Thousands of Kids Head to Apple Summer Camp

Apple has found an intriguing way to train thousands of kids on Macintoshes this summer. The strategy involves free “camps” hosted at Apple Stores across the country. Thousands of kids — including The VAR Guy’s own sons — are signing up. Here’s why.

Apple Stores remain the coolest retail destinations for adults and kids alike. Even if you’re not ready to spend money, you can hang out at the Genius Bar to get some hands-on help and direction from Apple experts.

Now, about the Apple Camp. During these three-hour workshops, kids can learn how to make a movie, compose a song, create a slideshow and more, according to Apple. Best of all, the Apple Camp is free; that’s a great price if you’re an anonymous blogger with shallow pockets.

It’s hard to imagine another technology company offering this type of camp. Hanging out with Microsoft in the aisles of Best Buy or Circuit City doesn’t sound like much fun. But making a movie on a Mac in an Apple Store? Cool.

Of course, there’s the age-old concern that kids will wind up “hard wired” to a specific  vendor platform (Mac OS) and won’t be creative in other worlds.

But The VAR Guy will worry about those concerns as soon as Apple gets 90 percent market share on the desktop. In the meantime, his kids are going to Apple Camp.