iPads for a charity
 

I have to buy two iPad's this week for a charity that I volunteer for. As far as I can tell, Apple don't do anything in the way of donations or discounts so I'm just looking around for a supplier that may do us a deal.

Does anyone know if any of the big stores might be able to help with a bit of a discount? Prices in the shops seem consistent at $569 for the model that we're after so price matching's not going to work.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Ouch .... does it have to be an ipad ?..... if you went for Windows or Android you would have far greater pricing options.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Unfortunately they already have a couple of the damn things and they are comfortable using them. I'm sure they'd be better off with something else.

May have a look at refurbished ones which would be a saving, at least. Will go, cap in hand, to the Apple Store in the morning. See if I can play them off against Myer, JB and Dick Smiths. Not that I will ever buy anything from DSE again. Bastards.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

OK, you're screwed.

Apple don't do charity, basically. The reason you see the same price is apple force them all to sell for the same price - on pain of pain (and not getting any supplies). In theory it should be illegal - but the reality distortion field apple put up tends to allow them to avoid such things as laws. They also artificially try and keep the second hand price up, to maintain the idea even the obsolete ones have some kind of value.

You are more likely to be able to find someone who will do a deal on accessories than on the base price.

You should also bear in mind that as I mentioned elsewhere, there's a new ipad due 15th March.

Strategically the best bet would be to find out what they actually use them for, and see if you can convince them Android is as good/better. You won't get out of apple for under a grand for two, and that would probably get you four android tablets. I've certainly seen a few charities that use android tablets in client facing roles because they are cheaper and more flexible to integrate with other elements.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

I'm reading on other threads about schools forcing parents to buy iPads for wee Johnny.

Many parents can't afford that price.

Schools need to give a list of applications they will use and if an OS app store has it, game on.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Schools ought to supply everything little Jonny needs and not attempt to load it onto parents. But then again, the entire education sector needs a massive shakeup too.

Meanwhile, any proprietary requirements ought to be accompanied by the legal requirement for the school to stump up the cash. The only way they should be able to ask for 'voluntary' elements is if they platform agnostic - and to be honest there is no reason why they shouldn't be.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Yep. Whatever apps are used need to be selected on being platform agnostic.

There's no excuse for an app used wide enough in schools not to be agnostic.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

I rally can't see what benefit forcing kids on to iPads has for future life. Granted, there may be a handful of educational apps available for certain subjects, but generally kids need to be learning to use workplace tools - and iPads are certainly not those.


S

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Well, realistically PCs aren't likely to do too well going forward - mickysoft have seen to that. So inflicting a PC on them is probably not sensible. Indeed, I think from the point of view of learning about computers, the Rasp Pi is far better.

From the perspective of actually learning about other subjects, then flipped classrooms and video playback is sensible. Add on a Bluetooth keyboard and there's no reason they shouldn't be typing up prose on a tablet, etc. They certainly should have all textbooks as (free) downloads to a tablet. Hell, give them a 'classic literature' library as part of the setup.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

A friend of ours, a single parent on the bones of his arse, last year had to buy a device for his daughter who was starting at a state high school. This device was necessary as a lot of the work would only be done online/digitally etc. The only device that fitted the spec was a MS Surface Pro 3, which was about $1300 at the time

That's a crock 'o shite IMO. It's a sum of money out of reach of many families who are struggling but keeping their heads above water, entailing sacrifice in other areas of their budget

My son's school has a BYOD policy which is pretty broad in scope and if families don't want to do this, there are plenty of devices to use that belong to the school

Re: iPads for a charity
 

What was the requirement? Does a student really need a Surface Pro?

Re: iPads for a charity
 

I wouldn't have thought so. I doubt there is very little that a student would need such a machine for.

I suspect that it's more about the technical abilities of the staff than the actual requirements.


S

Re: iPads for a charity
 

I read the spec - i5/detachable keyboard/touchscreen/pen etc

It was for a SP3

Great device - I have one - but OTT for a year 7 pupil

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Thank you all for your input. You are right, Apple will not support a charity.

However, I went into the Apple Store and the smarmy git (actually a very nice young man) suggested that they WILL price match. He went onto the Internet for me and found that the iPad sells for $569. Good Guys have it on sale for $478 so Apple would sell it me for $512.

I thanked him very much, trotted off to the Good Guys and bought two of them.

Job done.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Really? And what exactly are they running on it? Some word processing and spreadsheets?


S

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Well you could do the i5 bit for a few hundred. You could split hairs over whether the keyboard was detachable or wireless. ..... pen pick up from any old place. .....

One must ask though, was does a year 7 person do with an i5 CPU?

Re: iPads for a charity
 

It's an arts focused school and they do graphic work apparently

Still OTT IMO

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Computational Fluid Dynamics probably...


S

Re: iPads for a charity
 

I would suspect it's more to do with the kickback for the staff than anything...

I wonder if they make the kids spring for Adobe CC at the same time; $15pm on educational discount. Hook'um early.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Very possibly.

I guess a surface is a proper, full operating system - better than an iPad, but still, that sort of computing power is completely surplus to requirements.

At least they can install a decent development environment to learn some basic programming skills.


S

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Well, from the PoV of actually doing real work, it's pretty much neither one thing nor the other.

Pushing Photoshop, video editing, etc. in something like Adobe CC can actually require lots of horsepower if you are doing it seriously, and lots of RAM. Ask the question and you're typically be pointed towards an i7 with 16GB(at least), a decent graphics card, high resolution large display, etc. - in a desktop/workstation format.

