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‘Carelessness’ leads to Rockport high school’s $56,000 laptop repair bill

By Heather Steeves, BDN Staff

Posted Oct. 23, 2011, at 1:32 p.m.
Last modified Oct. 23, 2011, at 2 p.m.

ROCKPORT, Maine — Camden Hills Regional High School spent $56,000 on laptop computer repairs last year, a cost officials are calling astronomically high.

A bill that large could jeopardize the entire laptop program at the school, Camden Hills officials said.

The school is one of 69 statewide that participate in a Maine Learning Technology Initiative program, under the Maine Department of Education, that makes laptops available to high school students.

Camden Hills spends about $150,000 to lease 778 laptop computers each year from the state.The school this year exceeded that budget by more than one-third for repairs. And the $56,000 tab doesn’t include the repairs covered by Apple’s warranty or paid for by students for intentional damage.

“I shivered when I wrote that check. I don’t want to write another one,” said William Shuttleworth, superintendent of the school district.

Compared with other high schools, Camden Hills’ costs are astronomical. Nearby Rockland has a high school of about 520 students, about 100 fewer than Camden Hills, and it paid $5,500 for repairs last year.

Machias Memorial High School spends about $5,000 on repairs for its 140 laptops — that’s about $30 per laptop in repairs compared with Camden Hill’s cost of about $70 per computer.

Among the reasons for the Rockport school’s high bill is carelessness. The IT manager at the school said it’s not uncommon to see students holding one of the white Macbooks balanced on the palm of their hands like a waiter carrying a tray. Sometimes computers get knocked off tables or desks. Sometimes students set them on the floor and other students accidentally step on them.

“We’ve been hammering the message of $56,000. We can’t pay that again. It jeopardizes the program in 2014. We can’t afford it,” said Tom Heath of the school’s technology department.

To pinpoint exactly why the computers keep getting broken, Shuttleworth said he sat down with a group of about 30 seniors this month and asked them, why did this happen?

The first answer he got from the group was carelessness.

“I bet you don’t take your iPhone for granted,” Shuttleworth said in response.

“We didn’t pay for these [laptops],” the student replied.

Other students said there were no consequences for accidentally breaking a computer, that they would just get a new one.

There is some consequence for breaking one of the leased Macbooks. If the damage is intentional, the student must pay. But a student who pays a $50 fee for a laptop at the beginning of the year can cause any accidental damage to the computer and the school will pay for repairs, no matter the cost.

The $50 fee isn’t insurance; it’s more like a one-time damage pass offered by Camden Hills.

“So what would you do differently if you were the boss?” Shuttleworth asked the group of seniors.

One student said the school should periodically check on the computers to see if they are in need of repairs. Another said students shouldn’t get replacement computers.

“If you lose a book, you pay for it and get a new one or you don’t graduate. Maybe that’s what should happen,” one teen said.

The trouble for Camden is that these laptops have become essential, according to Shuttleworth. Without them, teachers can’t go on with their regular lesson plans and assign computer-based homework.

From May to September, the school sent 128 of its 778 computers to be fixed — some with multiple problems — for a total cost of $56,285, according to the documents given to the school board.

According to a report given to the school board this month, the repairs broke down this way:

• 120 broken hinges or casings at $105 each

• 81 broken screens at $322 each

• 37 broken chargers at $79 each

• 16 broken logic boards at $816 each

• Five broken hard drives at $314 each

According to Jeff Mao, who supervises the state program, Camden Hills’ bill is just about the highest bill he has seen. He had seen only one like it before, at Massabesic High School in Waterboro.

Calls made to Massabesic High School were not returned.

“Other schools have issues, but not of this scale,” Mao said. “We said ‘holy moley’ when we saw that number. It’s an outlier in the state. This isn’t happening elsewhere.”

The Department of Education is watching Camden Hills to see how it deals with the problem, according to Mao.

Camden Hills leases its computers from the state, which has a pool of 1,200 laptops ready to be deployed as replacements. To replace a computer would cost the high school about $425. That means it’s cheaper to replace a computer than to repair a logic board — and Camden Hills had 16 broken logic boards.

“They could ask for a replacement and it would cost less,” Mao said. “It’s a local decision.”

According to Heath, the school didn’t know the replacements were so cheap.

“No one gave us that option,” Heath said.

According to Mao, each school is made aware of that option in the online policy manual for the program.

“It’s not a secret,” Mao said.

To get a replacement computer, the school just has to request one from the state. When the state last contracted with Apple to buy 72,000 computers, Apple agreed to give 1 percent more, or an additional 720 computers, to the state. With those extras, the state created a “buffer pool.” That pool grew to 1,200 after some schools returned computers when their enrollments dropped.

Each school may have 1 percent of its damaged computers replaced for free each year. For Camden Hills Regional High School, that works out to about seven free replacements a year.

After that, school districts can buy extra computers from the state.

Unlike the state program that provides free computers to middle schoolers, the high school program is optional. About 55 percent of Maine high schools chose to participate in the program.

Other schools deal with technology in other ways.

It didn’t make much financial sense for Bangor High School, the second-largest high school in the state with 1,400 students, to participate in the state program because of the per-student charges, according to Scott Morrill, the school district’s technology director. Instead, the school has about five computer labs with 15 computers each. Its library has about 50 computers. Each classroom has a few computers and laptops for student use. In total, the school owns about 200 computers — a computer for every seven students.

The school opens the library an hour early and keeps it open two hours after school for students. This model, Morrill argues, will prepare Bangor’s students for a college atmosphere. Colleges usually don’t hand out laptops, but they do offer resources. Also like a college, Bangor uses online programs — namely Google Apps — to assign homework. Students can use any computer with Internet access to work on and turn in their assignments.

One obvious option for Camden Hills Regional High School would be to limit the computer use at the school and outside of school. The high school lets students take the laptops home to do homework. But regimenting the computer use isn’t the way Shuttleworth wants to go. That isn’t the purpose of the program, he said. Students use the laptops like a textbook and teachers assign computer-based homework because they know the students have access.

“It’s essential to student learning. Because a textbook is missing a couple of pages isn’t a good enough reason to not give out textbooks,” Shuttleworth said.

According to the Mao, Shuttleworth’s instincts are good. Limiting students’ access to computers doesn’t help with damage bills, he said.

“Sometimes you see that with a program like this, in order to protect damage they’ll limit when students can take computers home or limit what they can do with them. They think they’re reducing the damage potential, but the less useful the tool becomes the more students become careless because it’s no longer essential,” Mao said.

