By: Maria Phillips
I have one MCOM class. Having this one class, I have to use the MCOM computer lab every once in awhile. If you haven’t had the experience, let me fill you in on the pleasures. I sign on. As I sign on, I read an article on my phone about Obama’s Jobs Act, I take my turn on Words with Friends, I check my email, I take another turn on Words With Friends, I text my friend about how long the computer is taking, and, oh, a nap. Then! Viola! The computer is done signing on! At a speedy three minutes! Once signed on, I click “My Computer” in search of the of the MCOM drive. Gee, it’s not there. What a surprise. I turn to the person next to me, ask them if they have the MCOM drive, they nod, then tell me “Oh! The last person on had that issue too!” My teacher recommends using a Mac. So then, at the Mac, I click the MCOM drive, my user name and password doesn’t work. Up I move again to another computer. The MCOM drive is there and it let me sign on! NO WAY! I click on my class folder, and the Mac freezes, because “everyone is using the computers.”
I have experienced these issues with the MCOM computers many times. As a department that relies on computers, shouldn’t they have better and faster computers than the rest? Shouldn’t all the computers be connected to the drive for that department? I feel if the computer doesn’t have the drive, then the computer should have a post it on it warning users. I’m also a little confused why there is a room full of computers if all the computers aren’t expected to operate at once. I mean, Macs are pretty, but not THAT pretty.
My heart goes out to the MCOM students at ESU. When I do have to deal with those computers, usually first thing in the morning, by the time I’m finished I can feel the nerve that just exploded in my head from frustration. To rely on a sub-par system on a daily basis to finish your school work must add a lot of un-needed stress to your workload. Other computer labs have similar issues, like the computer lab on the third floor of Stroud Hall. The internet connection in that lab is so slow, ESU email doesn’t even load. I sit there for minutes clicking “refresh” trying to get the “page cannot be display” notice to go away. So the headaches aren’t only in MCOM, but considering the hours they spend on the computer, it’s definitely a huge burden. Luckily, your teachers are nice people and try to be as helpful as possible with the unreliable technology. After all, they deal with it too.