A year 7 kid isn't going to be 'serious', but the same issue holds - if you are going to push the pixels around a weedy surface pro is not going to be a great match for the demands - which makes it fall back on the same old education uses and much lower prices.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Yup, the high school DS and DD will be going to insist on iPads. Annoys me as I have yet to work somewhere that using the iOS. Everywhere I have worked have been Windows based. Kids need to learn the skills they will use in the workplace. Spending 5-6 years doing everything on iOS then potentially going into a workplace with Windows is going to cause problems. Employers will not have the time or resources to be teaching youngsters a new OS.

It;s the one thing that seems to let the school down IMO, as it looks to be a good school in all other respects.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Errr..... have you run anything that requires beef on a Surface? While right now it is limited to 16GB most Adobe CC apps run quite adequately on a Surface Pro 4. Certainly Pshop does and so does Premiere.

Whilst I have still opted for the laptop with 32GB worth of RAM for most products I use, Adobe CC and various 3D modelling applications the RAM is never used unless you are running multiples. Many are still 32 bit anyway. (Well they claim to be 64 bit but most features are still 32). The biggest grunt asset is the Solid State Drive.

Many of my colleagues are running Pro's and those apps no issues.

This year you will have more RAM anyway and the year after you can say good night to the laptop. It will just be Laplet :) and the phablet and you can wave goodnight to this tablet gimmicky thing.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

I did say serious usage - HD or 4K video, uncompressed (coz that's effectively what you need for editing) hurts without lots of RAM, and fast HD etc. Also offloading the processing to a decent GPU is also key.

And the surface pro 4 is effectively a laptop anyway - they pretty much gave up on the tablet side of things. Just need them to cut the price to a reasonable level and stop trying to charge for the keyboard as an 'optional extra' :rolleyes:

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Yeah Pixlar factory will use desktops for a long time to come. Need the room for the water coolants.

But for most, even the basic Photoshoppers and Premiers the new style Laptop (call it a tablet or laplet) will be the norm and the tablet its self will be sqeezed between the new style laptops (Surface style) and your 5.5" phones.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Took my daughter in to buy her Macbook Air before school started and got a couple of hundred off for student discount at JB Hifi.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Plenty of life left in the PC, laptop etc and they will be better and still be being made in 5-10 years time. There will be a need for devices in most categories in the near future. Business will still want desktops and laptops. Tablets, laplets, phaplets etc will be available to the leisure market

Technology moves fast but the tech in its wake moves slowly:
The PC as we know it in its current form has been with us for at least 25 years
People still buy CDs/DVDs - just have a look in JB
etc

Very, very few people predict the future accurately

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Actually, I'm thinking not.

I have this sneaking suspicion that we are on the verge of another jump - this time to augmented reality (or as someone is trying to rename it, mixed reality). Even if Magic Leap don't deliver, someone will.

Look at your list of devices and the only real practical difference is size of the screen. Break that contradiction and things change dramatically, you aren't in Kansas any more and you aren't looking 'down' and 'in' but 'up' and 'out'.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Yeah that's the next leap. I do agree AR will be the norm ....... some day. :)

Re: iPads for a charity
 

But kids at school still need to learn the basics - and I don't think that an iPad is a suitable platform for that - I do agree that the Raspberry Pi represents a particularly cost effective method for kids to get on board with programming though.


S

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Our daughters school made us buy a MacBook Pro for her which was a bit of a bugger. What upset me even more was the $250 app we were forced to buy for some sort of music or film mixing. That was where the 20% off iTunes cards came in handy.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Garry this one is for you. Good anger management practice.

https://youtu.be/9GMQhOm-Dqo

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Bullsh*t artist - as I said.

He spread it wide and deep. An industrial strength muck spreader - https://smileyshack.files.wordpress....ng_100-100.gif

Re: iPads for a charity
 

He did what he said....... you've got to admire him for that :)

Re: iPads for a charity
 

So did Thatcher.

And you'll notice I called him an artist.

Interesting thing is, he died as much a piece of sh*t as he lived - and Gates has been working to rehabilitate his reputation with active good works and the use of his money for positive purposes.

Salesman vs Nerd - which do you think will be viewed best by history?

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Steve Jobs and that's unfortunate IMHO.

Unfortunately Garry, you don't need the technical brains driving the ship.

You need the marketing and visionary brains to do that. The techies just build it the way you describe.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Actually I'd say that's where we go wrong. The idea of 'techies' who will just do as they are told - whilst the paid liars reap the reward. At heart that's the problem behind climate change.

Oh, and marketeers ain't visionary - have you met any of them?

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Unfortunately most techies aren't all rounders. They don't have the ability to be beyond tech.

If you look at Jobs and look at that video, marketing is just one piece.

Re: iPads for a charity
 

I've always said that the last person you should ask about technology developments, what to buy, where it's heading etc is a techie

Techies are good for fixing, programming, setting up stuff but that's about it

Re: iPads for a charity
 

Again, part of the problem.

The reality is they are at least as capable of getting up to speed with all that, if they want to. Being logical, breaking down problems and solving them, etc. means they can actually be pretty damn good at it if they turn their minds to it - just look at Google, sorry, Alphabet and where they come from. Then there's Elon Musk - who seems to be chasing every worthwhile target in sight.

The problem is the meme goes around that they can't - so they are never given the chance. The idea is that marketeer or an accountant is a better starting point for a great businessman - something that doesn't follow at all, if you actually follow the data (something those techies are good at).