Apple and Maine Education Department Extend iBook Contract Four More Years

Maine's Department of Education and Apple Computer have reached agreement on a contract that extends the historic Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) with Apple iBooks for four more years according to a Maine press release. The agreement places a new Apple 1.33GHz 12" iBook G4 in the hands of every seventh and eighth grader and their teachers in the State of Maine, about 36,000 in total. The final contract terms were not revealed as yet but it is said to cost less than the $37 million contract for the first four years. Also included is updating the AirPort wireless systems in all middle schools, training and four year warranties.

Here are the details:

Professional Development:

• Summer 2006 training for teachers, principals and tech coordinators and ongoing professional development.

Per Seat Cost:

• $289

Device Description:

• Apple iBook 12.1”, 1.33 Ghz G4, 1GB RAM, 40 GB HD, 802.11b/g, 10/100 ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, slot-load CDRW-DVD ROM (24x CD-R, 16x CDRW, 8x DVD-ROM, 24x CD-ROM), 4.9 lbs

Applications:

• Pages, Appleworks, Mail, Dictionary & Thesaurus, Grapher, Keynote, iWeb, iMovie HD, iPhoto, iDVD, GarageBand, iTunes, Safari, iChatAV, iCal, Preview http://www.apple.com/software/
• NoteTaker http://www.aquaminds.com
• NeoOffice http://www.neooffice.org/
• Pasco DataStudio http://www.pasco.com/datastudio/
• GRASS GIS http://grass.itc.it/
• GIMP http://www.gimp.org/
• World Book Encyclopedia http://mackiev.com/world_book.html
• Journler http://journler.phildow.net/
• Anti-virus software

Communication

• Mac OS X Server hosted POP accounts for all users, private messaging accounts inside StudyWiz hosted environment for all users

Collaboration

• Hosted StudyWiz environment, http://www.studywiz.com/

Software Updating

• Apple Remote Desktop, 2 admin licenses per school

Software Restore

• MLTI Firewire Restore method. 1 drive per 30 student devices deployed.

Operating System

• Mac OS 10.4.x, Apple Maintenance Program, includes all Operating System revisions for the term of the contract.

Wireless Network

• Apple will expand network coverage as necessary to meet requirements (see Section 3.4.2 of the RFP). Will upgrade all switches and access points (Airport Extreme, 802.11g). If necessary, Apple will use PoE.

Support

• Extended warranty coverage for the term of the contract.
• Spare devices allocated to each school.
• Apple will provide 1-800 Help Desk services.

Backups

• Users have off-site storage using backup solution software, 100MB per student, 500 MB per teacher

Four years ago, Macs Only! broke the story on Apple winning the historic MLTI iBook contract with Maine that was subsequently announced by Apple. [Dana Baggett]