Google Chromebook lending kiosks coming to US colleges

[froggyboy604]

 
College students at select universities across the US will be able to borrow Chromebooks for up to three days via the Chromebook Lending Library. The lending library will be in the form of a kiosk, and will be initially coming to a dozen universities, with more slated for the future.
 

The announcement was made by Google for Education today, and is an effort to get devices running the company's Chrome OS into the hands of college students. The Lending Library, featured in the image above, will dish out Chromebooks for interested students to try out.
 
 

The kiosks will initially be coming to Auburn University, ASU, GW, Central Florida, Penn State University, Syracuse at Walnut Park, Texas State University, Texas A&M, UCLA, and University of Colorado Boulder. The Lending Library will start rolling out over the upcoming weeks.

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The Chromebook lending kiosk sounds like a good alternative from staying late at the library, computer lab, and class to use a computer, or waiting for an empty computer for students which don't own a reliable desktop or laptop computer at home for doing homework.

Plus, most of these laptops are newer, so they are less likely to have hardware problems like overheating, broken screens, missing keys on the keyboard, and broken USB ports like the older computers in some computer rooms at colleges which can't afford better computers.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

I'm curious how well they will return the laptops and or even return them at all.

 

[froggyboy604]

I think the library's laptops would be returned in good shape since the college library can force you to pay for lost laptops, and repairs by charging your college tuition bills, or phoning you up to return their stuff. Some colleges may even go as far as not giving you your grades, or diploma until you return the library's laptops, and paid the overdue fees. 

 

[Demon_Skeith]

I've learned that accidents are very high chance in college.

 

[froggyboy604]

I think the chance of accidents depends on the college since some colleges have a lot of parties because of frats, and clubs while other colleges may have less or no parties on colleges because the college like a Religious Christian or Military or Police college is very strict, and may not allow parties on campus.

I wonder if these laptops will also be lent with a protective laptop bag to prevent damage while students are carrying them around school and town.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

People tend to study in groups, leaving the cap off of their drinks, they leave them unattended long enough to be stolen and people do tend to throw their book bags around. Just somethings I've seen.

 

[froggyboy604]

A lot of places here ban food and drinks because it attracts rats, and other types of rodents. The librarian, and other staff enforce the rule very strictly sometimes because rats carry germs.

It's sad how people badly treat their books since books are so expensive sometimes, and if your books are damaged, the bookstore and other students won't buy them, or ask for a big discount.

I think some of the better Chromebooks are made to handle the abuse of students because most of their buyers are schools from Grade 1-12 where some kids tend to slam the laptop lid, and drop it. They also have a SSD which is less likely to break when dropped.