RALEIGH, N.C., July 7, 2005 – Lenovo and Meredith College today announced the successful first-round completion of the Meredith College Technology Initiative, a program that provides all incoming freshmen with ThinkPad notebooks pre-loaded with educational and professional software to enhance the interactive learning experience. Equipped with the necessary technology skills to advance in their respective fields, the class of 2005 is the first class to participate in the program for the duration of their collegiate careers. Meredith chose ThinkPad notebooks for its campus-wide technology initiative in an effort to provide students with the highest quality technology available. ThinkVantage Technologies, available only on ThinkPad notebooks and ThinkCentre desktops by Lenovo, can help improve productivity, efficiency and security from the dorm room to the classroom.
One such feature, Access Connections, automatically reconfigures PC and network settings to find available wired and wireless networks for students all over campus. Students may also employ Rescue and Recovery, a one-button recovery solution that helps students diagnose, get help and recover from a software crash, even if the primary operating system won’t boot. Another feature called Active Protection System can detect sudden changes in movement and respond by temporarily parking the hard drive to help protect valuable data from some hardware crashes that can occur due to everyday notebook accidents. “Working first with IBM and now with Lenovo will allow us to provide the innovative technology necessary to help our students grow and advance in today’s professional world,” said Maureen Hartford, president of Meredith College. “Students will leave Meredith with real-world technology skills that will give them a competitive advantage over graduates of other institutions.” Over the course of the project to date, more than 2,275 ThinkPad notebooks have been distributed to Meredith students. Conversations between students and faculty that once took place primarily in professors’ offices are now supplemented with e-mail or instant messaging, providing increased flexibility and tools for better time management. In addition to in-class work, students are encouraged to use their notebooks for conducting research and for other independent projects. Meredith plans to continue its relationship with Lenovo citing Lenovo’s leadership in low total-cost-of-ownership as a benefit to the college’s overall productivity and efficiency. About Meredith College Meredith College, one of the largest private women’s colleges in the U.S., is consistently ranked among the top 20 “Best Colleges” in the South by the U.S. News & World Report. The academic experience at Meredith is grounded in a new general education curriculum featuring interdisciplinary study, experiential learning and global awareness. Through the Meredith Technology Initiative (MTI), students learn to integrate computer use and technology into all aspects of their lives on campus and beyond – in classrooms, academic research projects, extracurricular activities and volunteer service. As part of MTI, all full-time, first-time freshmen receive ThinkPad notebooks. The notebooks are replaced during the student’s junior year.
About Lenovo Group Ltd. Lenovo (HKSE: 992; ADR: LNVGY) is the world’s third-largest personal computing company. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company employs 19,000 people worldwide and develops, manufactures, and markets reliable, secure, and easy-to-use technology products. For more information, see www.lenovo.com.
