a box of Swisher Sweets.
captainyarr
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He didn't see any jail time either
EchtoGammut
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iPads is a dumb idea, for the kind of money that got spent on this project ($1.3 billion not $500 million), they could have had a manufacture produce a custom tough pad based on Android or Microsoft OS. It should have been an e-ink device, with the ability to annotate and take notes. Further functionality is just a wast of money and makes the device more failure prone and needs greater battery power. With the cost of books, revisions and the weight of book, tablets make sense. In theory, e-books could save you money, however, publishers don't discount book prices, even though they no longer have to print them. The biggest savings would be in distribution, storage and processing of textbooks. It also would save kids from carrying around 20-30lbs of books, which isn't exactly good for their developing bodies. So this could have been a good idea, but it was corrupted by idiots and greedy bastards.
DarkStar_WNY
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Well I doubt any of the people involved here will attack a police officer or try to take his firearm either, which in large part could explain the non-fatal outcome of this ipad case.
As for the original story, this is pathetic and yet many will stand up and say that we need to throw even more obscene amounts of money at education than we already do.
iPads are useless toys, don't belong in education and won't prepare kids for the real world. When not forced to accept a toy kids choose useful tools such as Lenovo Yoga, Microsoft Surface Pro, Dell Latitude and Chromebook.
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-lausd-laptops-20140630-story.html
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-lausd-laptops-20140630-story.html
heatlesssun
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A device like the Surface Pro 3 I think clearly has more use as an educational tool than the iPad. The hybrid nature of something like the SP3 has unique benefits in this market. Unfortunately these top tier pen enabled Windows devices have always been on the pricy side. There are some Atom based devices that are more reasonably priced. It would be nice if Microsoft were to come out with a $500 or less Surface Pro device for the next version. The next version of the Atom would probably be able to deliver a decent experience on a high-res screen like the SP3. But I would imagine that would make some OEMs unhappy.
doesn't matter what kind of tablet they use, the kids are going to hack it and play games and shit.
They should have just used that cash as a cash reward incentive to get better grades, instead of using it to buy overpriced depreciating tablets.
Can you imagine how long it would take to dole out all that cash to C students? You'd never run out of money.
They should have just used that cash as a cash reward incentive to get better grades, instead of using it to buy overpriced depreciating tablets.
Can you imagine how long it would take to dole out all that cash to C students? You'd never run out of money.
kbrickley
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The companies need to set aside some of their competitive concerns like they did with the One Laptop One Child activities targeted at the developing world children ... Apple in the 80's gave their computers to schools and locked up the education market for years ... I would love to see a collaboration between Intel and Microsoft to offer a One Laptop One Child (or One Tablet One Child) program for USA schools ... they could then lock up the USA market for the next 20 years
DeathFromBelow
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The companies need to set aside some of their competitive concerns like they did with the One Laptop One Child activities targeted at the developing world children ... Apple in the 80's gave their computers to schools and locked up the education market for years ... I would love to see a collaboration between Intel and Microsoft to offer a One Laptop One Child (or One Tablet One Child) program for USA schools ... they could then lock up the USA market for the next 20 years
Ah, Microsoft. We're talking about a company that believes a $1000 writing utensil is what consumers really want in a PC...
Honestly though, I've always been under the impression that projects like OLPC are scams. The software doesnt work. The hardware is crap and breaks down easily. There's little/no support for teachers, and they expected students to do the maintinence.
Kids don't need this crap in school. When I was in elementary school we got a lab full of iMacs. What did we use them for? Oregon Trail. Cheap e-readers would be a far better educational investment than tablets or laptops.
heatlesssun
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Microsoft gets a lot of criticism for dropping products and concepts. However there have stuck with the concept of the Tablet PC. The Surface Pro line is at its heart a nothing more than a revision of the Tablet PC concept that's over a decade old now. While pen enabled Tablet PCs may appeal to a small market, it is a market that has specialized needs in hardware and software and the tools tend to provide a huge boost in productivity. Scott Adams of Dilbert fame uses a Windows powered Wacom based Cintique as his primary illustration tool.
I've had may Surface Pro 3 for a month now and it's almost exactly just what I wanted. No it's not cheap but it is as flexible as computing as there is right now. Not a mass appeal product but one that will keep people coming back if the quality and capability is there and people will be willing to pay for it. That's not a bad niche to be in when device markets all across the board outside of Apple are racing to the bottom to provide ever cheaper devices. It's nice to have some quality hardware that's not made by Apple.
No way was that single-source contract the result of a legal bidding process where, by law, the lowest bid has to get the nod. At least, that's the way it is done most everywhere--and sensibly so, too (even if some folks in CA think that the taxpayer's money belongs to them, personally.)
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everyone talking about how expensive ipads are clearly has no idea how much school textbooks cost
kbrickley
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how true that is ... breaking up the monopolies of the textbook publishers would do more to benefit schools and students than anything else
It could be worse with Apple controlling overpriced iPads and colluding to inflate ebook prices that are replacing textbooks.
kbrickley
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An ebook approach in general would be much less expensive although the textbook companies would likely create some sort of licensing agreement to maintain a reasonable level of profit compared to the current exorbitant paper book prices
One of the factors that drives high text book costs (other than the publisher monopolies) is the wide variety of text book variations required (especially where schools are coming up with hokey regulations about presenting evolution side by side with creationism) ... with ebooks it would be easier for companies to customize the curriculum to each state or school and keep the curriculum's up to date (without incurring the high cost of printing or disposing of out of date text books)
Personally I think giving the contracts to the Microsoft surface would be a better long term value for schools and tax payers than iPads (even though the purchase price would be even higher)
heatlesssun
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I hear you on the price of textbooks. However the iPad is certainly expensive in today's tablet market. While tablet sales growth has declined substantially year-over-year, the market is still expected to grow about 7% however the iPad is expected to see it's first yearly actual sales contraction since it's introduction. Apple is still going to make a bundle and the new iPads are fantastic products. But only are there very cheap and decent Android devices, Windows is now in that game as well. You can now walk into a Walmart and pick up $100 Windows tablets that aren't total garbage.
