Students: Get an iPod touch free with qualifying Mac purchase

Apple is launching its back-to-school promotion today, and according to MacRumors it's expected to be its largest promotion ever.

Apple is offering "a free 8GB iPod touch ($299) to college students who buy a qualifying Mac (MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Pro)."

VentureBeat goes further, contending that putting Apple's mobile platform in the hands of students practically ensures its dominance in the marketplace. "You can kiss the desktop computer goodbye," MG Siegler writes. "It's time to start training the young minds of today about the future of computing: mobile."

Instead of an iPod touch, students can opt for an 8GB iPod nano, but it's hard to see why anybody would want to do this with the soon-to-be-launched App Store.

The promotion ends September 15.

Thanks Eliot, Chris, Bert, Matt, and everyone who sent this in!