The Changing Face Of Campus Tech

SeaDour writes "CNET News has an interesting perspective on the changing face of technology on campus. These days, students are showing more interest in the tech perks that campuses have to offer, and universities are taking notice. Duke University, for example, just gave away free iPods to each of their 1,650 incoming freshman. Penn State offers subsidized access to Napster 2.0 for all students, and many other schools are now considering similar programs with Rhapsody and Cdigix. Perhaps the best offering is wireless internet access, which 90% of campuses now offer in some form. Are we seeing the day when college students make their school of choice not based solely on academics or athletics, but also on tech freebies like these?"

Deeply obvious

[Anonymous Coward]

Are we seeing the day when college students make their school of choice not based solely on academics or athletics, but also on tech freebies like these?

Academics? Athletics? Who the heck are you kidding? The choice of school hinges mainly on 1) chicks, 2) bars and 3) frequency of parties. It would be surprising if a free iPod didn't have a deciding effect on 95% of the applicants.

And yet...

[Nos.]

The guys who use all this still can't get a date.

Hmm...

[PedanticSpellingTrol]

Dear University of South Carolina - Columbia:
I know you just blew 100k on a completely useless GPS tracking system for your shuttle buses that don't leave campus. Next year, could you please consider supplying Nikon D70 packages to your returning sophomores?

Duke University gave away free iPods...

[SynKKnyS]

Unfortunately, each one of the students had to try AOL and refer 5 of their friends first.

Ok, that was a bad one. :)

Free as in Beer!

[Anonymous Coward]

I picked my university & dorm because their policy on alchohol.

• 50% of a party budget could be alcoholic beverages, so long as the rest was spent on Equally Atractive Non Alcoholic Beverages
• Equally Atractive Non Alcoholic Beverages was loosely tranlated to Equally Atractive Non Alcoholic Substances (some of which could be smoked or licked)
• The univ. had a hands off policy regarding underage drinking in the dorm saying that it was a police matter not a school matter so they wouldn't police it.

It's freebies like that that are far more important than an ipod. And I drank way more free beer than all the downloads I ever downloaded from itunes are worth.

Re:Welcome to a decade ago

[EinarH]

This is a necessary evolution for american universities, it's nice to see that they know how to create the next generation of academics.
It's just beyond me how they could have accomplished that without Ipods, Napster 2.0 and some quality music like the hits from Will Smith.

My Perk

[LighthouseJ]

I chose my school not for it's scholastic qualities, I chose it because of all the fabled women that are there. It's a general college, nothing special except the fact it's near a beach and hot girls tend to want to go to the beach. Being less than 30 minutes from Virginia Beach and all the girls that come with it are all the perks I need.

girls > geek perks
(begin the "You're new here, aren't you" remarks)

Re:Hmm...

[mod_parent_down]

100k? That's like 5 students.

Seriously, I wonder if that's ever the currency denomination referred to by internal budgeting people. The Ooss (pronounced ooze, meaning "out-of-state students").

As in, "Hey jim, I'm headin down to admishins, how muched those I-Paweds cost?"

"Bout 75 ooze."

"Whoo-ey!"

Re:Wireless Access

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would a public institution not be able to get away with it? I don't believe there is an amendment in the constitution about "Congress shall not create a law abridging the right to use laptops in class".

Re:Not exactly a freebie, but..

[Gannoc]

I decided to go to RPI because RPI requires that all students have relatively new laptops, and my family would have to no choice but buy me one. Boy do I wish that RPI's laptop program had never come around...


Ah, another RPI victim. After 3 years, your laptop is pretty crappy, and you still haven't gotten laid. Enjoy the weather!

(I graduated well before the laptop bullshit)

Re:Welcome to a decade ago

[LGagnon]

I'm assuming this was a joke that the moderators didn't get. Interesting? Try Funny. Listening to "Willenium" obviously isn't going to improve universities.

Fun summer

[yack0]

So at the school I work at, we just spent the last three weeks of the summer lighting up 12000 gigabit ports. It's never been faster to copy every single episode of the simpsons across the network. :)

A busy as hell summer, but we're being poised to light up things like VoiP, TVoIP and ubiquitous wifi.

damnit!

[DeusExMalex]

someone remind me why i'm going to a small, cheap-ass liberal arts school, again? something about useful education?

I wish I had it so good!

[jeephistorian]

My sister was given a brand new Thinkpad for choosing her school. All I got was a license plate!

ObSimRef

[magefile]

Hibbert: [chuckles] Your playing days are over, my friend. But, you can always fall back on your degree in ... [reads chart] communications!? Oh, dear Lord!
Lubchenko: I know! Is phony major. Lubchenko learn nothing. Nothing! [cries]

Oh, and guess where the full-ride scholarships go? Yup, football. Which is part of why one of my favorite schools is my favorite - no football team :)