Welcome Back!

08-23-00 - Yikes! Who can believe that the summer is already over? It hardly seems possible that vacation and lazy summer days are over. Oh wait, I was here all summer. Well, in any case, it was still a really short summer!

It's great to have everyone back! You may have noticed a few changes in the labs.

We have been working very hard to get new machines bought and installed in the labs. We've purchased a lot of new software, and have been on the phone, constantly, with a certain unnamed computer manufacturer (you know who you are) in order to determine why the machines we ordered in early July are still not here in late August.

Our new Mac G4s are gorgeous (did I mention how much I like the new mouse and keyboard?), and wicked fast with dual 500 MHz processors and boat-loads of RAM. These were funded through an outside grant (thank you to those who helped write the grant!).

That big empty area in the back of the open lab will soon (hopefully) be filled with 20 new Windows machines. The old machines (what a relative term in techno-speak!) have been moved to the Windows teaching lab in 440.

We have lots of new materials available for check-out, including four new USB, Graphire WACOM graphics tablets (you can check these out in 434), and a new CD-RW. We also have some new video editing equipment in the labs, and new instructor stations. Mike has definitely been busy!

I do want to call your attention to a few new policies and rules in the labs. We have to keep food and drink out of the labs, folks. There were way too many close calls over the summer. We have a lot of money invested in equipment in the labs. If you break something, we may not be able to replace it, and even if we can, it'll mean weeks without a machine. Plus, cleaning up sticky keyboards and mice, and coffee spills is really gross (for me and the custodial staff). Please keep it out of the labs, or on the front counters by the sinks. If I see you with food or drink, I will remind you to keep it to the front of the room.

So, welcome back, and get set for a very productive and fun semester!

–J

Jennifer Nieland is the lab coordinator for the College of the Design student computer labs. She has had wayyy to much fun playing with the new video-editing equipment and the new G4s.