Class of 2015 IPad

cmccollum4693

USMA 2015 Appointee
5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
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This may or may not be true, but I heard from a current Cadet at an admissions briefing that the class of 2015 would be issued Ipads. It sounds far fetched to me, but has anyone else heard the same?
 
I don't think cadets have ever been issued apple computers. I know that USAFA cadets this year were issued laptops that had touchscreens as part of their makeup, but they were still PC's. It'll be interesting to see what USMA does. I would really, really hope that we don't get iPads...I'm really not all that impressed with a glorified iTouch yet
 
they said "Ipads", but i mean they could have just been referring to a touch screen of sorts, and just labeled it "ipad"
 
I was at that briefing too, and my impression was that the cadets presented it as a rumor. It'll be interesting to see what happens with it; I can't quite imagine the iPads would hold up for the full 4 years the cadets would need to be using them.
 
ive used one, and for school all they are good for is taking notes and surfing the web (such as finding videos for teachers, etc.) at west point, the walls make the connection to att internet almost nonexistent. a notebook and pen is 700 dollars cheaper and just as effective.
 
the reason i was doubting this is the fact that all of West Point's computers are programmed with Microsoft programming, and switching the new incoming class to Macintosh would create a mess.

Like Helo said, it's probably only a rumor
 
One other thought that would make this unlikely is that there are no provisions for using a CAC card, so it would be impossible to connect to the cadet network as it stands now.

In past years, PDAs were issued for note taking and contact management; no network access though. Check out the archive of past issued computer equipment at the usma.edu website.

Most of the cadets have their own smartphone/cellphone.
 
the reason i was doubting this is the fact that all of West Point's computers are programmed with Microsoft programming, and switching the new incoming class to Macintosh would create a mess.

Like Helo said, it's probably only a rumor

Not only USMA but the whole government in general. Government always uses Windows and Microsoft lol
 
Mac is better it can run both Macintosh and Microsoft, at the same time even!!!
 
Last I heard from a couple of cadets I know was that the IPad would be a possible replacement for textbooks. A lot of the military and leadership classes at USMA have custom textbooks printed specifically for that class so if you could get your textbooks downloaded to your issued IPad you'd have all your textbooks ready to go on the first day of class. Plus if you're assigned to read Shakespeare or Clausewitz or whatever you could download a book straight to your IPad and read it from there. It'd save space on shelves in the barracks rooms.

The cadets I talked to also said laptops would still be issued as now-- the IPad would just be supplemental.
 
My high school is introducing school-issued iPads next year so I wouldn't doubt it. However, how would CAC cards and stuff work on the iPad and Macintosh in general?
 
Wouldn't it be tough to type on the ipad? Ahhh technology...Oh well, I'm bringing my computer anyways.
 
Any rumors stating that the iPad will replace new cadets' laptops are most likely false. The iPad is just not ready to handle the functions of a typical laptop. The system in place, used by the government and the military, is Windows-dependent. This is because of the programs that need to be tailored to their needs, and Apple has a reputation of being a very closed system. On many of their products, simply opening up the outer shell in order to replace the stock battery or hard drive will invalidate the warranty provided by Apple.

However, if the rumors are true that iPads are being provided supplementary to cadets' laptops, as Jake suggested, then I don't see any major reasons why this couldn't possibly be true, other than cost. CAC cards don't necessarily need to be used on a piece of equipment that is meant to replace textbooks, correct?
 
Any rumors stating that the iPad will replace new cadets' laptops are most likely false. The iPad is just not ready to handle the functions of a typical laptop. The system in place, used by the government and the military, is Windows-dependent. This is because of the programs that need to be tailored to their needs, and Apple has a reputation of being a very closed system. On many of their products, simply opening up the outer shell in order to replace the stock battery or hard drive will invalidate the warranty provided by Apple.

However, if the rumors are true that iPads are being provided supplementary to cadets' laptops, as Jake suggested, then I don't see any major reasons why this couldn't possibly be true, other than cost. CAC cards don't necessarily need to be used on a piece of equipment that is meant to replace textbooks, correct?

You are correct, I think I read somewhere that West Point is one of the most wired campuses in our country which means plenty of wifi I'd assume.
 
It is very interesting if they plan on issuing iPads as supplements. However, there may still be security issues with the iPad (meeting DoD Standards and whatnot).
 
Like what? I always figured Apple products were safer then Microsoft? Could have been mislead though.
 
Like what? I always figured Apple products were safer then Microsoft? Could have been mislead though.

Not viruses. He meant like the website wouldn't be trusted because it is a government site. Like if you try to go onto a specific site that is a .gov or .mil site, sometimes it won't allow you to because they don't want John Doe to access their information
 
Apple products are in no respect safer when it comes to software exploits. There are many firmwares, OS's, applications, hardware, etc that do not meet DoD protocol. For instance the CAC cards. Or the iPad not having a USB port. There is also the proprietary technology that the military hasn't worked out with the company.

Although it will be great if they issue iPads, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't.
 
Last I heard from a couple of cadets I know was that the IPad would be a possible replacement for textbooks. A lot of the military and leadership classes at USMA have custom textbooks printed specifically for that class so if you could get your textbooks downloaded to your issued IPad you'd have all your textbooks ready to go on the first day of class. Plus if you're assigned to read Shakespeare or Clausewitz or whatever you could download a book straight to your IPad and read it from there. It'd save space on shelves in the barracks rooms.

The cadets I talked to also said laptops would still be issued as now-- the IPad would just be supplemental.

If the whole point of issuing iPads is to replace textbooks, wouldn't it be cheaper to just issue eReaders of some kind? I'm sure there are some mid-level eReaders that have touch screens and color displays, and they would be significantly less expensive than iPads.
 
I'm just passing along what I heard. I'm not sure why they tested IPads and not e-readers. Maybe a current cadet can comment on this?
 
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