Though the Eaton Computer Lab was renovated and expanded last year, some students are again complaining about a computer shortage - not in terms of total quantity, but for PCs relative to Macs. Students' lack of familiarity with Macs and other difficulties have left many calling for more PCs.
That concern is evident most afternoons at Eaton. The first floor contains half Macs and half PCs, but the division typically doesn't represent the demand for each type of computer. Generally, there are twice as many computers in use on the PC side as there are on the Mac side of the room. The basement of Eaton, which has only PCs, is often packed.
Eaton Lab System Manager Marian Lau said the situation was not worrisome.
"It depends on the time of day, but both Macs and PCs do get used," Lau said. "The Macs serve the same function as the PCs but people are scared to use them."
The Mac-PC breakdown was a result of an Information Technology Services (ITS) perception that student demand for Macs was significant. "Originally, in the old Jackson lab we had 18 Macs and always got complaints about the lack of Macs available," ITS Director Tony Sulprizo said.
In total, there are 109 PCs and 45 Macs. But a good amount of the PCs are located downstairs, and students using them must walk back and forth between the levels if they wish to print.
One reason students may not be using the Macs is that they just don't know how. Nico Juber, president of Tufts Mac Users Group, said that "people try to use them, get frustrated, and then don't use them anymore."
According to Juber, the desk staff's lack of knowledge about the Macs may be causing students to stay away from them. She once had trouble printing from a Mac and had to e-mail it to a PC to get the printout.
"If I can't do it, others must really be frustrated considering I am the head of this group." Juber said.
Juber suggested investing in better Macs, but some students say there's just not enough desire to use them in the first place. "There's obviously a demand for more PCs," said Andrew Marcus, a senior and PC user. "They should replace some of the Macs with PCs because no one ever uses the Macs."
The University does buy computers based on usage, according Manager of Instructional Services Jeff Weiner. But the problem of student acquaintance with Macs could might be an easily amended one.
Juber suggested that a workshop in Eaton, run by Tufts MUG, could help hesitant students learn to use the Macs. Sulprizo agrees that this would be a good idea and offered to set a time in the Eaton Lab to teach students.
"We hadn't planned on doing training, but we are certainly willing to work on something like that," Sulprizo said.
Heather Thompson, a junior and a Mac user at home, only uses the PCs in Eaton Lab because she cannot access items as easily from Macs. She asked for help in using the Macs, but gave up after she realized the desk staff was not knowledgeable.
Though the differences between computer operating systems are seemingly minimal, some students, like Juber and Thomson, have Macs at home but still struggle with those in the labs.
"I'm disappointed at how difficult the use of Mac computers has been made," Juber said. She added that Macs should be easier to use than PCs but that Eaton often conveys the opposite impression.
"It's not a clear cut situation because the University has already made an investment," senior Rob Greene said. "It would be nice, though, to see the University make a wiser investment - one that would help the majority of students either through workshops or a different computer setup."
