Tablets for the RTB's

Colleges and Universities A-Z Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs
1

<p>This news regarding computers for the class of 2010 was disseminated through ‘appointee net’. I Googled the news article and sure enough, the information is authentic. Should give you techies plenty to discuss.</p>

<p>GTSI Wins Multi-Million Dollar Air Force Academy PC Tablet Contract </p>

<p>Specially Packaged Gateway M280G Tablet PC Will Be Offered for the First</p>

<pre><code> Time to 2010 Cadet Class

CHANTILLY, Va., May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – GTSI Corp. (Nasdaq:
</code></pre>

<p>GTSI), a leading information technology solutions provider to the</p>

<p>government, today announced that it has been awarded the U.S. Air Force</p>

<p>Academy Class of 2010 Cadet Purchase Buy. GTSI, along with Gateway, Inc.</p>

<p>(NYSE: <em>GTW</em>
(<a href=“Stock Market | FinancialContent Business Page”>Stock Market | FinancialContent Business Page</a>) ), will be providing the cadets with a Gateway M280G
Tablet PC.</p>

<p>The Tablet PC and accessories will be specially packaged and priced for the</p>

<p>students.</p>

<pre><code>"We applaud the Air Force Academy’s decision to become the first
</code></pre>

<p>military academy to offer tablet PCs to its cadets," said Scott</p>

<p>Friedlander, GTSI Executive Vice President. "We are delighted to support</p>

<p>the Academy and to be teamed with Gateway who offers such a feature-rich</p>

<p>product. The tablet PC has many possibilities for improving the educational</p>

<p>experience of the cadets in the future. With the Air Force Academy leading</p>

<p>the way, the tablet PC could become an important tool for all institutions</p>

<p>of higher learning."</p>

<pre><code>"We’re excited to support the United States Air Force Academy with the
</code></pre>

<p>provision of one of our most feature-rich and performance-oriented notebook</p>

<p>PCs for educational institutions," said Vin Riera, Gateway vice president</p>

<p>of government sales. "Combining the benefits of a standard notebook with</p>

<p>the advantages of pen computing, the Gateway M280 is ideal for the academic</p>

<p>environment, where it is tangibly enhancing teaching techniques and</p>

<p>increasing student engagement and learning. The flexible option of being</p>

<p>able to handwrite text and draw diagrams saves time, paper and costs for</p>

<p>students who want to use it for note-taking. It is also ideal for educators</p>

<p>who can comment directly on student’s work without having to print a page."</p>

<pre><code>"We are excited to be introducing tablet computing to our new cadets
</code></pre>

<p>this fall," said Larry W. Bryant, Director of Academic Computing at the</p>

<p>United States Air Force Academy. "Tablet computers offer all the advantages</p>

<p>of notebook computers in the classroom, but the tablet’s ability to capture</p>

<p>handwriting, formulas, and drawings make it even more valuable. It still</p>

<p>allows the students the mobility and freedom to work almost anywhere, and</p>

<p>the addition of special math and science software designed specifically for</p>

<p>tablets extend the concepts instructors can teach and the way students</p>

<p>learn. We look forward to pioneering tablets with both our students and the</p>

<p>faculty."</p>

<pre><code>GTSI estimates that the Air Force Academy will order between 1200 to
</code></pre>

<p>1400 tablets and accessories. Accessories include an external hard drive,</p>

<p>external keyboard, 128 MB memory stick, Ethernet cable, power strip, and</p>

<p>carrying case.</p>

<pre><code>About GTSI Corp.

GTSI Corp. is the leading information technology product and solutions
</code></pre>

<p>provider, combining best of breed products and services to produce</p>

<p>solutions that meet government’s evolving needs. For more than two decades,</p>

<p>GTSI has focused exclusively on Federal, State, and Local government</p>

<p>customers worldwide, offering a broad range of products and services, an</p>

<p>extensive contract portfolio, flexible financing options, global</p>

<p>integration and worldwide distribution. GTSI’s practices incorporate</p>

<p>certified experts and deliver exceptional solutions to support government’s</p>

<p>critical transformation efforts. Additionally, GTSI focuses on systems</p>

<p>integrators on behalf of government programs. GTSI is headquartered in</p>

<p>Northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. Further information about</p>

<p>the Company is available at <em><a href=“UNICOM Global :: Home”>UNICOM Global :: Home</a></em>
(<a href=“UNICOM Global :: Home”>UNICOM Global :: Home</a>) .</p>

