[Zaid Al Hilali]

From Campus Journal, issue dated March 16th, page 14 an article that covers full page picture of a Mac start-up screen.

Starting this fall, any student can get a free MacBook. All he or she has to do is apply, get accepted and decide to attend Oklahoma Christian University.

The cost is mostly built into the tuition price, of course. The university has provided PC-based laptops to its students since 2001, encouraging professors to integrate technology into classroom and let students learn through online or hybrid course material on their computers. The laptop program has other advantages too: the university offers software and hardware support on site, complete with loaners for those with computers in the shop. Now, Oklahoma Christian is following a "natural progression", said John Hermes, the chief technology officer, by switching entirely to Macs.

The university isn't alone. George Fox University, and Quaker institution in Newberg, Oregon, recently announced a similar change in its over 20-year-old laptop program. Until now, students could choose between an Apple or PC laptop. As of this fall, PCs will no longer be an option. About 70 percent of incoming freshmen last year chose the Mac option anyway, mirroring the increasing popularity of Apple products on college campuses across the country. In 2007, Apple reportedly overtook Dell as the top supplier of laptops in the higher education market.