There is the slightest hint of change hanging in the musty air of the Friedman Study Center. Physically the computer clusters look the same, but the home screen has exchanged its brooding black monochrome for an ethereal blue-green. This is the first evidence cluster-users have of the new software upgrade.
Consequent encounters may not be so pleasant. In some cases this semester, users have been unable to find a PawPrints printer to handle their printing demands.
At the end of this summer, Computer and Information Services upgraded the operating system on PCs across campus from Windows XP to Windows 7. The change was made to convenience students, said Christopher Grossi '92, assistant director of desktop support services. Before, students using a PC in a computer cluster in the Rockefeller Library, the Friedman Study Center or the Center for Information Technology would lose all work they may have saved after logging out of the system. Windows 7 allows a student to save files for up to 24 hours on these communal machines.
But this added benefit has resulted in the inability of some PCs to connect to PawPrints. Jeffrey Clark, assistant director of classroom information technology and computer repair services, said that under Windows 7 there is "more network traffic." A PC connects with a printer at the time a student logs into the system. Because of the higher traffic associated with the new file-saving feature, Clark said, "it takes more time for the system to set up a printer."
As a result, the PawPrints printer option occasionally does not load. This problem is resolved rather easily — signs direct frustrated users to restart their computers. Library Lab Consultants at the Help Desk can also fix the problem.
Lab Consultant Ben Farber '12 said "the majority" of questions he gets are about printing. This semester, Farber said he was not just asked to help resolve paper jams or approached by freshmen new to the PawPrints system — this new genre of printing woes has far outnumbered the others. But Farber said this problem has been happening a lot less frequently in recent weeks.
Eric Hubble '11 has encountered this glitch when using the scanner computers at the Sciences Library. "You can tell it to print, but nothing goes through," he said.
Chishio Furukawa '12 has also encountered the printer problems. He suggested that students "try out a couple computers to find one that works" but added that the problem was "not that serious."
But the glitch seems to target randomly — Gladys Ndagire '13 considered herself a satisfied user of the system and said "the printing is fine."
CIS has been working hard to mediate the printers with the clusters, Grossi said. "We reconfigured the network to prioritize printing activity and make it faster."