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Anonymous

It’s obvious to me that these kids don’t give a darn whether the lap tops get broken or not. If they had spent their own money on them, money they had earned, they might care. It’s a shame to see a program that was meant to help the students, treated like this.
Anonymous

Gotta love Macs “Five broken hard drives at $314 each.”
Anonymous

Here’s an idea: Stop buying macs. You can buy 2 brand new laptops with better specifications for the cost of repairing (replacing) one Apple motherboard.
Anonymous

you break it..you pay for it…keep it simple…no pay..no play
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

314$ for a hard drive? The MLTI laptops are using regular laptop hard drives.

A 500GB SATA Laptop Drive is 62$ on Amazon. In the White Macbooks it takes about 5 minutes to replace one. In the Macbook Pros it takes 30 minutes or so. Hard drives are a consumable, especially in something that gets moved around a lot.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BY6ECNSOHWOJ5YYSWWBF3ODCXI thale138

how bout they have a class to fix the laptops in the school. It’d be cheaper, and the kids might actually learn something useful instead of using a laptop like its a textbook. They could start making the kids pay for stupid careless “accidents” like they would in the real world, and it might even teach them some responsibility, I guess if they charge the parents the parents might have to teach the kids that also.
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

322$ for a screen is a bit whacked too. The screens are usually readily available in the lower part of the 100$ price range. Labor is in the ball park of 0.5 to 1 hour.

You can always eBay for casings and hinges. If 105$ is for the full lower (including top case), that’s actually not that bad. I think I paid 59$ for a full top case/keyboard/trackpad from China recently.
Anonymous

solid state drives would have been a better suited for student laptops.
Anonymous

Where are the parents of these students? Why doesn’t it matter to them that their kids are treating these laptops like crap? I am amazed at the attitude the kids have about it, and that they are clearly NOT being taught personal responsibility at the core — at home. That’s right, mom & dad…. you actually have to teach your children something!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QQUYWQBNAURQUGWCBSP35WC4LA davehill

buy pcs. apples are too expensive and are rarely used in the real world!
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

I’d agree with you in concept, but here’s a few things that would disinterest me in using SSDs.

1> Apple’s 128GB SSD is a 250$ addon (MSRP, education is less), 250GB is 650$ (education is less). Compare this to a 320GB spindle drive (included with the laptop cost, 59$ to replace aftermarket). Though SSDs have come down in cost, it’s still cheaper to use regular hard drives.
2> The laptop only has to last 3 years on the lease.
3> Hard drives have warranties of 3-5 years. All the more reason to buy a non-Apple replacement for less money. If the drive just up and fails (without assistance from kids), Advanced RMA is 2-3 days at the cost of a UPS shipping label (10$) and some labor.
4> My guess is these laptop drives were replaced due to destruction, not due to traditional failure. A SSD would be more expensive to replace if the laptop is stomped, driven over, etc.
5> Macs just now received TRIM support for SSDs. TRIM support doesn’t work on non-Apple SSDs (see #1 about the cost of Apple SSDs).
Anonymous

Technology is expensive. For that many laptops, that’s actually not that crazy of a number.
Anonymous

This sounds fine and well until you try and put it into practice. You need a reliable source for parts and on demand. Also the screen can be one of the most expensive parts, have been for a while. It also takes personel to manage and execute the orders and to perform the work.
Anonymous

The hardware swap out is easy. Then you need to reload the software, and depending on the policy of the school, try to restore documents. This is time consuming and adds cost.
Anonymous

I remember when teachers actually had to read hand-written papers and grade them. My step son told me that his teacher has a policy to fail any student who doesn’t e-mail their homework to the teacher. I asked him why not just write it out by hand and thats when he told me of this policy. I am really beginning to think that teachers are getting lazier and lazier.

Another thing I can’t understand is why the school departments are wasting so much money on Macs. Every place I’ve worked at that has computers uses a Windows system. I think that getting the students used to working on Macs is setting them up for problems when they graduate and look for work.
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

They’re leasing these laptops for ~580$ across 3 years, (~193$ a year per laptop) and everything is covered under warranty except for accidental/intentional damage. After that, schools sometimes sell them to the public for low cost, or they roll them into another school in the district not part of the MLTI program.

I’d say they’re quite inexpensive.
Anonymous

Agreed. Never did like wrotten Apples. You know thats why there’s is only one bite taken out of the apple logo. It wasn’t good enough to finish.
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

The Tech Coord has recovery/reload discs for the MLTI program in-house and should be doing this, not the repair place. It’s a matter of putting the disc in and coming back in a while.

As for recovering documents, I assure you no-one is sending drives out for recovery and most of the drives are catastrophic failure (click of doom, spindle won’t rotate, etc.). However, many schools (including those I have worked in) have servers or pen-drives for student created work.

If the drive isn’t completely defective, Macs store user created work in the home folder. If you can still access the drive, you can do this in-house using the built in “Target Disk Mode” without the OS even booting and a Firewire cable. Again, the Tech Coord should be doing this, not the repair place.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZYORTDWPJES2P2GGE7NE6FQS5Q alex

Sounds to me like no one was paying atention as this evolved. It didn’t all occur in one day or week or even month. More taxpayer dollars for an unappreciative recipient. Sounds like the welfare folks doesn’t it? Subsidized anything deprives pride of ownership and stewarship of articles earned. Let them go back to the basic “R’s” like we all did and we adapted to new tehnology and have thrived, if you wanted to. Who was in charge and monitoring this fiasco?
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

These displays aren’t unique and there are plenty of places to get them in this country. Many of the eBay vendors for displays are actual companies that schools could get a PO and purchase from.

The schools I have had the pleasure of working in have had Tech Coords that were capable of learning/doing these things in-house. Displays aren’t difficult to swap, especially if you have the Service Manual for the unit.

A logic board swap is a whole other ballgame (since it basically involves gutting the unit), but displays, top case, display back, display bezel, hard drives are trivial to replace.
Anonymous

Don’t quite understand why correcting a paper on line is lazier than correcting a paper copy?
Spammy McSpam

They are the standard in audio/video production as well as graphic design and other creative jobs.
Spammy McSpam

Are you serious? SSDs are still uber expensive.

Modern hard drives have safety mechanisms where the needle is lifted from the head when it senses a drop, making it much more safe and reliable.
Spammy McSpam

Mac hard drives are the same hard drives in PCs mate. At least know what you’re talking about before you comment.

Of course, $314 is ridiculous and the program should be stoppped.
Anonymous

My goodness! My $420 laptop from WalMart works wonderfully! I’ve had it for six years and it hasn’t broken once!
Anonymous

This is exactly what we predicted. Can you imagine what the repair bills for ipads for kindergartners will be in another Maine district? I think they should have a limited amount of coverage, like fifty dollars, and then no more. Tough luck.
clamcove

As he said, the real world
Anonymous

Take them away until the High School students stop acting like 5 year olds.
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

Insisting the parents pay 30-40$ per year per student would cover the cost of Accidental Damage Protection on an iPad up through driving over it or throwing it in a pool.

