iLounge

Only a day after French lawmakers voted to approve a new bill that could force Apple to open its copy-protection technology used on the iPod and iTunes, the company announced a collaboration with one of France’s leading universities to provide iPods and other technology for educational use. HEC, the French institution, will use fifth-generation iPods loaded with content and distribute lectures and other curriculum online.

“Under the terms of the two-year partnership, Apple will work closely with HEC, a business school located near Versailles, on integrating iPods and other digital technology into classrooms and curricula,” reports BusinessWeek’s Andy Reinhardt. “It’s the first such relationship Apple has struck in Europe, following the model of similar deals with Stanford University and Duke University in the U.S.”

Reinhardt continues: “Starting with the MBA class entering HEC next fall, every student will be given a video iPod engraved with the school’s logo on the back. About half of all lectures will be captured in digital video and saved in massive network servers, where students will be able to review them, in the form of video podcasts, as little as an hour later. The iPods also will be stuffed with a wealth of useful tools and information, such as campus maps, class schedules, RSS feeds of news stories, and language training courses.”