I never heard about this Duke giveaway, but I find it incredible. For those in the dark as I was, Duke gave every incoming freshman a $300 iPod. The welcome gift came nicely engraved with the school's crest and the words "Class of 2008." (irony here is by 2008 it will be an outdated dinosour) Why did they do it you ask - so students could record lectures and play language training recordings. Apparently, it did not matter if you already had an iPod - you just got a second one. This freebee came to a modest (for Duke) $500,000. Now, someone tell me how loud the cries might be about greedy for profits if they offered an iPod to every incoming freshman – strictly to enhance learning opportunities, of course. I mean, at least do the laptop thing, it is much more believable. There is no such thing as a not for profit university. Every school seeks market share, healthy positive cash flow, and significant reserves. Schools like Michigan, Florida, and Nebraska pay dividends to shareholders, just in a different form.
Agreed that schools should be providing notebook computers through volume discounts with a number of vendors to help the students, whether on-campus or distance learning. With the price of notebooks at record lows from a price-performance perspective and with the lighter notebook designs available it is doable. I am not sure whether a notebook computer or a true tablet computer (not those quasi-tablets) would be the better way to go.