Unfortunately the school textbooks are starting to come out for the iPads and Laptops. It’s going to really make ‘no pay = no iPad’ a difficult proposition.
Anonymous

That is not right. Not everyone can afford home computers and not every family can afford the fees to get a take home laptop from school. If homework must be completed at school, its not really “homework” is it?
Anonymous

They should only be used in school under supervision. Just turning them lose to teenagers is ridicules. When its not their money, they don’t care ,including the parents and apparently the faculty also. 56,000 wow what BS.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HOUSLFGTSDB4ZOKMUK5ZPEX47A Antonio Giarratano

Here’s another idea, stop giving expensive items to immature children who probably can’t even take care of things they or their parents take care of. I understand that we all want ourselves to continue to advance along side the technology boom and that more and more of our society is guided by technology, but come on people. That was $56g’s that could have been spent on books, educators, or teaching materials.
Anonymous

I’m quite aware of that just laughing at people paying $314 for a $50 item.
Anonymous

If my taxes were going to support this, I’d be livid.
Anonymous

And if you can’t pay, you don’t get it back. Now that’s a real punishment.
Anonymous

I was thinking the same thing about my $400 Best Buy laptop. I’ve never had a broken hinge, broken screen, broken hard drive, etc. I am a teacher,and I understand the importance of technology in the classroom, but this is getting ridiculous!
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

Out of Warranty costs with HP, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, etc. aren’t very pleasant either. 69-89$ mainboard = 300-400$ with a round trip to them. It’s kind of ridiculous on a 400-600$ computer. In many cases they refuse to sell the parts separately without the repair service.

Aside from Nintendo and Canon, I’ve run into very few companies that are interested in Out of Warranty repair.
Anonymous

And here’s another idea…let the punishment fit the crime. If carelessness is the issue then take the laptop away for a month and make them do their work in the media center where they can be monitored. If they have any interest in getting the laptop back then “carelessness” will not be the reason for the next repair. Second offense…lose it for the remainder of the year (or into the next year for those trying to do damage and beat the system). Third offense…let them buy their own or suffer the consequences by trying to get a passing grade without them. Or…be a hard-nose and let there be only one offense before they have to buy their own. As a taxpayer in this economy – in any economy – I am offended by the unwillingness of administrators to use my money wisely and to waste it on students who don’t care enough to be deserving of such a privilege.
Before I get any slack from someone, please note that I am talking about students who are careless and have the attitude that if they don’t pay for it then they don’t have to take care of it. Time for a life lesson here.
Anonymous

5 year old children are generally more careful.
Edward Spencer

Has the laptop program produce any positive results? Is the investment in the program worthwhile?
Anonymous

Sitting here looking at my laptop hinges. If the kids break the hinges, give ‘em a couple of big elastic bands to hold the top and bottom together!
Anonymous

And one of those laptops had the hard drive fail twice — I know my son was the student who had that particular laptop. I paid the second fix because the “insurance” only covers one. No one can tell me how a harddrive failed twice in the same computer — he never had an issue when he had a loaner while his assigned laptop was being fixed. I personally say nix the program — the kids mostly use them for social networking and not so much for schoolwork anyway.
Anonymous

No — it has resulted in social networking — facebook, skype, etc into the wee hours of the night at households where parents do not monitor. Has resulted in one more area of contention between parents and children, has cost the school district and parents a fortune. Its time to go back to computer labs and hand written rough drafts!
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

It is possible to have two drives fail, it’s unlucky, but it’s possible. However, as long as the drive wasn’t beaten with a hammer, it should’ve been a warranty claim. It’s unfortunate that the school didn’t see things that way.

How the equipment is used really depends on the district and school. Some have supplemental programs to textbooks, others have entire textbooks on them. Some are doing neither and they are being used basically for, as you mentioned, Facebook, Skype, etc.
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

The hinges protect the cables that go from the top assembly to the bottom assembly. The repair when that happens is a fair deal more expensive.
Anonymous

Yea but its still very frail compared to an ssd. I get that they’re expensive but they wouldn’t need that much storage, how much memory could google surfing, facebook and typing some papers need?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

I have to go with JustEvan on this one. Second kids should have to buy there own or at the very least be responsible for them while they have them this alone would make them more aware of there actions. Although the fact that responsibility is no longer taught and in most cases is considered a bad thing Ie nothing is your fault mentality it may not help.
Anonymous

Two things bother me: 1) The school could BUY brand new laptops with warranties every year for that $56K. 2) The “repair bill” should have been pre-negotiated, perhaps with a cap and RFPs, so there should have been no surprise bill.
Anonymous

Wait till they get the bill on virus protection for all those lap tops, should they go to p.c.s instead of macs. And what does P.C. stand for anyway, politically correct? If the kids have Iphones then they are already connected to the internet, so why do they need a laptop?
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

I’d like to think that an accidental damage program could be purchased and simply implemented to cover these, either parents could buy it to avoid out of pocket costs or the schools could.
Anonymous

it actually takes effort to read a hand written paper. You know, to make out the words and such.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GBHAWY2DGMGS5W3VHFYLBPN7AU Jay C

Why aren’t the students held responsible for the laptop’s repair?
Anonymous

My stepson was using his laptop for Skype, Facebook, and other wastes of time. I changed the password to the network and his grades have gone up. He is being forced to use his study halls for school work as he should instead of goofing off.
Anonymous

So now teachers have to parent the students in another way, baby them and make sure they understand that a laptop is a valuable piece of equipment? Parents really need to be more proactive with their children. The lack of respect is ridiculous.
Anonymous

Guess what…
Anonymous

Because that’s how the real world works. Tell your son to hand out a hand written resume and cover letter and see how many interviews he gets.

Also, if the paper being email is a requirement, it’s probably because the school uses an anti-plagiarizing software. The teachers run the documents through a system to check to see if the student has cheated.
Anonymous

They’re allowed to require students to type their homework given the amount of access students have to computers. All students may not have one at home, but they certainly are given class time and study hall time to type things up.
Anonymous

BLAME THE KIDS !.
Okay, that has been done, rise your hand if feel you better for it.

So now, what about the school administration taking their well deserved licks, too ?

