Can't live without an iPhone?

[Particle Man]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346876,00.asp

Want to be the next Bob Woodward? Maybe there will be an app for that.

Aspiring journalism majors at the University of Missouri are being required to purchase either an iPhone or an iPod touch, which will be used to deliver freshman orientation information and other course materials. It will be considered a minimum requirement for course work, the school said.

Students will be able to download course material from the iTunes University, a free aspect of the iTunes store. TigerTech, the school's technology store, estimates that 90 percent of Missouri students already have iPods; the announcement comes just a week after Amazon launched the Kindle DX, with support from universities.

Interesting requirement... wonder if they're in bed with Apple so to speak...

[Homeslice]

estimates that 90 percent of Missouri students already have iPods

what a crock..........music players in total maybe.

[RACER X]

^ agreed

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346876,00.asp



Interesting requirement... wonder if they're in bed with Apple so to speak...

I don't know if that is the best idea. Some schools do require laptops and have for 10+ years, but at least you can actually do school type things with one. An iPhone or a Touch have serious limitations. Add in that a basic laptop can be purchased for not much more than either the iPhone or the Touch and it doesn't make much sense.

If they were really in bed with Apple though students would be required to get a Macbook starting at $1,300.

[Corey]

Interesting idea, but I think the device is too limited in size and battery life to be useful in that little setup. I Amazon is missing the boat by not making similar agreements with colleges. They could dramatically increase the sales and popularity of the Kindle if they could strike up agreements with colleges to have the Kindle a requirement. If there's anything that the Kindle would be perfect for, it'd be college books, though colleges probably won't do it because the bookstore is the biggest money stealing scam they've got going.

[njchopper87]

Originally Posted by Corey

though colleges probably won't do it because the bookstore is the biggest money stealing scam they've got going.

Isn't that the truth.. I just put some books up for sale on Amazon the other day and I realized I was paying 3-10 times the cost at the book store for a majority of the books I had. No joke.

[Homeslice]

Not to mention all the books that get a "new edition" every 2 yrs or so. With very few actual changes, of course.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Corey

Interesting idea, but I think the device is too limited in size and battery life to be useful in that little setup. I Amazon is missing the boat by not making similar agreements with colleges. They could dramatically increase the sales and popularity of the Kindle if they could strike up agreements with colleges to have the Kindle a requirement. If there's anything that the Kindle would be perfect for, it'd be college books, though colleges probably won't do it because the bookstore is the biggest money stealing scam they've got going.

No way electronic copies will get out. The publishers would probably love it since their printing and paper costs would disappear and they could still charge enough to make the same profit. Schools, on the other hand, would hate it. The bookstores could still make similar money on the initial sale, but the repeated buying back for 15% of new and reselling for 70% of new would no longer be available. If students figured out a way around copyright protections it would be all over for bookstores and publishers. Colleges and Universities love talking about how green they are, but that just refers to currency they collect.

[njchopper87]

Originally Posted by goof2

No way electronic copies will get out. The publishers would probably love it since their printing and paper costs would disappear and they could still charge enough to make the same profit. Schools, on the other hand, would hate it. The bookstores could still make similar money on the initial sale, but the repeated buying back for 15% of new and reselling for 70% of new would no longer be available. If students figured out a way around copyright protections it would be all over for bookstores and publishers. Colleges and Universities love talking about how green they are, but that just refers to currency they collect.

There's some website you can buy parts of a book and print out the pages. Someone did that in my biology class last year, and the cost was far less than the entire book. I forgot the site, but that's pretty damn close to getting around copyright protection.

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Not to mention all the books that get a "new edition" every 2 yrs or so. With very few actual changes, of course.

That's what the they did to my biology book. They just switched around a couple chapters and were able to clear it as a new book.. I didn't pay for a new one, but it's still bullshit.

[Homeslice]

I don't know how it's done in today's Facebook era, but when I was in school people would post ads on the campus bulletin boards saying they had a book for sale, and even though it was 1 or 2 editions old, it was still basically the same thing as the new version, so people would buy it and be OK. Some professors were dicks about it though, so you had to sort of hide the old book or not bring it into class with you.