President Obama Mentions Apple-Backed School Broadband Initiative During State of the Union Address

[MacRumors]

During his yearly State of the Union address, President Barack Obama mentioned that the Federal Communications Commission, along with tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Sprint and Verizon, would be providing the framework needed to connect over 15,000 schools and 20 million students to high-speed Internet over the next two years.

The move is a part of the ConnectED initiative that the President announced back in June, which pledged to connect 99% of students to next-generation, high-speed broadband within five years, at speeds no less than 100 Mbps and with a target of 1Gbps.

Last year, I also pledged to connect 99 percent of our students to high-speed broadband over the next four years. Tonight I can announce that with the support of the FCC and companies like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon, we've got a down payment to start connecting more than 15,000 schools and 20 million students over the next two years, without adding a dime to the deficit.

Apple also provided a statement to The Loop about its role in the ConnectED initiative:

"We are proud to join President Obama in this historic initiative to transform America's schools," Apple said in a statement provided to The Loop. "Apple has a long history in education, and we have pledged to contribute MacBooks, iPads, software and our expertise to support the ConnectED project. We look forward to announcing more details with the White House soon."

An accompanying fact sheet to the State of the Union address [PDF link] also stated that the President will announce "new philanthropic partnerships" with the tech companies mentioned throughout the coming weeks. Apple was also mentioned during last year's State of the Union, with the President lauding the company's move to again build Macs in America.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: President Obama Mentions Apple-Backed School Broadband Initiative During State of the Union Address

 

[Lucky736]

Interesting but I doubt they are just giving them away. There must be something on the backend. Perhaps a tax incentive to bring some of that $$$ back?

 

[emulator]

But fails to mention the backdoor to iCould?

 

[Negritude]

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."
---Dom Hélder Câmara

We should have an education system that is properly funded because of a democratic will to take care of every child, rather than having to applaud the bread and circuses distraction of charity and philanthropy.

If the system were working correctly, we wouldn't need welfare, or any other kind of after the fact handout.

Educate people, feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their heads, give them meaningful work to do, and then your fears of crime and war disappear.

 

[MH01]

Does anyone actually bother to read these statements?

Just read the PDF.

As awesome as the heading sounds...... THIS IS NOT AN APPLE BACKED initiative, they are a supporting player is this. Its a government initiative, led by FCC with support of like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Does anyone actually bother to read these statements?

Just read the PDF.

As awesome as the heading sounds...... THIS IS NOT AN APPLE BACKED initiative, they are a supporting player is this. Its a government initiative, led by FCC with support of like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon.

Yes it is an Apple backed initiative.

If you do some research and have a memory you'll recall Steve and McGraw-Hill first introducing ConnectED when he was still alive and the iPad 1 was out.

http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/login.do

The White House extended it from the Digital Textbooks joint initiative to what he announced last night.

Were you absent when this was announced?

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mcgraw-hill-k-12-connected/id544549986?mt=8

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/06/what-connected

 

[Winni]

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."
---Dom Hélder Câmara

We should have an education system that is properly funded because of a democratic will to take care of every child, rather than having to applaud the bread and circuses distraction of charity and philanthropy.

If the system were working correctly, we wouldn't need welfare, or any other kind of after the fact handout.

Educate people, feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their heads, give them meaningful work to do, and then your fears of crime and war disappear.

Seriously, this is the most intelligent comment that I have read on Macrumors in months.

 

[CplBadboy]

No one is safe

Just another link in the chain to the NSA and GCHQ spying on the population. The tyrant Obama is on the war path what with using drones to spy on his own populace (without a lawful warrant I may add) and now spying and logging the details of school kids. Welcome to 1984 people! Its happening! And like sheeple the majority will accept it!

 

[MH01]

Yes it is an Apple backed initiative.

If you do some research and have a memory you'll recall Steve and McGraw-Hill first introducing ConnectED when he was still alive and the iPad 1 was out.

http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/login.do

The White House extended it from the Digital Textbooks joint initiative to what he announced last night.

Were you absent when this was announced?

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mcgraw-hill-k-12-connected/id544549986?mt=8

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/06/what-connected

I just read the facts provided in this post. I really have no interest to do research into this. The facts provided in the post state that its the FCC running it with the support of a number of large companies.

Also, your links do nothing to prove this is an Apple backed initiative.

Feel free to add an actual links that shows that it is Apple that is backing and therefore leading ConnectED.

If there is more info on this, please feel free to provide it. Though an official statement please.

 

[osofast240sx]

But fails to mention the backdoor to iCould?