““They could ask for a replacement and it would cost less,” Mao said. “It’s a local decision.”
According to Heath, the school didn’t know the replacements were so cheap.” “It’s a local decision.” …. “and ( the options) would cost less,” Mao said ….” Don’t expect the irresponsible to be able to teach responsibility. A professional not knowing how save how many thousand dollars, is not professional enough.His being fired would teach the kids the right lesson as well as many other suggestions, here, but if he is not, what is lesson being taught ? WELL, is it really about responsibility for such a high repair bill …. or are all the usual solutions, from all the usual suspects, really about other things, like with the bill in Question # 1 ? It all goes to certain pattern. OMG ! What could still be wrong with government, Govenah ?
Anonymous

They buy Macs because they’re reliable, have fewer viruses/security risks and in the long run are cheaper. They get massive discounts because the computers are bought in bulk.
Anonymous

Macs don’t need virus protection software as they do not get viruses. Before you start to flame me for this read this review:

http://www.cultofmac.com/68681/sophos-anti-virus-for-mac-review/

I do run anti-virus software on my Mac. Not because I am susceptible but because if I get a virus through an email it will not affect me but I don’t want to pass it onto someone who uses Windows.
http://twitter.com/TheGuardianMH The Guardian

You’ve got to be kidding. Maybe having laptops isn’t such a good idea. Programs and teachers being cut in schools and spending this much for laptop repair?? Sure doesn’t sound right to me.
Goodland

Here’s the problem:

“’We didn’t pay for these [laptops]‘ . . . there were no consequences for accidentally breaking a computer, that they would just get a new one.”
Spammy McSpam

Creative people are the ones who spark economic growth and entrepreneurship in this country — not that you would know of course, your real world probably does not exist outside the forums here.
Anonymous

What fool at the school did not read the cost for replacing a laptop. Also what fool at in the state did not let the fool at the school know about the cost. Not to mention the fools at the school dropping them stepping on them etc.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_57C3XJX5VALK7UV27IFLFVB764 Scott

You can buy them cheaper but that doesn’t make the cost of ownership cheaper.

They buy Macs because they last longer and have lower repair costs.
Anonymous

Spoiled unappreciative Camden rich kids… need I say any more.
Anonymous

Half of this problem is the school’s own fault. The first time a student carries that laptop ANYWHERE not in it’s case – especially with one hand like a waiter as the article says – that laptop should be gone and the access to computer left to after school or at home at parent’s expense. Our district spends a lot of time training the students about acceptable and proper use for damage protection. The slightest infraction means the laptop stays at school, and could even be used only under direct supervision. If the damage happens at home, they lose the home privilege and have to stay after school or provide their own. It only has to happen to a couple kids before they all realize how serious that is. Our district is larger than Camden high school, and has a fraction of the cost in damage.
Laptops will go by the wayside in just a few years anyway. The iPads and/or other tablets and technology that is much cheaper will be implemented. Handhelds like the droids and iPhones even are coming close to doing what they need to be doing for school purposes.
Anonymous

The State will not allow them to repair them themselves if they are still under the warranty period.
Kevin_Of_Bangor

Not all children are bent on destroying things they get for free. My child started the 7th grade this year and they just received their laptops but I know my child will respect it and I know my child will not be careless because some of us do raise our children with good moral values.

I’m sure some children don’t care but I’m also sure a lot of others do.

Edit: I just spoke with my child and the Brewer school issues tech tickets to kids that are caught not handling their laptops properly and if they receive more than two tech tickets they lose their laptops for 10 days.

My child also told me if they break the screen that us parents have to pay for the repair. I will have to check with the school to make sure what my child told me is 100% true though.
Anonymous

Don’t want $56,000 repair bills, don’t buy Macs. The “they don’t get viruses” choir is getting old. They do get viruses, just not as often and the ONLY reason for this is that the scumbags that write viruses want to infect as many people as possible. 10% market share isn’t worth their time. Macs are PCs running a different OS. Under the shiny hood with the appealing Mac logo are the exact same pieces you find in ANY PC. The difference of course being that to get anything fixed without voiding your warranty you’re tethered to Mac support. Deal in PCs, let your IT Dept. handle the repairs, and save some tax dollars.
Anonymous

It’s obvious to me that whoever is repairing the laptops is making a killing! The prices quoted for repair are….well, remember the $600 toilet seats??? $322 for a laptop hardrive is at least $250 too much. To remove and replace a hard drive only takes about 10 minutes. The software is reloaded from an image CD, and voila, it’s fixed.

I suspect they are using Apple to repair the units. Unless that is a part of the contract, they can send the units to anyone for repair. There are many local shops that would die for that kind of contract.

Yes, the students are careless, but if the program requires that only Apple service the machines, you need to re-evaluate the contract in 2014.

All I can say is WOW, what a ripoff! This sounds like a brother in law deal to me. I just found hard drives for these computers online for $69.95, and they are larger than the ones that initially come with the laptop! Replacement screens for this model are available for $99. Chargers can be had for $39.95…..see what I mean?

Someone is making a killing doing the repair!
Anonymous

The repair is at least twice the cost of repairing a Windows laptop. Apple is not known for massively discounting for anyone. Replacing 1% of the total per year doesn’t exactly seem particularly consumer friendly.
Anonymous

hate to tell you, but I work on computers, all types, and Macs do get viruses, especially since they adopted the intel processor found in every Windows machine. Just as painful as a virus is the malware that is out there.

Of course the cult of mac is going to spread baloney, just like the windows people do.
Anonymous

yep, and there goes the price advantage…..with the cost of repair and $100 more, you can get a new laptop. I knew there had to be a gimmick. Who would know who repaired it if you use genuine apple parts, which are basically the only ones available.
Anonymous

so you don’t pay state income tax?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jay-Ellingsen/1683146356 Jay Ellingsen

I’ve been a longtime PC user, and this year went to Mac and haven’t looked back. Frankly I got sick and tired of the reliability and usability issues of the PC, not to mention all the malware that needs to be loaded and maintained. Yes the Macs cost more upfront, but they do last a lot longer when treated like a computer ought to be treated.
Anonymous

The kid who stated that they did not pay for them is right. Since the students get them free, they are careless with them. Remember the fines we paid on textbooks. If you ruined a book or ripped out pages, you paid for a new book. Even pencil marks were costly if you were careless. When a student is handed an Apple, then he/she is responsible for any careless damage done to it. Certainly damage done by careless use is obvious. There is no reason why taxpayers are responsible for kids who don’t much care about expensive equipment.
Anonymous

Part of the contract with Apple is free internet access for all homes if need can be demonstrated.
Anonymous

Apples and Macs were the only ”laptop” that met the initial and subsequent RFQ’s issued by the state Dept. of Education, MLTI program. The long list of specifications required many Apple only options. I remarked then to DOE/MLTI officials and self-appointed experts, that the only thing not on the state RFQ for these devises was that it had to have a piece of fruit on the cover…everything else was straight off the Apple specification sheet. These laptops have been expensive. They do offer many great programs for publishing ideas in many formats. They do not, as a general rule, allow middle school teachers to help the students learn to use the standard excel or word formats that most businesses are based in. But boy, can these kids make comic strips for homework!
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

The education sector gets a very significant discount. There is also a discount for employees and students, and a discount for those who work at Apple Stores, etc.
Anonymous

Then add umteen dollars on anti virus….. Then more to update said AV…… And face it… Macs are more user friendly
Anonymous

Send Angus King the bill, this was all his idea!!!
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

There were viruses on Mac when they were PowerPC architecture as well. The architecture has had little to do with it. Linux on Intel shares architecture and certainly doesn’t have the same issues plague it that Windows does.

