Education takes center stage at Fremont High, technology plays an essential role, and everyone can applaud the successes at this digital high school in northern California.

Students have been energized not only by the variety of the digital course material but also by the flexibility of AirPort wireless technology, enjoying “easy access to the Internet, to email, and to assignments and information stored on school networks,” according to teacher John McGee.

AirPort and iBook computers have allowed administrators to use existing space as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Wireless mobile labs allow more classes to share the technology wealth without costly construction, and as Principal Peter Tuana notes, labs can be dedicated to “specific skills like digital publishing, graphic design, and computer programming.”

And teachers can spend more time interacting with students and can use online resources to share class notes, post assignments, and make supportive and illustrative materials available to them.

Whether you’re moving across town or across the continent, you know that looking for a new place to call “home” can be a real challenge. So you may be pleased to hear that you no longer have to leave your house, hop a plane, or even get out of your pjs to look for your next dream house. Now, thanks to Virtual Properties, the houses can come to you.

How is that possible?

“Using QuickTime VR and the unparalleled digital imaging capabilities of the Mac, we produce high-quality images and virtual tours that allow potential buyers to explore homes as if they were actually there,” explains Nancy Zellmer, one of the founders of Virtual Properties.

At Avondale High School in Australia, students and faculty have created a digital publishing empire, producing everything from a website to their own magazine, “Horizon.”

In fact, “all 400 students are actively involved in publishing—be it print, web, or video—using the school network of iMac and Power Mac computers.” Pupils spend their first year at Avondale publishing newspapers with AppleWorks and later move into the roles of radio producer (using QuickTime to stream audio) and broadcast journalist (using iMovie and QuickTime) to broadcast news reports via the Internet.

There is a downside to all this digital productivity. According to David Chapman, the school’s network administrator, “With so many students eager to continue with their projects, it’s almost impossible to get a seat” in the school’s lab of iMac computers during recess and lunch time.

Harry Sandhu’s artwork has been seen on greeting cards, mouse pads, and posters. He’s 15 years old. And he’s autistic.

Drawing inspiration from the world around him, he uses his Macintosh and an AppleWorks template set up for both art and writing to create vibrant digital pictures that he annotates with explanations of his feelings.

“The computer has allowed us to understand Harry’s gift,” says teacher Diana Sturn. “By attaching words to his drawings and helping him generate stories, we have helped Harry find a way to interact with those around him.”

It has action so intense and a main character so tough, you might think for a moment that you’re watching a movie instead of playing a videogame.

The game is Driver, and it’s available now for your Macintosh. In it, you play Tanner, a veteran undercover cop sent on a mission to infiltrate a nationwide gang of car thieves.

There are over 40 missions in the game. In each one, you drive around in a muscle car and try to complete your objectives without getting caught by the cops, who don’t know you’re on their side (since you can’t afford to blow your cover) and will be in hot pursuit if you do so much as run a red light.

On March 24, your Macintosh will change forever. That’s the day Mac OS X arrives, and we think you’ll like what you see as Mac OS X now incorporates many of the suggestions we received from Public Beta testers — and we received over 75,000 items of feedback.

In fact, you can see how we’ve incorporated your suggestions for the Apple Menu, Finder, Toolbars, and Dock by visiting this page on the Mac OS X website.

But the big news for today: we’re now accepting preorders for Mac OS X at the Apple Store, and if you place your order today, you can be among the first to receive the OS of the future when it begins to ship on March 24.Six weeks and counting.

Enjoying iTunes?

We certainly hope so. And we have a few suggestions that will help you get the most out of our new jukebox software. We’ve updated the iTunes site to include a series of QuickTime movies that provide a multimedia primer of the application’s features.

We’ve added articles on iTunes to our Technical Information Library that explain, for example, how you can synchronize the iTunes Library on two different Macintosh computers.

And we’ve posted a file (intended for customers with iMac DV+, iMac DV Special Edition, and Power Mac G4 Cube computers) that places new firmware on the Apple DVD-ROM drive. The new firmware allows the drive to extract audio at the highest possible speed, so you spend less time converting your favorite tunes and more time listening to them.