I think that's why rumors of a 12"+ iPad "Pro" coming next year are probably true. Apple needs to have something that can command a higher price and go head to head with something like the Surface Pro 3 which right now, even as niche as it is, doesn't have a lot of competition other than from other Windows tablets, save the Galaxy 12" devices which I don't think are doing all that great.
You sure you're not actually getting paid $1 per post working from home for some shitty "viral marketing" company? The constant crowbarring of windows tablets into every other post always seems like an advertisement "I've had my XYZ windows tablet and its great! Now I know Microsoft gets some criticism, but blah blah but you know its great and it even recognized my printer, plus with the new low cost windows tablets coming and microsoft eliminating the cost of windows on small size devices, well there's never been a better time to buy!"
Hey, god bless ya. We all gotta earn a living.
Meanwhile, back to reality and the actual topic: Chromebooks are ousting iPads in schools as the defacto learning devices:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/14...in-education-sales-for-first-time-report-says
http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthony...-in-u-s-classrooms-as-chromebooks-beat-ipads/
heatlesssun
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And you take every opportunity to bash Windows 8.x, Surface Pros, whatever the flavor is of the day. So who are you working for? Seriously, if I were getting paid I wouldn't waste my time around here. People around here are too intransigent and suspicious.
Nope. Chromebooks. Its already happening. $199 and they have everything they need. And easy as hell to centrally manage.
Surface Pro is a nice device hardware-wise, and Surface RT's appear are all but abandoned by Microsoft, but either way I'd like to hear what it is in Microsoft's software stack that is needed from an education standpoint that Chromebooks don't already provide. Kids don't need x86 apps.
CreepyUncleGoogle
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heatlesssun
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Chromebooks are easier to manage than Windows PCs and local malware isn't a problem but that has a lot to do with the fact that they are pretty much just web browsing terminals though Android apps are now coming as well. One big advantage Chromebooks were enjoying is their price. Equivalent Windows devices are now at the same price levels.
Sure for basic stuff kids nor anyone else needs x86 apps. But when it comes to doing work and not so basic stuff they can still be invaluable. And a pen enabled device certainly has a lot of uses that can't be done easily with keyboard and mouse input. So simplicity vs. complexity and flexibility. No one solution is right for everyone.
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heatlesssun
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yes because clearly google is less evil than apple?
I'm not a Chromebook fan but I get the appeal of a cheap device that has web access and is locked down just for that purpose that needs little maintenance. I don't think such a device is all that great of an educational tool being that inflexible but it can certainly do the trick in a number of situations.
Agreed, and accurate on every point. But we're talking about school devices for K through 12. Chromebooks have inertia in that segment as dumb terminals that are easily managed and malware free, not to mention don't have the tempting games catalog of apple's appstore that the kiddos are tempted circumvent the controls on an iPad to reach.
A Windows based tablet is kind of overqualified for that - even if we take price out of the equation - and typically requires third party software to effectively lock windows down for this usage scenario.
A chromebook would be utterly worthless for my needs, but then this isn't really about me.
My issue is the lifespan of the devices makes the cost astronomical. Most of then are designed with planned obsolescence in mind. If it is not the limited memory, it is the difficult to replace memory or general overheating of the devices. A nice affordable e-ink device with extra software for communication might be the best choice.
Still most programs are simply a way to give money to someone...
Are you serious?
Using computers can drastically help the potential for people to learn things at a great and more in depth rate then most schools text books.
They can keep up to date information (How many schools have their students using 10+ year old text books? I know mine did), have far more content then a book (think of videos showing things rather then just a giant wall of text).
Computers can be a great learning tool and should not be ignored.
heatlesssun
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It's not zero sum. I think if the only considerations for educational computing are ease of maintenance, low cost and security due to only being a web browser that no where that something very important is missing in that list. And that would be if the tool actually serves the primary educational purpose.
Indeed I think its been noted by many people around here that technology is often just thrown in schools little thought as to whether the technology in question does anything useful. In some cases maybe no technology would be better than something that doesn't serve its needed or desired purpose well.
In basic situations a Chromebook could fit the bill. In situations with more needs a cheap Windows hybrid might serve the need better. As for a device like the Surface Pro 3 while complex and expensive, when it comes to art, math, science and technology, I think that it's hard to make a case that a Chromebook would have any advantages directly related to the subjects. Cheaper and easier to manage doesn't make it better for the actual use.
Where cost isn't an issue, there aren't a lot of usage scenarios a Surface Pro 3 wouldn't excel in. I'll give you that. That much I will give you. But its a pro level piece of gear with the price to match. So unless Microsoft started subsidizing/donating them to schools, I'm not sure how they would really find their way in.
heatlesssun
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The Surface Pro 3 is a business class device with a price to match especially at the top end and it certainly isn't the kind of device that most anyone would deploy on a large scale in secondary schools. I love the thing but I've never personally recommended a Surface device and I wouldn't even the SP3 except under the most special of circumstances. 2014 though as seen perhaps the best year ever in Windows devices from the top to the bottom of the price scale.