Merkel and Bill Gates seal pact on school PCs[fr][de] 

In a speech delivered at the annual Government Leaders Forum – Europe, organised by Microsoft in the German capital this year, the chancellor compared the innovation ushered in by the Internet and computers to the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

"I'm absolutely convinced that the fact that I am able to be here today with you, that there is no longer a wall dividing the city of Berlin [...] is indeed a direct consequence - a product - of information technology", Merkel said , turning to the guests of the annual Microsoft event.

The chancellor was speaking following the presentation by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates of one of the company's latest products to be marketed on a large scale. The 'Tablet PC' is a small laptop designed for use by pupils as a comprehensive alternative to books, notebooks and pens.

The device, for which the Seattle company provides the software, has already been introduced in some schools around the world, and particularly in the Spanish region of Aragon, where it is in widespread use. This pilot project started almost five years ago and now covers a large number of the local schools in the area.

The PC allows children to connect to the Internet during lessons and familiarises them with using software to do their homework. By the age of ten, they are already very familiar with writing, presentation and calculation software as a result.

The German chancellor embraced these innovations: "The sort of computers that are being used here and have been presented here will enable us to actually teach our students in a much cheaper" and "much more effective" way, she said.

There is currently an ongoing debate in Germany over how much pupils have to pay for textbooks and whether they should be subsidised by the government. "This whole textbooks controversy would be dealt with automatically" by the Tablet PC, said the chancellor.

The 'girl' from Eastern Germany and one of the richest men in the world reached an unlikely agreement over educational issues, but then they stumbled onto dinner habits: "The school my daughter goes to is also a Tablet PC school, and so whenever she finishes her homework [...] I see her results", Bill Gates said candidly.

"The exchange between parents and their children seems to be getting much easier (with Tablet PCs), though I have my doubts as to whether children actually appreciate their father looking into their homework in quite the way that you described, Bill, over dinner. I think dinner should actually be that one period when you talk about something less serious, something pleasant," Merkel replied.