The Aubrun, Maine school department has announced this week that every kindergarten student in the district will receive an iPad 2 tablet for the upcoming fall semester.
There are 285 students and teachers, and the endeavor will cost around $200,000.
As a test program, 20 or so students will get their iPads in May.
Says superintendent Tom Morrill:
When you look at what the iPad 2 apps that are out there, from learning your letters from books, that can be read, finger painting your name, it’s absolutely something we must do.
School officials say they hope the iPads will boost literacy rates to 90 percent in two years. Current levels have hovered around 60 percent.
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Entertainment Weekly has reported that a young couple got married on Valentine’s Day, at an Apple Store, with, you guessed it, the priest dressed as CEO Steve Jobs.
Says EW: “The happy couple is Josh and Ting Li, who confirm to EW that this was their real wedding. They first bonded over a mutual fascination with all things clickwheel, Josh says. “We got to know each other because Ting was looking to buy an iPod…and I managed to strike up a conversation that way.” Romance blossomed for the two iLovebirds. “I used to joke that the Apple Store is my church because I am not religious, and I loved everything Apple,” Josh adds. “Ting then came up with the idea of having the wedding there.” They haven’t decided yet where to have a reception, but I hear Cupertino is lovely this time of year.
I think this renegade Apple store wedding trumps the Halo wedding, but can it top that Star Wars wedding? What about a Katamari Damancy wedding?”
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A new study performed by Australian researchers has finished with some shocking results, concluding that, even with exercise, extended TV watching leads to a higher risk of death.
The researchers tracked 8800 people for six years, and found that those who watched TV for over 4 hours per day had a 46 percent better chance of dying of any cause, and an extremely high 80 percent more likely chance of dying of cardiovascular disease, over those that spent less than two hours a day.
“It’s not the sweaty type of exercise we’re losing,” says David Dunstan, a researcher at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne. “It’s the incidental moving around, walking around, standing up and utilizing muscles that [doesn't happen] when we’re plunked on a couch in front of a television.” On average, most of the participants had about 30 minutes of exercise per day.
The results seem to follow the latest trend of studies which has shown that periods of inactivity can lead to slower processing of fats and other chemicals in the body.
The American Heart Association journal says Americans average 5 hours of TV a day.
