I would like Mr. Wood to please point me to those PC laptops which come even remotely close to having the features of the new iBooks at that price.

What PC has the same speed as the new iBook and only costs $1199?
What PC has the hard drive and memory size of the new iBook and only costs $1199?
What PC weighs less than 5lbs and only costs $1199?

Please point me the way because I can't find anything even remotely close!

I don't know what Mr. Wood was expecting. Maybe Mr. Wood was expecting Apple to roll out the new G4's and price them at $699!! That would be quite a bargain, wouldn't it, Mr. Wood. The guy sounds like a bitter old moron.

My school still has some Mac LC's and they run fine. Sure the system software is outdated but they still run accelerated reader just fine and they still run bolo which my 5th graders love to play just fine.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bill knew most key shortcuts of Mac OS. He's been studying this OS for many years.

That's funny and certainly true.
FYI, Bill and Steve are friends.

Unfortunately, this clown MAYBE right, given how radically the move towards widozzzz has been moving towards Dells this last year at our school district. Try as she may, our Apple Rep can't even get in the door to be seen no matter how good the deals she proffers are. It sickens me! Still, this clown is an idiot for suggesting that the new iBook isn't revolutionary on its face and PRICE POINTS. Christ, Apple can't give them away and nothing on the market currently touches this lttle beauty in features and price. The Districts IT people, like most Educators, demand JOB SECURITY over that of anything else; never mind well reasoned purchases that would cost less in the long run. With Windozzz, they've got JOB SECURITY in SPADES, because it's nothing but a headaches without a bevy of FULL TIME support people babying their precious little platform woes. The many Macs we still do have in place are left inoperable by miscreant, UNSUPERVISED children sticking gum and food in the CD trays and any thing else the little monsters can conceive and do get away with unscathed. That's fine with administration and certificated staff. The tax payer will always be there to get soaked for new computers or anything the little vandals wrought upon the tax payers of it's hard earned purchases. It's time to think different... It's time for school vouchers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

not. acquaintances that talk to one another upon occasion? certainly

The Richmond Virginia sale is reported authoritatively as 23,000 iBooks w/ AirPort cards & hubs for $18,500. Who knows, maybe it includes the little carts also: http://www.timesdispatch.com/MGBD08KF8MC.html.

A lot of school administrators will be doing the math on that one, as Apple no doubt intends. Cheryl Verdoe's people will probably help them.

I went to Dell's site for education sales and the cheapest Dell system I could find was $840.

That's a Celeron 600MHz (128k cache), 64MB RAM, 10GB Hard Drive, 4MB Video, 15" Dell Monitor, 24x CD-ROM, NO SOUND CARD (add $30), NO SPEAKERS (add $10 internal), 10/100 Ethernet, NO MODEM (add $50).

For a 17" Monitor (as per your article for a PC System), I'd have to add $90+ dollars depending on the visible area.

An iMac at the Apple Store for education is $799.

That's a 400MHz G3 (512K L2 cache), 64MB RAM, 10GB Hard Drive, 8MB RAGE 128 Pro, 15" built-in monitor, 24x CD-ROM, Sound w/speakers, 10/100 Ethernet, 56K internal modem... plus Two USB ports and Two FireWire ports.

You claimed:

"Or do we go with a feature-laden PC with a 17" screen for around the same price?"

So far in my own comparisons, I don't see a "feature-laden" system "for around the same price".

The iMac has more built in for less.

Better graphics... more graphic memory... built in sound... built in speaker... and a built-in modem... not to mention the Firewire ports.

Dell is presumably the system price to beat... I'm sure you wouldn't suggest a school district buy "put 'em together yourself" clones.

So I don't understand how the thrust of your article really stacks up since I can't find a feature laden PC for around the same price.

I think Steve Wood is a good example of the things that are wrong with the Educational System in the US. He spent the entire article complaining ... if teachers like Woods spent less time complaining and more time on constructive projects.. the world would be a much better place and the students in our school systems would receive a higher quality education.

Whaaaa... Cry me a river. That was the most unfact based article I've read this week. And I've read alot of BS like Microsoft's "open source is evil" rant. He must have been personal firends with steve to know him so well. And be "personally" let down by him. The total cost of ownership FAR outweights the cost of the machine. IF he's soooo concerened with $200 price difference he sites continually let him maintain and upgrade all thoes "Feature laded PC" for $599.

Pop-Quiz Hot Shot. Show me any PC vendor that can give me a very fast computer with the following for $599 or even $799 (Education Price). Price does include software.

The following features are

USB, Firwire, 100 BaseT Eithernet, 56k Modem, Premium Sound Input and output, Speakers, dual front mounted headphone jacks, ATI 128 Ultra 8MB Video RAM. 128 MB RAM, CD-RW CDROM Drive. iMovie, iTunes (must encode MP3's at any level), AppleWorks 6.0, Netscape AND IE., quicken 2001, Fax Software, 3 good kids video games (from panagea), 15" Monitor, VGA OUT of video Mirroring, Wireless networking (airport) build in. Can hold 512 MB for RAM.

Build me a PC with ALL that for $799 And have it work together all the time the first time. And then promise me you won't make me rent my software in 2 years. (.NET). Then we can talk. But you can't you you know it.

In most of Steve Wood's article, I could find only two things to object to:

1) that the new systems are stuck with AppleTalk networking. He's not paying attention

2) that schools will pay the "education" price. That price is for school-affiliated individuals. It falls disproportionately on small departments that can only afford one or two machines, but I am under the impression that individual *students* qualify for this price, even though the cost of selling to them is way higher than schools buying in volume.

If Apple prices way more aggressively on volume orders from schools, including modest orders as small as 10 units, then the purchasing agent need not see the picture that Steve Wood paints. In addition to the lower cost of ownership of a Mac, a Mac's working lifetime has also been longer than a PC's, making arrangements like a 4-year lease more plausible for a Mac than for a PC.

23,000 iBooks at $18,400,000 is just $800/iBook. This is moving in the right direction. Of course, this is the cost "over the first two years" according to the article; the total cost of ownership analysis was not in the article I saw, but it's surely being used by someone as a sales tool.

While $800 for an iBook might require huge volume, even modest volume should see a reduction from the "educational list price". Hopefully it will be enough.

Hang on, I'm writing 500 words on why the PowerBook G4 is just too damn wide. I'm sure it'll be published within the hour.

-Kevin Miller, 22-year-old idiot consumer