Why is this important

 

[Ingot]

Seriously, this is the most intelligent comment that I have read on Macrumors in months.

Yes it is a pretty story. But fiction will not help the reality of the situation.

----------

Just another link in the chain to the NSA and GCHQ spying on the population. The tyrant Obama is on the war path what with using drones to spy on his own populace (without a lawful warrant I may add) and now spying and logging the details of school kids. Welcome to 1984 people! Its happening! And like sheeple the majority will accept it!

You live in Montana, don't you...

 

[Lesser Evets]

... would be providing the framework needed to connect over 15,000 schools and 20 million students to high-speed Internet over the next two years.

Porn.

Cross country sexting.

And a plethora of distractions keeping most kids out of the loop.

I remember something similar back when the iBook was created. It hasn't helped our schools develop better students or academicians. We're slinking down on the world stage, but shoveling money into kitsch-tech which is seen as a magical-pill solution for our ills.

Good for Apple and other tech companies. Good for the big-gov. machine. Bad for 99% of the students and the taxpayers below the salt.

 

[flottenheimer]

...We should have an education system that is properly funded because of a democratic will to take care of every child, rather than having to applaud the bread and circuses distraction of charity and philanthropy.

If the system were working correctly, we wouldn't need welfare, or any other kind of after the fact handout.

Educate people, feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their heads, give them meaningful work to do, and then your fears of crime and war disappear.

I know this is controversial to tell most Americans, but to 'make the system work correctly':
Pay. Higher. Taxes.

I live in Denmark. Feel free to drop by — I'll be glad to show you what is awesome about high taxes, and what is not — The 5 countries with the highest taxes

 

[IbisDoc]

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."
---Dom Hélder Câmara

We should have an education system that is properly funded because of a democratic will to take care of every child, rather than having to applaud the bread and circuses distraction of charity and philanthropy.

If the system were working correctly, we wouldn't need welfare, or any other kind of after the fact handout.

Educate people, feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their heads, give them meaningful work to do, and then your fears of crime and war disappear.

Did you forget to include the part where the educated, well-fed folks increasingly use drone attacks that kill innocent children, and then solicit cooperation from tech companies to make them look like innocent educators that will make "war disappear"?

 

[longofest]

Educate people, feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their heads, give them meaningful work to do, and then your fears of crime and war disappear.

Why is it the government's responsibility to do most of this? I agree that education is a purpose of government, however last time I checked I work to feed myself, I work to buy my clothes, I work to pay the mortgage, and I got my job on my own - I didn't need the government to "give me a meaningful [job] to do".

It is not the government's job to do these things. It is an individual's job to do these things. It is in a government's best interest to provide a temporary lifeline for those that fall on bad times, and to make sure that the capitalistic system cannot be taken advantage of by those in power (read: i'm in favor of advancing minimum wage so that those who do work hard can at least afford the above), but in the end, it is an individual's responsibility to provide the means by which they are to survive unless they do not have the physical or mental capacity to do so.

 

[samcraig]

The article has Apple's quote. It says they are contributing. That doesn't mean they are donating. As in - giving their macs for free. Perhaps they are. Perhaps they are giving discounting heavily for this initiative. From the quote alone, you can't tell.

 

[ZZ Bottom]

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."
---Dom Hélder Câmara

We should have an education system that is properly funded because of a democratic will to take care of every child, rather than having to applaud the bread and circuses distraction of charity and philanthropy.

If the system were working correctly, we wouldn't need welfare, or any other kind of after the fact handout.

Educate people, feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their heads, give them meaningful work to do, and then your fears of crime and war disappear.

I like the sound of that, except that you can't legislate people to ignore their nature of greed and envy. The ability to work hard and reap the rewards (not always monetary) is what drives progress. Your utopian world can never work because not every job in society is equal. In who's eyes will it ever be fair to reward a janitor the same as a brain surgeon? Not everyone is intrinsically motivated.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Interesting but I doubt they are just giving them away. There must be something on the backend. Perhaps a tax incentive to bring some of that $$$ back?

No, the "backend" is that they get to expose a lot of impressionable students to the entire Apple experience in the hopes to capture their "hearts and minds" so that when they become adults they choose and recommend Apple products. They also get a bigger foot in the edu door when it comes time for schools to have to pony up for equipment.

Also whatever goods and services they donate are, of course, tax deductible.



----------

The article has Apple's quote. It says they are contributing. That doesn't mean they are donating. As in - giving their macs for free. Perhaps they are. Perhaps they are giving discounting heavily for this initiative. From the quote alone, you can't tell.

