High-tech welcome

DURHAM, N.C. — Newly arrived Duke University freshmen got something considerably snazzier than the usual Blue Devils T-shirts and ball caps: Their goodie bags included a free iPod digital music player engraved with the school’s crest and the words “Class of 2008.”

The university says the unique welcoming gifts, which Apple Computer Inc. normally sells for $300, will be used as high-tech educational tools to record lectures, capture scientific data and play language-training recordings.

But it’s not altogether clear to many that the university will be able to carry through on its vow to make the gadgets more than a toy for playing the latest from the likes of Coldplay and Hoobastank.

Emily LaDue, a junior from Levittown, N.Y., says the giveaway “makes no sense” and that the money Duke is spending on the venture is better used for financial aid and campus security.

“From the freshmen I spoke with, I really don’t think the iPods will encourage creativity,” LaDue said.

The project is being funded with money the school set aside for a one-time innovative technology purpose, and it’s not known whether the program will continue after this academic year. The $500,000 price tag includes the iPods themselves, salary for an academic computing specialist and grants to faculty members who participate.

The school approached Apple about the project and got the iPods at a discount. Each student also got a $10 gift certificate to buy music from a Duke-only iTunes Music Store Web site developed by Apple.