Product Review:
The MacCase MackPack Combo
by Mitchell Levine
The
largest deployment of education technology resources in
the history of our school system will occur when the New
York City Department of Education completes its stated goal
of finally reaching the “one-to-one computing standard” in
the hopefully near future. That lofty ambition will involve outfitting each student, teacher, and
administrator in the five boroughs with access to some
type of mobile technology. One major one is the issue of
transport. The students who most need access to technology,
because they’re least likely to have available in
the home, are the ones that live in areas most likely to
create a security risk for a child taking even an inexpensive
laptop home with them, both to the child and the laptop.
But for the standard-bearers
of education technology, the Apple Powerbook and iBook, no
case has been specifically designed to accommodate these
units, popular with teachers and students everywhere. That
is, until Mac-Case’s MacPack
Combo Backpack. Less
obtrusive than a hardshell case, yet more protective than a
simple nylon tote, the MacPack provides convenient travel aid
for 12”, 15”, and 17” Powerbooks and 12” and
14” iBooks, many of which are currently used in the New
York schools. Made from tough ripstop fabrics, the MacPack
shell is practical, convenient, and affordable, and with its
809 square inches of space, it can easily swallow a 17” Apple
notebook.
But fitting into the
interior is Mac-Case’s
state of the art MacCase Sleeve, filled with tough, dense foam
surrounded by the company’s Pure Silver nylon, more than
strong enough to protect a portable from a shoulder height
drop and more. The shoulder straps are anchored into solid
foam fitting over the rear panel, ensuring that the entire
structure carries the weight of the bag, and not just the seams
of the straps. Plus the bottom of the bag is foamed as well,
providing shock absorption for accessories and books as well.
The backpacks also feature
auxiliary compartments good for carrying CDs, floppies, and
ZIP disks, as well as room for folders, texts, and notebooks.
For under $90 dollars retail – without applying potential
discounts for institutional volume purchases – it’s
difficult to see how a technology buyer planning for fall laptop
usage could go wrong. For more information, or online purchases,
log on to the manufacturer’s site at www.Mac-Case.com#
