Is there anything more frustrating than a broken computer? I can think of a few things, but that would ruin this exciting hook, so let's ignore them.
Computer problems are inevitable, and if you haven't yet experienced the blue screen of death consider yourself lucky and preemptively dash for the nearest Amish community. Fortunately, in the worst of times you have the Bookstore Technology Center to expedite the recovery of your beloved personal computing devices. Well, that's not completely true.
I have the utmost respect for the BTC, and am confident that its employees are highly competent and helpful when it comes to customer service. In fact, they proudly flaunt their impressive 65 years of experience on their Web site, and I have no doubt it shows in their work.
However, their work ethic does not excuse their business ethic, as the BTC has overt relationships with only a small group of hardware brands, exclusively selling those companies' products and satisfying those companies' customers. This is just not fair to Brown students.
Here's the deal: the BTC has "key partnerships" with Dell, Apple and Lenovo (apparently Lenovo owns IBM). According to BTC Assistant Director Michael Romauld, contracts with these companies allow the BTC to perform hardware warranty repairs, and "exclusively affect vendor campus store setups."
What does the former entail? If you happen to own a Dell, Apple or Lenovo system and it malfunctions, the repair can conveniently be performed right at the bookstore. On the other hand, if you happen to have any other system, you have to ship your computer to the manufacturer, which is quite a hassle, especially for time-pressed college students like us.
Of course, the bookstore says on its Web site that it's willing to assist in the process of getting "Non Dell, Apple and Lenovo systems" repaired in any way under warranty, and for that it has my respect. The BTC even performs general repairs on excluded brands, which certainly speaks to its versatility.
But that doesn't change the fact that the BTC's services privilege only a triad of companies.
The plot thickens as I reaffirm that the BTC only sells Dell, Apple and Lenovo products on its Web site. I guess the BTC knows something we don't about the quality of computers, because apparently these are the only systems in demand.
Although that's not all, for CIS, which according to Romauld works closely with the BTC, outright recommends only Dell and Apple computers, and HP printers (I guess HP computers aren't recommended), on its Web site.
Selling only a select group of computers is one thing, but explicitly recommending that group over all others is simply unjust. If that's not enforcing some kind of monopoly (or triopoly?), I don't know what is.
I know what you're thinking. Doesn't the Dell-Apple-Lenovo triad encompass a large majority of the student body, making this column seem petty? Well, at Brown there is a 70-to-30 PC to Mac ratio. I couldn't find the exact computer brand breakdown among the student body, but I really don't think Dell and Lenovo collectively account for 70 percent of computers at Brown.
Accordingly, there is bound to be a decent number of students that do not benefit from the BTC's services or sales in any way, including me(I have a Hewlett-Packard laptop). Are we supposed to accept this condemnation to technological neglect? I hope not.
I realize Brown's intentions of providing us easy access to computing services and products are admirable, but the reality of it just doesn't make sense. To throw a bit of a cliche out there, policies for the students should reflect the needs of the students. I don't see this happening here.
Attempting to remedy the situation doesn't seem that difficult. Brown could certainly start by forging partnerships with other major computer system manufacturers.
Naturally it would be impossible to partner up with every computer brand on the market, but big names like Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Toshiba are undeniably a necessity. This might call for a little financial expenditure on the part of the University, but that's something I'm willing to sacrifice for a technology center with more comprehensive policies.
Jared Lafer '11 is a philosophy concentrator from Manhattan. He can be reached at jared_lafer (at) brown.edu
