An iPad in every pot, says Anna Bligh
Queensland election campaign jumps the shark
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Queensland’s apparently-outgoing premier Anna Bligh has launched an IT auction to replace the law-and-order auctions more familiar to voters in Australian state elections.
Ms Bligh, whose Labor government is trailing the Liberal-National Party in pre-election polling, promised yesterday that if her government is re-elected, it will run a trial program equipping Year 7 students with the Apple fondleslabs.
The $AU5.7 million program will deliver 5,000 iPads to students in twenty schools that are part of the government’s “Flying Start” program. Funded via the Queensland Education Trust, the program will use 32GB WiFi iPads.
The decision to provide yet another government subsidy to Apple is justified on the basis that “76 per cent of tablet sales” in Australia last year went to the company. Ms Bligh also mentioned in her media statement that 11 million Australians will own tablets by 2016 – more than one per household, which makes The Register wonder why a handout is even necessary.
The apparent premium over the iPad 32GB’s retail price – between $AU600 and $AU700at the moment – is explained by the extras required for school deployments, including secure storage, AppleCare and device management.
Cupertino has spent much of February responding to accusations that its chief assembly-line contractor, Foxconn, runs Nike-like sweatshops, agreeing to send inspectors into the Chinese factories. Foxconn took its own backwards step in the sweatshop scandal, last week announcing that its workers would receive pay rises between 16 ad 25 percent. ®
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COMMENTS
Re: Fricking Politicians
That's hardly fair. At the moment ALL Labor electorates are marginal.
Agree with the rest of your post though.
Fricking Politicians
There is plenty of evidence (not to mention plain old common sense) that shows that not only do computers and other tech toys NOT have a positive influence on learning outcomes but that they actually have a negative influence because they are a fricking distraction!
If Bligh thinks that having a classroom full of kids updating their Facebook status and playing Angry Birds is a good thing then she should come right out and say it.
No, this is just more pork barrelling of the kind that Labor is so well practised at.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the twenty schools in the “Flying Start” program are all located in marginal or Labor electorates.
All suppliers gouge the government
Richard, I am not sure why you think the iPad initative is any worse for gouging the goverment purse than the Lenovo deal for Netbooks with the Fed's was. All suppliers do this. At least they can be sure that the iPad apps are secure adn the student privacy is protected unless of course they use google services...
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