Contributing is a synonym for donating. I don't think it was doublespeak.

 

[samcraig]

I like the sound of that, except that you can't legislate people to ignore their nature of greed and envy. The ability to work hard and reap the rewards (not always monetary) is what drives progress. Your utopian world can never work because not every job in society is equal. In who's eyes will it ever be fair to reward a janitor the same as a brain surgeon? Not everyone is intrinsically motivated.

A couple of thoughts. Just random

Personally I would never want to be a janitor. Or a garbage man. But I have amazing respect for them for exactly that reason. They do a critical job which I would never ever want to do. That makes them valuable. As valuable as someone who can save or extend a human life? Perhaps not. But still very valuable.

Another random thought is that we have a lot of programs in place (in the US) which almost ensures people are "lazy" instead of being productive. I might get flamed for this - but if you're on unemployment or welfare - you should be earning that money instead of it being a "handout." Whether that's being educated in a new trade or being given a temp job (helping in libraries, construction, cleaning up parks, etc - any government funded arena). Unless you are sincerely not able to. Most people WANT to work and gain confidence and pride by earning their money intrinsically. But if the system prefers to just "give" the money out - that's not doing anyone any favors really.

 

[zync]

I like the sound of that, except that you can't legislate people to ignore their nature of greed and envy. The ability to work hard and reap the rewards (not always monetary) is what drives progress. Your utopian world can never work because not every job in society is equal. In who's eyes will it ever be fair to reward a janitor the same as a brain surgeon? Not everyone is intrinsically motivated.

You can't legislate economic equality either, unless you want to delve into communism. And I'll give you a hint, it's way worse.

But why does every job have to be equal? That's the point of capitalism. It's not that the rich capitalize on the poor. The rich need the poor to help them make money. And in a free market that helps everyone. Greed is essential to the success of everyone, not just the greedy. Complain about giant corporations and their greed all you want, but Wal Mart feeds more people than most each day.

Jealousy and greed are both fine emotions to have. If you're jealous about people who make more money than you, it should be motivation to work harder. Most people didn't get rich by sitting around and being lucky. And if you're greedy, you probably employ a lot of people. There's nothing wrong with either of them. Capitalism, more than any other system, uses human nature to its advantage.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Another random thought is that we have a lot of programs in place (in the US) which almost ensures people are "lazy" instead of being productive. I might get flamed for this - but if you're on unemployment or welfare - you should be earning that money instead of it being a "handout." Whether that's being educated in a new trade or being given a temp job (helping in libraries, construction, cleaning up parks, etc - any government funded arena). Unless you are sincerely not able to. Most people WANT to work and gain confidence and pride by earning their money intrinsically. But if the system prefers to just "give" the money out - that's not doing anyone any favors really.

I was going to be upset until your last statement, which is very true. Most people, even the people on welfare, want to work and want to live on more than what welfare provides them; which is the bare minimum.

Just incase this thread devolves into a racist flame-throwing conflagration about welfare I'll post this link:

HERE

All in all, I am glad that tech companies are starting to realize that "changing the world" and building tech that "benefits" the world is meaningless if no one can afford it, get their hands on it, and actually use it.

 

[2457282]

I like the idea of provided schools access to resources that can further education. Clearly school libraries are not usually funded to maintain a ton of books and research resources. Therefore providing internet access and equipment like iPads and iMacs makes sense. I also like the idea of the community and industry helping out instead of always look to Washington to solve everything.

Having said all that I like, I must also state that safeguards will be required to prevent abuse by industry or government. We do not need NSA spying on our children. We do not need google building habit profiles of our children to target them with specific ads.

 

[WildCowboy]

Does anyone actually bother to read these statements?

Just read the PDF.

As awesome as the heading sounds...... THIS IS NOT AN APPLE BACKED initiative, they are a supporting player is this. Its a government initiative, led by FCC with support of like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon.

I think you misunderstand the meaning of the term "back". It means "support", not "lead".

It's clear Apple is backing this initiative, and has already played a major role in it.

 

[samcraig]

Contributing is a synonym for donating. I don't think it was doublespeak.

You don't think. You don't know though. And it's not a 1:1 synonym.

You can contribute to a program by making your services or products affordable or at an extreme low cost. That doesn't mean you are donating.

We simply don't know.

 

[MacDawg]

Educate people, feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their heads, give them meaningful work to do, and then your fears of crime and war disappear.

Who is going to pay for all of this?
Hmmmmm... I see what you did there