I was just in Beijing for a month in July and my China Mobile SIM cost about 30 RMB (about $5 USD). I loaded it with 100 RMB initially (about $16 USD) which essentially lasted my entire month. Minutes are ridiculously cheap. Contrary to what people are saying here, data plans are actually fairly expensive with 1GB costing around $10 USD... I opted out of a data plan while I was there because it really was exorbitantly priced.

Unfortunately damming a river carries with it huge environment drawbacks to the surrounding area such as the destruction of wildlife habitat and the damage to fish runs. I like the idea of hydropower, I just don't like how it's been implemented in many cases. A reduction in CO2 emissions at the expense of the local ecology should never be an easy choice. It may be justifiable in some cases, but isn't something to be taken lightly.

Going back to school for the first time in 10 years on the 3rd, I just bought a small netbook specifically for classroom use. I don't expect to get a lot of use out of it for my math classes since it's rather difficult to jot down free-form math formulas and quickly draw angles and such, but I do expect to get a lot of use out of it for my writing class. Honestly I think it really depends on the class. I can think of a ton of legitimate uses of my computer in most classes such as recording the class lecture; however I can see how it could be horribly distracting to other students who aren't accustomed to it. I personally think it's up to each individual student to make the best of the classroom experience though regardless of whatever environmental distractions there may be. I know I wasn't ready to go to school 10 years ago which is why I've waited until now; I had a few life lessons I needed to learn first. Frankly I wouldn't be opposed to cutting of internet access while in class though... Of course, this is all just my opinion which is subject to change if I find it doesn't suite me after I've actually started school...

Going back to school for the first time in ten years, I just purchased a small little netbook specifically for classroom use. I don't know how effective it will be in my math classes since drawing graphs and jotting down formulas is impossible to do quickly with a keyboard and mouse, but I expect to get a lot of use out of it for my writing classes. I also hope to record class lectures to it if the professors are ok with it. I think it really depends on the class and the subject matter. I can think of a ton of responsible ways to use my laptop while in most classes, but I can also see how horribly distracting even legitimate use could be to someone who's not accustomed to it. The article definitely raises some valid concerns, but ultimately, I think it's up to the student to take responsibility for their own learning. Environmental factors can certainly be an influence in how easy it is to learn in a given environment, but it really is up to the student to make the best of it regardless of what else may be going on around them. I wouldn't be against cutting off internet access while in class though... Of course, that is my current opinion, which is subject to change if I find that it just doesn't work for me...