Of the very few viruses/malware/spyware/etc. that has come out for the Mac since they switched to the Intel architecture, the problems have been solved quickly. For instance, MacDefender, which is defined as ‘the first major malware threat to OS X’, was targeted by a future security update by Apple rather quickly.

To suggest Macs are immune, would be foolish. However, to suggest Macs are on par with Windows in terms of threats would also be foolish. Stand near the counter at an Apple Store and a Best Buy for a day and it is quite obvious what people are bringing their computers in for.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_72S5SOIDWSYG7NHRX6L4MBRP2A Nick

What a joke the whole laptop program is. Better yet what a joke our educational system is. We spend more and more on education and we get less and less in return. I mean come on we can’t even teach our kids how to respect property or appreciate what has been given to them.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_72S5SOIDWSYG7NHRX6L4MBRP2A Nick

What a joke the whole laptop program is. Better yet what a joke our educational system is. We spend more and more on education and get less and less in return. I mean come on, we can’t even teach our kids how to respect property or appreciate something that was given to them.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_72S5SOIDWSYG7NHRX6L4MBRP2A Nick

oops, first timer
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HDSSTP6KUH33HWKMUPQVCLTO3Q David L

Just Apples way of ensuring the next generation is Apple bred. Smart, I guess. But not everyone has deep pockets or drinks the Kool-Aid. Plus, I’m sure the majority of rural Maine kids wouldn’t pass the pretentiousness test required to own an Apple product.
Anonymous

Not ready to leave the sandbox quite yet.
Anonymous

This is so bogus, You can’t teach childern in old buildings, so we knock them down and put up state -of-the-art, steel and glass, over the top buildings, the kids learn better in new, clean schools, then we hand them computers that I can’t afford, but we just give these to the kids, I have an idea, how about a pencil, note book, reading book, math book and a teacher who cares! What more is needed? It is crazy to me that the tax on education is the highes part of my proprty tax, and a lot of it is wasted on things like giving every one a computer!
Anonymous

Walmart sells laptops for under $300.00!!
Just look at the repair cost of the broken computers. The taxpayers took a bath on this one. Whoever made the decision to provide these to the students needs to be handed his or her walking papers.
Anonymous

Am I the only one here that finds it disturbing that if the students do not have their computers the teachers cannot go on with their lesson plan? I am seriously glad that I was one grade ahead of the laptop program in school and missed being turned into a lazy computer person. What ever happened to just handwritting assignments? Now everything has to be typed out in 12 inch font with an inch margin. Come on this is HORRIBLE! think about what people are learning! What happens when the power goes out? We are lost without out electricity that runs our computers and tvs and everything else.
Anonymous

I’m shocked, shocked, that high-school age kids given toys to play with, and having no consequences to damaging them, would abuse and misuse them! Shocked, I say! Especially in a town like Camden/Rockport, where so many of the parents themselves believe in their self-entitlement…even while they scream about government intrusion in their lives, and the taxes they pay…
Anonymous

Not to mention…what percentage of computers in the workplace, and owned by the workplace, are Macs??? 1%? 2%?

How is this preparing them for life in the work force?
Anonymous

How many Apple stores are there in Camden/Rockport anyway???
Anonymous

Which is what, maybe 2% of the entire national workforce?
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

The closest Apple Store (owned by Apple) is in Portland, but there is an Apple Dealer in Rockland as well as they are sold at Best Buy in Augusta.

For warranty repair if you lack a nearby Apple Store, Apple sends you a padded box and overnight Fedex shipping to send the unit to them.
Downeasta

Wow $314 for a hard drive. My sata drive in my pc laptop was only $80. Yup good investment there.
Downeasta

LOL the $300 laptops are not Apple’s, you can thank King for that one.
Downeasta

PC = originally meant personal computer
Anonymous

Macs are very mainstream, the idea they aren’t used in the business world is a myth.
Anonymous

You can get very good a/v protection for free
Anonymous

My daughter can use both equally well because of the program in Maine. She prefers the Mac and as a PC user myself am frequently surprised to find out how often PC users switch to Mac’s after using them.
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

Until a kid with little respect for it bashes it in a thin padded case against a few lockers, door jambs, etc. :)

The issue here is the lack of respect for someone else’s property. I tend to treat other people’s stuff better than my own, but I had different parents than some of these students apparently.
Anonymous

True, and too bad it isn’t easier for the young folks to work, then parents could make them pay for the damage themselves. All goes to accountability, every choice has a price throughout your entire life.
Anonymous

Steve Jobs is laughing all the way to the bank in hell.

He uses forced Chinese labor to make his products.
Anonymous

How about teaching the students a lifelong lesson about accountablity!!! You break it, you get it fixed. If you can’t afford it, then there are lots of jobs to be done in a school. Stay after and do janitorial or tutor. Kills 3 birds with one stone. 1. Student is taught responsibility. 2. Teaches others same. 3. Helps cut costs on the district. That is the problem with kids today, they aren’t taught to be accountable.
Anonymous

Please re-read my comment carefully this time. I am very aware of macs immune system.
Anonymous

I thought that’s what it stood for. So if you have a mac laptop, isn’t that a personal computer? In the beginning wasn’t it I.B.M. vs. Mac? Just a couple of questions as to why things are called what they are called.
Anonymous

Spoiled little brats. I say take the laptops away. My children had them and the only thing they did with them was download music and play games. I ended up taking them away from them because they werent even using them for school. The entire program is a waste of money. Thats what computer labs are for, if they cant print out a report and have to hand write it or cant hang out with friends before school because they have to go to the library to do research too bad. Its about time these kids start being taught some EDUCATION AND RESPONSBILITY.
Anonymous

When the power goes out you run the laptop from its battery. If you make kids rely on handwriting you set them up for failure when they move on to college, trade school and the work force. It’s 2011. But! How about making kids hand write their work for a week when they get caught being irresponsible with their laptop?
Anonymous

