In an effort to stem the academic migration to simpler, cheaper Chromebooks, Microsoft has launched the Intune for Education program. Based on the company's corporate Intune service, it helps educators manage and set up student Windows 10 PCs and apps. As part of the initiative, the software giant revealed some cheap new laptops starting at $189 from Acer, HP, Lenovo and, for emerging markets, a company called JP.IK.
The timing of the announcement isn't serendipitous, as Google for Education just unveiled two Chromebook models from Asus and Acer. Microsoft is making no bones about the program's raison d'etre, saying educators can get "the power, performance and security [of Windows] ... at the same price as Chromebooks, with none of the compromises."
With the program, companies can "put devices in classrooms and not touch them again for the rest of the school year," Microsoft says. As such, it includes an express setup feature, letting admins apply over 150 settings to hardware, apps, browsers, antivirus programs and more, all assigned to individual students when they log in.
It also includes School Data Sync, letting educators set up groups based on schools, classes or departments without a lot of effort. "For example, if a student is added to a photography class in the school roster, they will automatically be added to the group in Intune for Education and get the relevant apps," Microsoft wrote.
One of Chromebook's big advantages is the initial cost of the laptops. So, along with existing low-cost models like the $189 HP Stream 11 Pro G3 for education, Microsoft has unveiled some new models that better compete on price.
That includes the 11.6-inch Acer Travelmate Spin B118 convertible (above), equipped with a stylus and touchscreen, coming in the next quarter for $299. Lenovo, meanwhile, revealed the ThinkPad 11e in a regular or Yoga form factor, with 11 hours of battery life and a stylus, along with the N24, a similar model with 360 degree screen rotation. There's no pricing or available for that model yet.
Finally, there's the Turn T201 from JP.IK, a company that's primarily an educational distributor. The oddball device (below) is a 360-degree convertible PC with an active stylus pen, but it's also equipped with a rectractable handle so students are less likely to drop it. Aimed at ages 12-18, it comes with a basic microscope and a thermal probe for science experiments. There's no word on price or availability yet, but Microsoft described it as an "emerging market" product, so it should be relatively cheap.
Microsoft's Intune for Education service is $30 per device, exactly what Google charges for its own cloud-based educational services. In its post earlier today, Google touted lower ownership costs and said its system requires less time and labor to deploy and support. With the new program, Microsoft appears to have at least pulled closer in those areas.
Schools will have to consider factors other than cost, like whether students should learn Microsoft Office 365, rather than Google's suite, including Docs and Sheets. In terms of training for future careers, corporations tend to prefer Microsoft, while startups (and young workers in general) would lean toward Google, according to a recent IT survey.
Another Google intangible is simplicity. Because they run in a the Chrome OS ecosystem, with limited apps, Chromebooks are harder for students to break than Windows PCs. They're also easier to use, arguably, since most programs have common user interfaces and features. All that certainly gives educators more to think about, but more choice is always better, right?
The Acer Chromebook Spin 11 and the Asus Chromebook C213 come as Redmond tips its own cheap 2-in-1s.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 11 and the Asus Chromebook C213 will be available in late spring.
The Department of Defense handed out approximately $100,000 in rewards.
Pai has already pledged to undo many of the commission's open internet regulations.
The best content authoring tool meets the best presentation software.
HopSkipDrive's on-demand 'CareDrivers' will take your kids home from school, to tutoring sessions, and more.
Comments in Word allow you to provide feedback in a document without changing the text or layout. You can place the cursor in the content or select content (text, images, tables, etc.) and add a comment about that part of the document.
The company's first foray into digital medium format arrives in late February.
Street photography is about documenting the day to day life of a city. It’s about capturing the small, authentic moments that take a city from grey concrete and turn it into a real, living place. It’s a really popular genre of photography, so let’s have a look at how to do it well.
Soon you'll be able to buy ebooks directly in Windows 10 and read them in Microsoft Edge.
Being able to have Microsoft Word track the changes you make as you go is great, but what do you do if you need to copy previously deleted text without rejecting the work you have already done? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post has some helpful suggestions for a frustrated reader’s text copying woes.
And yes, Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a launch title.
Snapping a screenshot of your iPhone is a great way to preserve exactly what you see on the screen and, thankfully, it’s dead simple to do since the shortcut is built right into iOS.
A simple screenshot is great for capturing what’s immediately visible on your monitor, but what if you need to capture an entire webpage? Here are three simple ways you can capture a long web page as one continuous image and, in the process, preserve it exactly as it appears to the viewer.
The bright orange hexacopter is larger and more powerful than the consumer-focused Typhoon H, and offers multiple camera options suitable for law-enforcement, search-and-rescue use, and the like.
Insufficient resolution has been a serious hurdle for 360-degree content creators, but Insta360 has a solution.
At just 2.3 pounds, the AsusPro B9440 business notebook packs a generous 14-inch display.
The Samsung Chromebook Pro and Plus run Google Play, allowing you access to a huge swath of apps on ChromeOS.
Google has done basically nothing to promote Chromebooks this holiday season, and it feels like a missed opportunity.
Unlike the Touch Disease fix, this one won't cost $149.
You have 7 days in which to send the item Amazon already paid for.
If a quick and easy way to get on the Web is all you need out of a laptop, a chromebook is the way to go. Here's what to look for when shopping, and our top recommendations.
If you’re like most Windows users, you have lots of great little utilities that run when you start Windows. While this works great for most apps, there are some that would be nice to start even before a user logs in to the PC. To do this, you’ll need to run the app as a Windows service.
The Command Prompt and the Run program are pretty powerful tools in the Windows world. If you’d rather specific users on a computer not have access to them, it’s not too hard to do.
The manufacturer apologized for building what many have called a "cheap and generic" smartphone.
Google allows users to sign into non-Google websites, applications, and devices with their Gmail account. This saves time during the account creation process, and makes joining new services quick and easy. But when you no longer use said service or app, it’s a good idea to revoke its access to your
The interest in yoga has skyrocketed over the last couple of years; all the celebrities are doing it and the exercise has made it into the mainstream media. No...
But the promise of $7 billion investment and 50,000 jobs comes with a big 'if.'
The LG G6 may be the flagship phone of MWC, but LG has let a lot of details slip about this upcoming phone.
The company's $10 million gamble paid off.
For now, the benefits are unclear.
drop-down lists are very useful data entry tools we see just about everywhere, and you can add custom drop-down lists to your own Excel worksheets. It’s easy and we’ll show you how.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 11 and the Asus Chromebook C213 will be available in late spring.
If you have one of the three machines that can already run them, they're available today.