News > September 13, 2007

By Elliot Engstrom | Asst. news editor

First-year students and juniors eagerly receive their new laptop computers at the beginning of each fall semester. This program has worked very well since it began in 1998, and the wireless capabilities of the Reynolda Campus make having a laptop very convenient for both academic and leisure activities. However, many students who received new laptops this fall seem to think that the machines are lacking.

Information Systems and many Resident Technology Advisers were bombarded with questions on move-in day and problems regarding the new machines.

Even now, many students continue to have problems that are more than just annoying errors.

“I came to school expecting to get this computer that was going to work great,” freshman Margo Warren said.

“It just has more issues than I had imagined. My printer has been broken for over a week, but I just don’t have the means to get over to IS easily, especially with my schedule.”

Nick Tetsworth, the Johnson Residence Hall RTA, was right in the thick of the situation on move-in day.

However, when asked about his workload that day, Tetsworth did not seem particularly frustrated.

“I felt like it was a pretty standard amount of work,” he said. “I do have a dislike for finding problems that are out of my reach, because I like to have the ability to fix whatever problems might arise.

“I don’t like having to send things to the Help Desk, because I am here to keep things from having to go there.”

One common problem on move-in day was the world map wallpaper error.

“The world map is not limited to Wake Forest,” Tetsworth said. “It is actually a global error that has been affecting more than just our computers.”

According to the IS Web site, “If you see the (world map) as the background picture on your R60 ThinkPad, you may not be able to access all the functions on the ThinkPad, such as your e-mail.”

However, the problems do not include every new computer on campus.

The primary difference between this year’s and last year’s computers is that this year’s students received the R-series laptop, and last year’s students received the T-series.

“This year, we had a comprehensive, campus-wide committee that analyzed various offers and selected the Lenovo R60 as the best overall choice for our students given the typical use patterns at Wake Forest,” said IS Chief Information Officer Jay Dominick on a question and answer page on the Information Systems Web site.

“The T-series is an excellent computer that commands a substantially higher price for a slightly lighter and more rugged form factor,” Dominick said. “While the T61 was an option, the R60 represented the best combination of performance and value.”

Some would say this represents a downgrade in computers from last year’s T-series to this year’s R-series.

“At first my printer didn’t work,” freshman Stephanie Trenkner said.

“So I had to carry the printer and the computer all the way over to IS. They hooked up a different printer, and it ended up being a problem on the computer.”

“My computer has worked fine since that day, but it was a long day,” she said. “The IS people were helpful, and they did eventually figure it out.”

Trenkner did not make the error of using her CD-ROM to install her printer drivers.

Students should not use the CD-ROM that accompanies the printer when installing their printer drivers.

The IS staff members have been helping many students since the start of the semester with computer issues.

“The people at the Help Desk are working as hard as they can,” Tetsworth said. “I know the people down at IS have really been working hard to resolve these issues. They’re certainly working as hard as they can.”

“I am frustrated,” Warren said. “I have to e-mail everything to a friend’s computer, and have them print things out for me. My roommate’s printer does not work either so I have to e-mail it next door. If she’s not there, I’m just screwed.”

There are some minor problems that students may be able to fix on their own.

Computer techs gave the advice that if a new computer freezes and cannot be turned off, then the student hold the power button down for about 10 seconds, and it should turn off.

If the internet connection is refusing to connect to the wireless network, check to make sure the wireless radio switch is on. It is located on the bottom left of the computer, next to the speakers. Also, never put the computer into sleep mode while playing a game. Tetsworth hopes that all problems will be taken care of soon.

“I feel that we have good hardware,” he said of the computers themselves.

“Everyone at IS is doing their best to make sure everyone’s experience with their computer is a good one.”