My children went to Brewer, I made them pay the 30.00 insurance fee and told them that if anything happened to it and it wasnt covered they would be paying for it. I never had a problem with them breaking anything, BUT the teachers allowed them to listen to music on them during class and play games. I think it is an un needed program.
Anonymous

That was Angus King. Students need firm lessons in how to behave responsibly.
Anonymous

It isnt too bad that they cant work, THEY CAN. Its called chores. Each chore has a privilege and its their choice whether they do the chore to keep or get the privilege. Like the old days where you had to help carry wood inside so the family could stay warm. Its simple if you teach your children that nothing comes for free they will appreciate what they have in life and be responsible.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YE3XFN7AV6MWMPAVMVPYVSEQEY sweetie

I would agree that the laptop initiative is not needed. In my opinion, the money spent on this initiative would have been put to better use had we chosen to install desktop computers in most of the classrooms in Maine.
Anonymous

I bet you don’t take your iPhone for granted,” Shuttleworth said in response.“We didn’t pay for these [laptops],” the student replied.
Anonymous

Great attitude
Anonymous

Macs don’t often get viruses because they are written for the PC. This is because there are more PC’s out there to infect then Macs.
Anonymous

I truly do not believe that the officials who gave their okay on this expenditure really care what the costs are. School districts have always gotten what they want when it comes to budgets and laugh whenever public officials attempt to make a cut of unecessary spending, as I am sure they are laughing now. I know the reality of having to spend on education, but folks, you better get used to the idea that schools are going to have to join us in saving some money.
Anonymous

Voters! Do not blame anyone but yourselves………..your vote is asked for every year. You approved it!
Anonymous

Quite simply, the major reason why Mac computers are viewed (rightfully so) as less susceptible to computer viruses and malware is because there are fewer Macs in use than Windows PC’s.

So it is somewhat of a double-edged sword. When Mac becomes more prevalent and gets a higher market share, the malware will follow, I believe.
Anonymous

Not really. Many, many business applications are written only for Windows client platforms, using Microsoft’s “.Net” technology. We have several examples in our business, where I am the head of the Information Technology Department.

We can’t consider switching our most of our desktops to Macs – too many issues with applications that don’t run under OS/X.
http://www.tohic.com Matthew

I was going to say the same thing, thats an awful expensive harddrive, Granted Mac drives are not as easy to replace as a PC drive but $314 is excessive.

MDIHS offers true laptop insurance for $40 at the beginning of the year, it covers everything but intentional damage.
http://www.tohic.com Matthew

I don’t know about this school, but all AOS School’s in the MDI Area have a laptop meeting each year with students and parents, were consequences and responsibilities are expressly laid out, The students here know exactly what will happen if their laptops get damaged, are abused or misused. I know several students who have lost their laptops for not following the rules. Don’t know why this school doesn’t do the same.
acadiashores

We are at a point where teachers are being let go…yet we keep spending this money on laptops. I would much rather see a program that allowed low-income families buy laptops at a very reasonable price than giving them to kids willy-nilly.
Anonymous

Yahoo! You’re living proof that responsible parents create responsible children. Is there a way we could clone you?
Anonymous

Macs are for people who want to do work on their computer. PC’s are for people who want to work on their computer.
Anonymous

Require the students to purchase an extended warranty, the cost is low and anything not covered should be the student’s and or their families responsibility.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1452684179 Jason Simonds

Uhm… Perhaps part of the problem is the costs for the logic boards and the hard drives… ANY Intel based main board should cost no more than $100-200,plus 2-3 hours of labor to affect a repair. A hard drive for a laptop costs less than $100 and the physical process and reload of the OS shouldn’t be more than a 2 hour job.

My guess is that the $56k represents abusive repair rates.

..and the students could work on being better to them….
Anonymous

haha! That is true.

There are serious advantages to writing and grading digital documents in terms of editability and searchability. I’d be surprised to see an employer or university professor accept handwritten work today. Grading online, teachers also have the opportunity to use software that detects plagiarism with more sensitivity than a human possibly could. I grade university level writing and have been able to do much more attentive and helpful work because the papers are turned in online.
Anonymous

Sounds to be like you are dealing with students that do not care about the computer program, you know what they say easy come easy go. If they had to buy theses computers with they own money, they probably would respect them more. What every happen to holding the students responsibly for they own action. When i was in school if you lost a book you paid for it, what every happen to those days. When i say this i know that it does not apply to every students, because i know that some parents show there kids how to respect things when they are young.
Anonymous

camden hills=rich kids ….everything comes alittle too easy for them
Anonymous

“No child left behind” comes to mind which I like to call “no child shall advance”. Maybe this gives children without previous access to the wasting large volumes of time on the internet the same social outlet and mind numbing experience of their peers. Previously great students remain such, previously poor students remain such but the mass in the middle (5%-95%) lets capture those kids and give them a mediocre existences tied to who might be online at a given moment.
Anonymous

If you think education is expensive, you should try ignorance.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FAFPBUNT45MDVT46IWVGOEDQLQ Thomas

The is more to this than student carelessness…I think someone needs to perform an audit of the schools ID department’s invoices
DonHorchKingofMen

Chargers $79??????You can get them on ebay for
DonHorchKingofMen

Chargers $79??????You can get them on ebay for $9.99,Ive gotten 2 in the past 5 years!!!
DonHorchKingofMen

Really? I mostly see Macs.
DonHorchKingofMen

Well yeah,but Mac people are better looking,dress better,are cooler and smarter.Other than that,you are right,no difference.
DonHorchKingofMen

Ive had a Macbook for 5 trouble free years.Travel with it,take it everywhere.Never had one issue.Of course,I take care of it,cause I will have pay for it myself if I decide to drop kick it,or “step on it”.
Anonymous

I do like the idea someone mentioned about having the students pay for the laptops at the beginning of the year. If the schools were able to offer payment plans or some sort of reduced price for income eligible families that would be fantastic. It would be like renting an instrument for band. Pay monthly payments that go toward the purchase price of the laptop. I know with my son’s trumpet I pay a minimal insurance fee of like $5 a month in case anything happens to it, I can get it repaired. Parents could have the choice of purchasing their child’s laptop outside of school, or through the school program. When parents or students are actually paying for the computers, they are much more likely to be taken care of.
Anonymous

Let’s not put all the Camden Hills students or parents into one basket. I am one of the parents and my children go to school there. My kiddos are neither spoiled or given a free pass to behave poorly.
Anonymous

generalize much?
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

Not so sure I agree. Let’s not forget that the backbone of the Mac OS is FreeBSD Unix, which has been around a very long time. Market share is only part of the puzzle.

As it sits, the malware that did come out (MacDefender) still required the person to actually invite it into their machine (by typing their password and allowing installation). That is a far cry from the various malware that self installs by simply visiting websites on Windows.

