Rumors have been flying all over the Web about the soon to be announced new systems from Apple Computer. One of the interesting tidbits that I ran across is a statement concerning the new systems aimed at educational institutions.

Think Secret has reported that the new educational Apple will not include an optical drive and the reason they give is surprising to say the least:

“…one of the reasons for the decision not to include an optical drive on the educational model is to not only keep prices down, but to fulfill a request by many schools not to include the drive. Some schools have told Apple that they have experienced increased security problems from having optical drives in their Macs. Many schools have deliberately locked down their optical drives to prevent sharing and copying of copyrighted material.”

I hope this isn’t a trend we’ll see in other areas. It’s terrible the hold the RIAA has already gotten on everyone and this is just another example of how far a bad idea can be taken.