Sunday, April 28, 2013

Maine picks laptops – but not Apples

An exclusive contract comes to an end as the governor and state education officials go with Hewlett-Packard.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine-picks-school-laptop-contract-winner-.html

By Beth Quimby bquimby@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer 

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Education has chosen Hewlett-Packard as its preferred contractor to purchase tens of thousands of laptops for middle school students, even though the company was not the cheapest option or the top choice in terms of quality by a multistate committee appointed to study the matter.

The decision, announced Saturday by the office of Gov. Paul LePage and the Department of Education, also ends the state's long-standing exclusive contract with Apple, which has provided the state with equipment since Maine's school laptop program began in 2002.

The naming of a preferred contractor was weeks overdue, and anxiously awaited by school district officials, who said the delay was interfering with their budgeting process for the 2013-14 academic year. A decision was initially expected by late February or March. The governor's office had to approve the contract before it could be awarded.

At $254 per device, the HP ProBook 4440, running Windows 8 software, will be made available to schools this fall through the Maine Learning Technology Initiative. Previously, Maine contracted with Apple, which uses a different operating platform, and students currently use MacBook laptops.

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Posted by arundelmaine@roadrunner.com at 4/28/2013 06:08:00 PM

1 comment:

  1. arundelmaine@roadrunner.comMonday, April 29, 2013 at 5:59:00 PM EDT

    Why did Maine choose PC's over Apple??? New Software to learn and manage, New Hardware to maintain...

    Today's headlines...

    Is the PC dead?

    (CNN) -- There's a devastating narrative being told about the PC these days: It's dying.

    It's not a slow death either. Sales of traditional PCs are collapsing faster than anyone expected.

    And this isn't just some vague perception from the anti-Microsoft crowd. This is backed up with real data, most notably in the latest IDC report released this month that says PC sales are down 14% year over year.

    The entire market appears to be imploding, and it doesn't just apply to PCs running Windows. Even Apple's Mac computer sales are basically flat year over year, yet its iPad business continues to grow.

    So what's going on here? Why aren't people buying regular laptops and desktops anymore?

    (CNN) -- There's a devastating narrative being told about the PC these days: It's dying.

    It's not a slow death either. Sales of traditional PCs are collapsing faster than anyone expected.

    And this isn't just some vague perception from the anti-Microsoft crowd. This is backed up with real data, most notably in the latest IDC report released this month that says PC sales are down 14% year over year.

    The entire market appears to be imploding, and it doesn't just apply to PCs running Windows. Even Apple's Mac computer sales are basically flat year over year, yet its iPad business continues to grow.

    http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/tech/gaming-gadgets/are-pcs-dead/index.html?hpt=hp_t5

    ReplyDelete

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