One could attribute some of Windows failures to reverse compatibility. If Microsoft abandoned reverse compatibility on the same schedule as Apple has, I believe some of their problems would’ve been avoided. Of course, the experience would’ve suffered too. People aren’t so quick to upgrade if they know their old applications will not work.
Anonymous

If these kids can not take care of these laptops that us taxpayers were forced to buy then take them away. Let the kids use the computers at the library or their home computer. Let them use a paper and pencil and take notes the old fashioned way.

Why should I have to cut, scrimp and save money for my local taxes to cover some childrens irresponsibile behaviors? Once the parents of these kids have to pay for damages their child did to a taxpayer provided laptop computer, I think we’ll see fewer repairs needing to be done and more responsible children.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_V73P56RLRRMAKXCP3PBRQ2SMZQ Brianna

The school should have taught the kids responsibility of these laptops. They aren’t a toy. With proper knowledge this could have been avoided or the bill could have been much less. This shouldn’t have happened if the kids were more responsible. In my opinion the kids should of had to pay for some of the damage.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_V73P56RLRRMAKXCP3PBRQ2SMZQ Brianna

At Orono high school you had to pay 40.00 dollars to cover the insurance fee. But there was a paper that you could have your parents sign if that was too much money, you could also talk to the principal to not have to pay the fee.
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

There are ways to port .NET applications to Mac OS as well as other platforms. One of the benefits of .NET was making things more standardized to allow for easier porting. A company has to actually want their applications on the Mac, though.

The incentive may be there at some point. Autocad has come back to Mac, after leaving a while ago.
Anonymous

Just a few things here. First, I’m not sure what deal Rockport is getting from MLTI, but the numbers given add up to under $800 for a 4-year lease and the advertised price for this round of MLTIs was over $950. I’m guessing that maybe some teacher machines or middle school machines were tossed into that total number and the money for these devices comes out at the State level before the numbers hit the local budget and therefore was not included in the total cost.

Replacement machines have been limited to an allocated percentage in the past and Rockland probably was not aware that they were allowed to request more than their allocation. MLTI Policy Manual – …..”As far as replacements, all participating schools are allocated a certain number of replacements as part of the annual cost of the program. These replacements may be issued to the school to replace a device that is lost/stolen or accidentally damage beyond repair. This is generally at the school’s discretion, but the Department does require that the school sign off with the Department that any damage is the result of an accident (as opposed to gross negligence or vandalism)”. Please bear in mind that the State (our taxes) still paid for these replacements (720 “free” machines still only lowers the per unit cost by less than $10, so the $425 for a replacement still leaves the tax payers holding the bag for over $500).

Normal educational discounts on Apple laptops run about $100 per unit and the lowest price unit is over $1000. Apple does not discount any “new” devices (iPad2, latest laptops, etc.) even for education.

Current MLTI laptops were 2-year old technology (Core 2 Duo) when they were purchased and have since been discontinued (they are in their 3rd year and this is not uncommon with any laptop).

Memory and disk drives are user replaceable for a personally owned machine, but required to go through Applecare for MLTI machines for the duration of the contract.

While most “lease” contracts require only a $1 buyout at the end, the MLTI site says “under $50″, but I had a hard time locating the actual contract information.
Anonymous

I will get crap for this. Creative people spark economic growth and entrepreeurship, but artists are not the do and end all of creative people.
Alykins

“It didn’t make much financial sense for Bangor High School, the
second-largest high school in the state with 1,400 students, to
participate in the state program because of the per-student charges,
according to Scott Morrill, the school district’s technology director.
Instead, the school has about five computer labs with 15 computers each.
Its library has about 50 computers. Each classroom has a few computers
and laptops for student use. In total, the school owns about 200
computers — a computer for every seven students.
The school opens the library an hour early and keeps it open two
hours after school for students. This model, Morrill argues, will
prepare Bangor’s students for a college atmosphere. Colleges usually
don’t hand out laptops, but they do offer resources. Also like a
college, Bangor uses online programs — namely Google Apps — to assign homework. Students can use any computer with Internet access to work on and turn in their assignments.”

dingdingding!!! we have a winner!
Anonymous

Many creative people still use pencil and paper when doing creative work and the artwork is left to flunkies. Heck even most artists do their creation with pencil and paper before putting things into their Macs.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NNIZMC53H2WBMKRCGE4PVE7KCM Paul

Take them away…That is why we have paper and pencils…the over use of technology will not make kids smarter…plus with the cost…if they are going to have programs like these…they should hold the student/parents responsible for repairs…UNLESS it is due to a defect in the computer…that will make them pay a little more attention to the problem.
Anonymous

Not trying to denigriate your input but what “industry” are you in? Artistic, education? I can’t think of any other place that Macs predominate. My information is somewhat out of date.
http://fast-computer-solutions.com/ erikfast

The maintenance contract should have been vetted by the school’s IT administrator. An IT admin with any experience would have known that hard drives and screens will be the most likely casualties of mishandling. Knowing this, the cost of replacing these components could have been examined and renegotiated before the bill became astronomical!
Anonymous

That is unfair, but true in quite a few students.

My son, in Camden’s schools, has had a laptop for all four years of HS and as far as I know only had one issue, and that was caused by someone else.
Anonymous

Ohhhhoooo. How freaking original. I don’t think many people are against education, just question the process.
Anonymous

I’m not. Congratulations on having one of the good apples.
Anonymous

And when the power is out for days? This is fairly common here in Maine.

How does being to write legibly a hinderance in any situation?
Anonymous

How is any of this LePages fault?
Anonymous

No! Parents should have taught the children responsibility. Schools should not have to.
Anonymous

Why hasn’t he stopped government waste, like this and made the kids behave, yet ?
Anonymous

Yes, there are rich kids at Camden Hills, there is a majority of kids that don’t go to their home in the Caymans for winter holidays. There are also quite a few that stay home in the family trailer because both parents have to work.
Anonymous

could it be that thier locked into a warrantee contract that requires them to be replaced with authentic apple parts?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_V73P56RLRRMAKXCP3PBRQ2SMZQ Brianna

Okay sorry, parents should too, but schools should give a presentation on how to be responsible for them too. That way even the kids who aren’t taught that from their parents know how to be responsible.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_V73P56RLRRMAKXCP3PBRQ2SMZQ Brianna

Computers aren’t just used to write notes or papers. They’re used for research and other stuff. They are a very good to have but they need to be used the right way.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_V73P56RLRRMAKXCP3PBRQ2SMZQ Brianna

Not everyone in Camden Hills comes from money, stop stereotyping.
Anonymous

You think maybe the Camden students have a different sense of responsibility and what is ”disposable” than their neighbors 10 mi. to the South (Rockland)?
Anonymous

Kevin, doesn’t your child’s school require parents to sign an agreement of some sort that outlines both the student’s and parent’s responsibility for these expensive tools? I should think you would be well aware already of what is true with regard to the laptops.
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

It’s possible but I have Applecare on my field laptop and they simply ignored my aftermarket parts when I’ve sent the unit in. At the very least, the hard drive in the white Macbooks is VERY easy to get to (3 screws inside the battery cavity) and is considered a consumable.

