Laptops to now cost $15,000 EACH

[RASC]

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Lap ... 56283.html

Laptops jump from $4,000 to $15,000
161 handed over

By Aabida Allaham


ONE hundred and sixty-one first formers were yesterday presented with laptops that cost some $15,000 apiece, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh said yesterday.
Initially, Gopeesingh had said that each laptop amounted to $4,000; however with security and specially enhanced features the real cost goes far beyond that.
"It's between $12,000 to $15,000 by virtue of the signature applications infused in it alone," he said while speaking to more than 100 form one pupils at the Lakshmi Girls' Hindu College in St Augustine during the formal laptop distribution ceremony.
The People's Partnership Government has entered into an $83 million contract with Hewlett Packard (HP) for the provision of laptops for more than 17,000 form one students in keeping with their campaign promise to give each successful SEA pupil a laptop.
The contract has been clouded in controversy as the provider HP is under investigation in the US and Russia for bribery and corruption allegations, but Gopeesingh has said that this contract was above board.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, who was also on hand to formally distribute the first set of laptops, was welcomed with rock star applause by the pupils at all three schools: Success Laventille Secondary, South East Secondary in Port of Spain and Lakshmi Girls Hindu College.
She advised the pupils to take good care of them and use them to their advantage and called on parents to ensure that their child used it correctly as it was the child's "ticket to a better life" because with a touch of a button the whole world could be before them.
At Success, the first school on the distribution tour, she told the 204 first formers that they were chosen to be the first because of the first word in their school's name and because "success" is what they expected out of them.
All 204 first formers were not given the laptops as parents needed to sign a contract accepting liability for the laptop as the children have been allowed to take them home.
Over at South East, all 136 pupils got theirs yesterday while 20 of the 100 first formers at Lakshmi received theirs with the rest to follow during the week.
The Prime Minister also said that she intended to continue with the programme so that in five years, every child in form one to form five would have a laptop.
However, while responding to questions by members of the media with regard to the laptop continuation over the next five years, Gopeesingh said HP would not remain as the preferred provider.
In fact, he said from as early as January next year they intended to put out tenders in order to get a better price.
"It will be going under an open invitation to tender every year because thereby things may change," he said.
"This year was $83 million, and we hope that as laptops continue to be built, the cost would be cheaper".
When asked about the programmes installed in the laptops, Gopeesingh said they included applications for mathematics, science and Spanish.
"It has about seven applications from Microsoft as well in it and we will continue to infuse more and more curriculum into it. And remember we are working with the Commonwealth of Learning and IDA Singapore, who is going to assist us as well, because they themselves have a lot of curriculum infused into their laptops," he said.
Meanwhile, both parents and pupils, who received their laptops yesterday, were elated, but for one little girl at Lakshmi, getting it on her birthday meant so much more.
"It was very exciting to hear that we were getting the laptops on my birthday, so I actually felt really good about that," said Maya Harripersad.
As for the security concerns, her mother Camille Harripersad said besides all the tracking and safety features installed in the laptop, she feels confident that the children would be alright.
"As the minister (Gopeesingh) said, if they could look after their cell phones and their $1,000 shoes as it is, they could certainly look after their laptops because they are responsible, they understand that it is an expensive piece of equipment and they just need to know that since they have to use it they have to look after it," she said.

[Rainman]

*puts on ski mask*

[TeamH2O]

lol @ 15,000$

[searchingone]

for a flippin hp

[Rainman]

lol @ 15,000$

The thing is:
My personal laptop cost - $7000.00 - Dell XPS, used for moderate gaming, emails, movies etc...

My company issued Laptop cost - $12000. Dell latitude, used for emails, RAS, CAD and ISO software (fence painting stuff).


What could these kids possibly do with a 15k laptop? Or is it 4k for the laptop and 11k for the tracker?

[cinco]

4k for laptop 3k for tracker 8k for bobol
under the previous administration this would have happened but you wouldnt have heard about it

[Halfbreed07]

it costing we $15,000 for a new fb account den?

[Rainman]

4k for laptop 3k for tracker 8k for bobol
under the previous administration this would have happened but you wouldnt have heard about it

what ah pong for the bobol dey bai?

[cinco]

from hp site
Weight
Starting at 5.0 lb (2.26 kg)
so about 6 pong loaded
so dats bout 1334 a pong almost 1337 hmm i see what they did there

[noshownogo]

i demand an inquiry into this...how de price could triple and almost quadruple based on software

[Rainman]

i demand an inquiry into this...how de price could triple and almost quadruple based on software

Dey using bess softwares bai fadda.

[Rainman]

He touching small man bamcee dey?

[SmokeyGTi]

$15K???
you giving form one students laptops worth $15k????
and these same laptops may well be obsolete in as little as 1-2 yrs time?

that is utter BS. all they needed was some cheap arse netbooks. with bulk discount i sure they could have gotten netbooks for about $100 us. each.

