One billion dollar donation from Microsoft

Microsoft announced recently a 1 billion US dollars donation for education. The giant American corporation will help schools buy new Windows PC's and improve the use of technology among students.

The announcement and the donation somehow completes the ConnectED program revealed last year by the White House. The funding comes along with a new pricing program for Windows systems that will allow schools to acquire PC's from Lenovo, Dell, Acer, ASUS, HP Toshiba, Panasonic or Fujitsu under 300 dollars.

Microsoft was not shy about the donation. It's primary purpose is to improve education and reduce the technology gap some students are experiencing, but also to familiarize them with Windows. “Do we want to win them so they will be customers later? I don't think anyone shies away from that. But there's nothing negative or sinister about that. So I'll concede that is happening. However, there are still gaps out there in terms of who has access to technology and who hasn't and that is a big deal,” said Cameron Evans, Education CTO at Microsoft to Cnet.com.

In 2013, the White House announced the “ConnectED” program. Its goal was to ensure majority of students across the country will benefit high-speed Internet access by 2018. Now, with the help from Microsoft and hardware partners, schools will be able to upgrade any old existing hardware at low prices or none what so ever.