Some 2,500 students in Pittsfield and North Adams middle schools in Massachusetts will get Apple iBooks as part of a new laptop pilot program expected to cost US$5.4 million over three years. “The Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative is modeled after a larger program begun in Maine in 2002 and credited with inspiring students to learn needed skills for the future work force… Spearheaded by former state Rep. Peter J. Larkin, the initiative was given a start last July, when the Legislature overrode the veto of Gov. Mitt Romney to provide $2 million in funding. The private sector is expected to match that amount–and $430,000 in pledges were announced yesterday. Details of the overall program, including the cost and the number of computers to be distributed, were not readily available.”