Dive Summary:
- In the interest of increasing student safety, Drexel University in Philadelphia installed a MacBook vending machine in its library so students' personal laptops wouldn't make them potential targets for muggers if they stayed too late at the library.
- The machine is accessible 24/7 and students can borrow one of its 12 MacBooks for a 5-hour period using their university ID cards, with a $5 late fee incurred should the device not be returned on time.
- While stored in the machine, the MacBooks are charged and their hard drives are wiped clean, and no library staff have to be on hand to loan the machines to a student.
From the article:
For students on late-night studying binges, schlepping their tech around campus might not be ideal. Drexel University in Philadelphia has an interesting solution to that problem. The university installed a MacBook vending machine in the library, reports VentureBeat. The machine dispenses out laptops on loan 24 hours a day. This way, students can access technology easily, and not worry about staying too late at the library and then having to carrying their laptops home. ...