HP has announced the availability of a new line of AMD quad-core processor-based workstations. Starting at $579, the affordable HP xw4550 workstations were announced as part of the company’s efforts to promote its technology in schools. HP says: “The xw4550 workstations can run the high-performance applications pertinent to learning advanced subjects such as digital forensics, […]
HP says: “The xw4550 workstations can run the high-performance applications pertinent to learning advanced subjects such as digital forensics, mechanical computer aided design and video production.
With the HP xw4550, networked learning centers, personal labs and libraries can be equipped with more workstations at a lower cost and provide faculty with easy access to centralized information. In addition, the HP xw4550 workstation is secure, safe, durable and student-proof, with desktop controls and icons that can be locked down. The workstations offer quick initial installation and software upgrades and lower energy usage for additional cost savings.”
As part of its efforts to facilitate the adoption and integration of technology in schools, HP today announced computing products, education solutions and 2008 HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Award winners at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC).
During a media breakfast at the event, education customers and HP executives discussed the following news:
* Volume deployment of HP Mini-Note Computer
* New workstation and mobile calculating offerings
* Web 2.0 and planning tools for technology assimilation
* 2008 HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Award winners
“HP strives to help educators, administrators and students benefit from a 21st century learning environment,” said Brian Becker, director of education, HP.
Volume deployment of HP Mini-Note Computer
To help schools offer inexpensive computers to each student, HP worked with educators to design a full-function Mini-Note PC priced starting under $500.(1) Weighing slightly more than 2.5 pounds, the HP Mini-Note Personal computer is smaller and lighter than many math or science books.
Fresno (Calif.) United School District is deploying more than 7,000 HP Mini-Note Personal computers to its K-12 students. “The HP Mini-Note is a powerful laptop that’s small enough to fit on students’ desks along with their textbooks and papers, allowing them access to the World wide web and educational content from around the world without leaving their seats,” said Kurt Madden, chief technology officer, Fresno United School District.
New workstation and mobile calculating offerings
HP also announced the availability of a new AMD quad-core processor-based workstation that offers the power of a workstation for the price of a PC. Starting at $599,(1) the inexpensive HP xw4550 workstation can run the high-performance applications pertinent to learning advanced subjects such as digital forensics, mechanical computer aided design and video production.
With the HP xw4550, networked learning centers, personal labs and libraries can be equipped with more workstations at a lower cost and provide faculty with simple access to centralized information. In addition, the HP xw4550 workstation is secure, safe, durable and student-proof, with desktop controls and icons that can be locked down. The workstations offer quick initial installation and software upgrades and lower energy usage for additional cost savings.
HP Mobile Calculating Lab (MCL) solutions bring classroom math and science experiments to life. First announced in Europe and now ready for pre-order in the United Says, the solutions enable students to superior connect mathematical formulas to each day physical phenomena by easily collecting and analyzing real-world data in real time.
Targeted for middle and high school math and science students, HP MCL solutions are composed of an HP 39gs or 40gs Graphing Calculator, the HP StreamSmart 400, a variety of Fourier scientific sensors and probes, as well as calculator presentation software and classroom instruction materials.
Feature highlights of the low-cost, high-performance MCL solutions include:
* Fast data collection – up to 5,700 samples per second;
* Interactive, real-time data capture – students can pan, zoom in and capture datasets as they happen; and
* Data isolation – export selected data to HP 39/40gs Graphing Calculators for analysis.
Web 2.0 and planning tools for technology assimilation
The HP Professional Development Program was designed to help instructors and administrators bridge the gap between student achievement and technology by training instructors to effectively integrate technology into their classroom curriculum.
HP is partnering with Knowledge Network Solutions and Atomic Learning to deliver four key services that contribute to making technology in the classroom easier to use and understand:
1. Planning and finance – facilitating an instructional technology plan to ensure a successful deployment;
2. Support – helping schools find supplemental funding with grants and writing proposals;
3. Professional development – instructing instructors and administrators in the integration of technology and new techniques into their existing curriculum; and
4. Online professional development – web-based software training for more than 100 software applications that students and educators use each day.
The Instructor Experience Exchange, available at www.hp.com/go/TeacherExperience, is a joint HP and Microsoft project that provides educators with resources at no charge to enhance teaching and learning through the use of technology in the classroom. The exchange is an online Web 2.0 community created by instructors to encourage educators not only to search for content, but to organically contribute and rate others’ content.
The exchange already boasts more than 2,000 members and approximately 700 teacher advisors who provided feedback and guidance on the website’s functionality and content. As the site continues to grow, so will its content and features.
As members of Teacher Experience Exchange, educators can do the following:
* Share, find and rank classroom content and lesson plans;
* Create online profiles and virtually network with other educators;
* Create and join community discussion forums and message boards to exchange ideas with peers; and
* Take on the web courses and browse tutorials, resources and other content 24/7.
“With six free Microsoft applications and many other tools provided on the Instructor Experience Exchange website, teachers will be superior prepared to implement the technology students need as preparation for entering a global workforce,” said Anthony Salcito, general manager of education, Microsoft.
2008 HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Award winners
As part of the HP Technology for Teaching program, HP announced the 15 K-12 schools and 10 higher education institutions that’ll be receiving 2008 HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Awards. The Leadership Awards are additional, higher value grants awarded to previous HP Technology for Teaching grant recipients whose projects demonstrate success in their first year of implementation.
Recipients were selected for reinvestment based on their success integrating HP technology into their classroom curriculum, demonstrating positive results on student achievement and developing innovative plans to expand their programs to have a broader impact on student success. The Leadership Awards are allowed to further each school or institution’s use of technology to enhance teaching and improve learning.
In addition to HP products, Leadership Award recipients of the K-12 program receive professional development and a mentor from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, www.iste.org) to help teachers learn how to best integrate HP technology into their teaching practice. The K-12 Leadership Awards, valued at $91,000 each, encourage integration of technology into lesson plans and support student accomplishment. Higher education recipients receive an award of cash and HP products valued at $131,000 to expand their course redesign efforts.
Since 2004, HP has contributed nearly $60 million in HP Technology for Teaching allows to more than 1,000 schools in 41 countries worldwide. During the past 20 years, HP has contributed more than $1 billion in cash and equipment to schools, universities, community organizations and other nonprofit organizations around the world.
More information on HP education products, services and grant making is available at www.hp.com/go/k12 (K-12 education), www.hp.com/go/hied (higher education) and www.hp.com/go/hpteach (HP Technology for Teaching allow program).
CDs and DVDs tend not to last long in my house… but since I just fling them in a pile in the cupboard, that’s entirely my fault. The Sanwa CD-RE1AT might be just the ticket, though: it works on 8cm or 12cm CDs, DVDs and BDs. With a push of a button it removes dust, fingerprints and “oily spots” from discs, and with the “repair” button it solves skipping problems and coats the discs with a protective layer, without grinding. Available now for $79. If only it found missing CD case inserts too, it’d be perfect. [Akihabaranews]
We’ve seen a couple Xbox 360 controller mods that supposedly make it more first-person shooter friendly by shoving 
The large day has now passed for California drivers and cellphones are effectively banned on the road. At least not without a hands-free device…which Californians will inevitably forget to charge or lose. 
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