It would have worked out well. not like they could have installed fancy apps on it due to limited ram and shitty performance. just enough for web surfing and using microsoft office suite.

[Halfbreed07]

AND ITS GREATEST USE WILL BE FOR FACEBOOK!!!

[Rainman]

Where the usual crowd? bit quiet this morning eh?

[cinco]

AND ITS GREATEST USE WILL BE FOR FACEBOOK!!!

no bhai
i goin an buy the domain
trinischoolporn.com

[DTAC]

I was all for this but this is spiraling out of control. UNC old guard in charge and now what was to be $2,000 - $3,000 laptops now costing $15,000 each?! Interesting to say the least.......

[tr1ad]

wah allyuh worried about

ent dem arrest abu

[Halfbreed07]

wah allyuh worried about

ent dem arrest abu

he did was going to take over dem chirren laptopz

[tr1ad]

and now for my next trick........

[AlliDr]

Where the usual crowd? bit quiet this morning eh?

who dat? zoom and he posse?

and by the way anybody hear anything about laptop bags, or they just toting charger everything in dey hand, the cheapest laptop bag is about $100TTD x 17,000 = $1,700,000

[Halfbreed07]

Where the usual crowd? bit quiet this morning eh?

who dat? zoom and he posse?

and by the way anybody hear anything about laptop bags, or they just toting charger everything in dey hand, the cheapest laptop bag is about $100TTD x 17,000 = $1,700,000

sheesh, laptops have been fitted with wireless chargers, where have you been under a rock?

[AlliDr]

Where the usual crowd? bit quiet this morning eh?

who dat? zoom and he posse?

and by the way anybody hear anything about laptop bags, or they just toting charger everything in dey hand, the cheapest laptop bag is about $100TTD x 17,000 = $1,700,000

sheesh, laptops have been fitted with wireless chargers, where have you been under a rock?

dude for your info, i don't current live in TT so don't have access to all the details, and even if they can be charged wirelessly, you still don't need a bag for the laptop then? - considering a large majority of school children use taxi/maxi to and from school - and yes I know they can leave it in the school if they please, but what about those who choose not to?

[Halfbreed07]

Where the usual crowd? bit quiet this morning eh?

who dat? zoom and he posse?

and by the way anybody hear anything about laptop bags, or they just toting charger everything in dey hand, the cheapest laptop bag is about $100TTD x 17,000 = $1,700,000

sheesh, laptops have been fitted with wireless chargers, where have you been under a rock?

dude for your info, i don't current live in TT so don't have access to all the details, and even if the chargers wireless, you don't need a bag for the laptop then? - considering a large majority of school children use taxi/maxi to and from school - and yes I know they can leave it in the school if they please, but what about those who choose not to?

*straight face*

[AlliDr]

Where the usual crowd? bit quiet this morning eh?

who dat? zoom and he posse?

and by the way anybody hear anything about laptop bags, or they just toting charger everything in dey hand, the cheapest laptop bag is about $100TTD x 17,000 = $1,700,000

sheesh, laptops have been fitted with wireless chargers, where have you been under a rock?

dude for your info, i don't current live in TT so don't have access to all the details, and even if the chargers wireless, you don't need a bag for the laptop then? - considering a large majority of school children use taxi/maxi to and from school - and yes I know they can leave it in the school if they please, but what about those who choose not to?

*straight face*

you missing the point, this have nothing to do with the chargers, you still aint answer the question about the laptop bags..........

[Rainman]

Where the usual crowd? bit quiet this morning eh?

who dat? zoom and he posse?

and by the way anybody hear anything about laptop bags, or they just toting charger everything in dey hand, the cheapest laptop bag is about $100TTD x 17,000 = $1,700,000

sheesh, laptops have been fitted with wireless chargers, where have you been under a rock?

dude for your info, i don't current live in TT so don't have access to all the details, and even if the chargers wireless, you don't need a bag for the laptop then? - considering a large majority of school children use taxi/maxi to and from school - and yes I know they can leave it in the school if they please, but what about those who choose not to?

*straight face*

*Snickers*

[Halfbreed07]

Where the usual crowd? bit quiet this morning eh?

who dat? zoom and he posse?

and by the way anybody hear anything about laptop bags, or they just toting charger everything in dey hand, the cheapest laptop bag is about $100TTD x 17,000 = $1,700,000

sheesh, laptops have been fitted with wireless chargers, where have you been under a rock?

dude for your info, i don't current live in TT so don't have access to all the details, and even if the chargers wireless, you don't need a bag for the laptop then? - considering a large majority of school children use taxi/maxi to and from school - and yes I know they can leave it in the school if they please, but what about those who choose not to?

wait..........

what???

[janfar]

They have wireless bags too???

[AlliDr]

dude I know, there is no such thing as a wireless charger, but there are wireless charging mats for laptops

http://blog.laptopmag.com/video-wireles ... ers-laptop

[VexXx Dogg]

Absolute firetrucking madness.