For most districts, the dream of arming their students and fellow educators with laptops--perhaps reaching the vaunted status of being a one-to-one school--holds a powerful appeal. Yet whether a district is making that push to get laptops into the hands of each student or simply considering upgrades to mobile carts, districts are facing no…

In April 2006, Apple released a beta version of Boot Camp, a free software product that enables the installation of Windows XP (Home Edition or Professional with Service Pack 2) on an Intel-based Mac. (A beta version is not the final version, but it is ready for end users to try and test.) Essentially, Boot Camp splits your Mac into two hard…

A switch to free open source software can minimize cost and allow funding to be diverted to equipment and other programs. For instance, the OpenOffice suite is an alternative to expensive basic application programs offered by major vendors. Many such programs on the market offer features seldom used in education but for which educators must pay.…