2

<p>I was hoping for this! Ah my prayers are answered by gateway!</p>

3

<p>hahaha, thats sick....</p>

4

<p>Where did you find the info and what is this "appointee net" you speak of?</p>

5

<p>I speak of truths seldom grasped by those outside the fraternity of USAFA fathers. Do you know the secret handshake?</p>

6

<p>............</p>

<p>What are you talking about, lol?</p>

7

<p>Answered correctly, you have. </p>

<p>Here's what we received from the Northern California Parent's club. Because our son is an appointee, we're privvy to 'appointee net' rather than 'famnet', but it's essentially the same concept. I'll now paste...</p>

<p>Family E-Mail Network – FAMNET</p>

<p>Several years ago a group of concerned parents started an e-mail network for the support of parents of cadets and appointees called the Family Net or “FAMNET.” This network is composed of parents of Cadets at the Air Force Academy and Cadet Candidates at the Prep School, members of Cadet or Cadet Candidate families, Liaison Officers, and other interested and involved individuals who can help answer questions, address concerns or clarify certain USAFA issues.</p>

<p>Purpose of the Family Net:</p>

<p>• Offer support to each other throughout your Cadet’s Academy career, but especially during the Basic Cadet Training and Fourth Class Year</p>

<p>• Answer questions or clarify issues concerning the Academy experience</p>

<p>• Offer a place to brag about your Cadet/Cadet Candidate or learn about avenues of help available if your Cadet/Cadet Candidate is struggling</p>

<p>• Build friendships with other Cadet/Cadet Candidate families</p>

<p>Parents with e-mail access may also want to subscribe to FAMNET and become a part of this support group. The points of contact for the Family Net are Bob and Doni Hardy, who can be reached by e-mail at <a href="mailto:info@falconpride.com">info@falconpride.com</a>. An annual fee of $25.00 is charged. Lots of good information is shared over the Net. You will meet and correspond with parents all over the country and meet people who can get pictures and videos of your Cadet.</p>

<p>There are two options in subscribing to the Family Net: the “digest method” saves 20 messages and then sends them as one e-mail; the “deluge method” sends each message as it is received. Listed below are instructions on how to join FAMNET:</p>

<p>FOR THE DELUGE METHOD:</p>

<p>Address an e-mail to <a href="mailto:info@falconpride.com">info@falconpride.com</a>
In the subject, type the word “Subscribe” then in the message provide Your Name, Cadet/Cadet Candidates Name, Year of Graduation, City, Deluge Method</p>

<p>FOR THE DIGEST METHOD:</p>

<p>Address your e-mail to <a href="mailto:info@falconpride.com">info@falconpride.com</a>
In the subject, type the words “Subscribe to Digest” then in the message provide Your name, Cadet/Cadet Candidates Name, Year, City, Digest Method</p>

<p>Once you have subscribed, messages intended for distribution on the Family Net are addressed to famnet@falconpride com.</p>

8

<p>Please just don't make the assumption that everything you hear on FAMNET is fact. ;)</p>

9

<p>Here's a write-up on the Gateway M280.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.fcw.com/article92050-01-23-06-Print%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fcw.com/article92050-01-23-06-Print&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

10

<p>Sounds like a pretty awesome machine to me...though I'm a little sad that I'll be parting with the laptop I recieved from RPI (all freshman get a laptop as well there)-my twin brother gets a $2,000 laptop for free (well, not quite, the price he pays is losing someone to annoy all day long)</p>

11

<p>That's a nice computer. Dosen't look all that "mobile"...but it's a widescreen tablet that works as good as a laptop.</p>

12

<p>As long as it moves off my desk, it's fine with me. Besides, ~7 pounds isn't THAT bad at all...my laptop now weighs 5 and I literally don't even notice it when I'm carryng it around.</p>

13

<p>I hope it will be easy to switch between typing and the stylus pen when taking notes.</p>

<p>Looks like a good computer, I'm looking forward to getting it.</p>

14

<p>I am so glad to hear the Academy is using Tablet next year. We have two Tablets we have been using for over 2 years. Tablets are the way to go for students. There is a ton of software availbe for tablet PC including excellent Math software that acts as a calulator as you write problems and very good organizational note taking software. I think the best for note taking is still One Note. Check out this web site to learn more about tablets and talk to the students on the forums. Be sure to Check out the Software reviews forums.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/forum/default.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/forum/default.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>