Follow Up--Apple & Education

On the price issue, numerous readers reminded us that Apple's CFO Fred Anderson has stated that Apple is not in the commodity market, meaning that Apple will not compete on price alone. Apple intends to compete on value, which includes design, performance, quality and technological innovation for an exceptionally reasonable price. Still, our view is that Apple's current sales may be benefiting significantly from its former dominant education position. If lower pricing means a much larger market share in education, that should be seen as a long term investment that will eventually pay off very well.

Several additional suggestions from readers include:

Ghosting software, i.e. pre-loading third-party software and network settings on the hard drives of large purchases [Tim Holt]

Obtain discounts for and work on increased availability of administrative software [Jim Polaski and Steve Wicinski]

Educating administrators, teachers and school boards on creative financing [Jim Polaski]

Finally several readers added concern for IT professionals being biased by free vacations labeled as educational seminars, etc., that are doled out by PC companies.