If the schools are forced into such an arrangement, they need to get some accidental insurance coverage to cover this. It’s very easy to budget when you know the numbers. As the Rockport school found out, it’s difficult to budget with a highly volatile number.
Anonymous

It is true that the cost of repairs at this school is apparently much higher than the norm.

Also, who is minding the store that they would not know that a replacement is available at half the price of a fix? This particular school needs to get their ducks in a row on this issue. But, it’s the computer age and whether us old folks like it or not, computers are necessary for education now. Get the message to those kids that they will take care of the laptops or there will be consequences like detention, suspension or pay for the repairs. And make sure whoever is responsible for sending the laptops out for repairs knows the cheapest way to get them fixed – or replaced. Seems to me the adults involved there need get responsible as much as the kids do.
Anonymous

here’s one thing wrong: kids aren’t taught how to write…
Anonymous

Lack of education allows voters to be awed by computers and to believe the nonsense of a governor who could never pass up a gimmick.

People become educated with the right attitude and the guidance of competent teachers. That’s the sum of it. While computers have their place it’s important to remember that unlike teachers they are merely tools, really no different than pencils and notebooks and $40 million high school complexes.
Anonymous

The families of these kids should at least pay for insurance.
Anonymous

Name one virus. The company name is Sophos. Try actually reading the article before giving a misinformed response.
Anonymous

Except you would be wrong. There were 80+ viruses for System 9 (which was the OS Macs used in the 90′s) and there are NONE for OS X (Mac’s current operating system). Does that mean that there were Macs in use during the 90s then there are today? Hardly.

Mac OS X has been around for 10 years and the next virus written for it will be the first.
Anonymous

The first answer he got from the group was carelessness.“I bet you don’t take your iPhone for granted,” Shuttleworth said in response.“We didn’t pay for these [laptops],” the student replied.

Take them away… they might not be paying for it but their parents will be through taxes and such…
Anonymous

Google is one.
Anonymous

I think for those students, It’s best to put that program to rest….they could care less, not all of them, but a lot….
Downeasta

The original reason Gov. King went with Macs was because the game companies at that time were writing games only for the pc platform. Now games are being written for both platforms so the reasoning of a anti-game machine is moot.
Anonymous

If I treated my laptop carelessly because I wasn’t the one who paid for it, I would be too embarrassed to admit it to anyone! Some of these kids need a big lesson in gratitude!
Anonymous

$56K is lower?
Anonymous

You’re going to see some failures out of X number of machines, but this damage is excessive. Some companies, like Dell, offer “complete care” which covers any and all damage, regardless of the cause. Perhaps the state should look at this option and, if Apple doesn’t offer it, they should switch brands.

Regardless, this blatant disregard for property is disgusting. It’s a shame people don’t show any care or respect for these machines.
Anonymous

sorry, I worked 28 years in Maine Corrections, know all about ignorance, and in some cases how good our education system is, computers or not. All I’m saying is teach these kids how to read and write before you give them a computer.
Kevin_Of_Bangor

Yes, they do require the parent(s) to sign an agreement but I don’t know what it says because I’m divorced and the kid lives with mom.
Kevin_Of_Bangor

The insurance is only 25.00 dollars now but I’m all for them having laptops but I’d prefer them to be Windows based, not Apple.
Anonymous

“We didn’t pay for these [laptops],” the student replied. That says it all. The students do not have any sense of worth either in themselves as being responsible students or of the materials and conveniences provided for them. A good healthy dose of basics from the 1930′s would do them a world of good. Perhaps a lesson in reality would be much better than a TV show.
Anonymous

Just because Kids are being forced to hand write assignments does not set them up for failure in college. Like I stated I was one grade ahead of the laptop program. We handwrote our assignments and when we needed a computer there was always the library, computer lab, or after school. There is no need for kids to have their faces stuck in a computer all freakin day. I have almost completed my bachelors degree and I manage fine not being part of the generation who finds it incomplete if their computer is broken. It is a shame our society has come to this. It really is.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

After talking this over with a few people a local le gave me the perfect solution. The return condition of the laptop will count as a major part of there grade. Any repairs needed will be paid for by the child working at the school during the summer when paid for he gets his/her grade.
Anonymous

NO MORE FREE LAP TOPS! Computer labs work just fine!
Anonymous

Agreed.
Anonymous

Excellent idea. I’m not going to get into the Mac/PC debate, but any school that is only teaching Apple products and not exposing them to PC’s is remiss. These kids should be familiar with both major platforms and how to work between them if they want to maximize their success rate.
Anonymous

that statement made me throw up in my mouth a little bit…..If my kid ever said that…..YIKES!
Anonymous

I did not vote for Angus King 8(
http://twitter.com/drdroo Droo

Many of these schools, including those I’ve worked in, have plenty of Windows machines. Some of the schools only have the Mac Laptops and the rest are Windows. Some have repurposed older computers and installed Linux, just to get them on the web for student research.

In all seriousness, Microsoft Office is the same on both, Photoshop is basically the same on both, the web is the same on both, etc. It is good for students to be involved in as many tools as possible, but the user experience for either platform is quite well blurred with the common applications used in business.
Anonymous

If they do get viruses (and I mean viruses not trojans or malware) then please provide the name of one. Most Mac users do not use anti-virus software because they do not need it. Over the last couple of years Mac usage has grown exponentially so, according to your reasoning, there should be at least one virus by now. So where is it?
Anonymous

Before we get another BS comment about Macs marketshare being the reason why there are no viruses for the Mac, please read the articles at these links:

http://gigaom.com/apple/antivirus-software-on-your-mac-yes-or-no/
http://semiaccurate.com/2011/05/24/the-mac-os-x-virus-that-wasnt/
http://philiped.blogspot.com/2010/01/why-are-there-no-mac-viruses.html

And finally here is a link compiled over the years about how this is going to be the “year of the virus” for Macs:

http://daringfireball.net/2011/05/wolf
Anonymous

You’re right. Sorry for the comment though it should be redirected to others.
Anonymous

As I stated, it doesn’t happen as often, but it’s not impossible. Google “mac viruses.” http://www.wholly-mac.com/mac-virus.html

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