The Technograph

How many computers have you owned? How long do you expect your current computer to last? These may seem like simple or trivial questions, but some students are increasingly more worried about what their computer can handle and for how long it will be “up to date.” Since technology is such an integral part of students’ studies and social lives, it would make sense that they value it highly. Are students really keeping their concerns and best interests in mind when they constantly upgrade their computers?

Two major ideas when looking at why people today are compelled to upgrade are Moore’s Law (the idea that the number of transistors able to fit on a chip will double every eighteen months) and planned obsolescence (the thought that the technology that one can buy today will be “obsolete” within a few years).

While these are both widely used terms, some believe that they can have somewhat negative connotations. Steven Doran, a Media Studies teaching assistant at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, mentions that these terms may cause people to believe that buying new equipment is necessary when it actually is not.

“Moore’s Law isn’t a law; there is nothing that guarantees the universality of the rate of increase in processor speeds. Instead, it suggests that technology functions in a certain way that there is an inevitability to the process of technological development and consumption that we are helpless to influence or stop,” says Doran.

He also points out that a major danger of this mentality is that it gives consumers (including students) a feeling of disposability to computers, MP3 players, and cell phones due to the speed at which new technology is available.

While this does considerable damage to students’ checking accounts, Doran says that the real danger in this mentality is for workers in other countries and the environment in which they work in.

“Computers and related objects are filled with toxic chemicals that are rarely disposed of correctly; a lot of the waste of these discarded technologies—called ‘e-waste’—is exported by the West to other countries, China and India especially, where it is left to be taken care of.”

While many Americans may never see these effects personally, Doran mentions that the workers exposed to these chemicals are paid extremely low wages and risk the contamination of diseases every day as their water supply and surrounding environment are ruined.

Do students at U of I really fall into the idea of disposability of technology, or should they be worried for other reasons? While some students are gravely concerned about the futures of their computers (Beth Rodgers, a graduate student in civil engineering, is currently on her fourth computer of her college career), others do not seem to think that they will need to replace their hardware soon. For the most part, these confident students own desktops which can be upgraded with newer parts as needed, and some students have few enough computer needs that they will not need an upgrade soon anyway. All of these cases, however, are with computers less than three years old. Are these students simply not able to foresee possible (and possibly unnecessary) upgrading worries, or are they simply not fazed by the idea?

One student, James MacLeod, commented, “I am not worried about [my computer] being obsolete when I graduate because I know it will be. With the pace of technology you can have a cutting edge system for six months max.”

This is an even lower estimate than what Moore’s Law suggests, giving credence to Steven Doran’s point that the idea of technology being temporary as a growing issue.

On the other end of computing needs, students show even less concern about the finances necessary to update software. While computer hardware may last longer than some students think, the urge to find the newest and best software occurs much more frequently with ever-increasing price tags. When asked about this, however, most students are not concerned; they simply point out the fact that they can find low-cost or free software at the CITES store. But what happens after graduation?

A.J. Christensen, a recent graduate in computer science, says “Financially, I’m much more concerned about upgrading technology as a graduate. Where students are provided easy access to lots of software through CITES, bachelors are compelled to trade eating for the newest hardware.”

While CITES provides opportunities for software upgrades now, many students fail to look past graduation when it comes to their computer needs. All these ideas converge on a need for a higher level of concern and consideration when it comes to technology usage both in the present and the future.

Tagged with: computer, Moore, study, cites