If your university did buy more bandwidth, I can assure you the quality of the students gaming experience didn't cross anyone's mind. It's not quite as simple as the network admin calling up the local ISP and going to the next tier.
Aside from the argument that the bandwidth is for educational use, trying to support gaming in our dorms would be a full-time job based on the number of calls and emails we get on a daily basis about it.
People use to be all "well that sucks, i'll get over it." Now I've got parents calling wondering why Johnny can't play his favorite MMO that he "really, really likes to play." I seriously thought that a guy that came to my office a few weeks ago was going to hit me because he couldn't play FFXI.
The worse part though, is when a group of students try to fake network problems in order for us to fix Johnny's issues, because, apparently, we don't monitor the network at all until 20 people on the same floor complain.
If they really need their fix, they are more than welcome to get a cable modem from the local cable company. I can't vouch for all Universities, but nobody here is forced to use our LAN.
I'm a non-smoker, but I've never really understood smoking bans. If a restaurant chooses to not have a "smoking section" (which I'll admit is pretty much in name only), then they run the risk of losing customers that do not smoke and don't wish to breathe it. But do the customers they are driving away have the legal right to eat at that restaurant?
If there's something I don't like about a restaurant, then I choose to not patron it and hope that enough people will do the same so that they get the idea.
Is it just me, or is Slashdot trying to fill it's monthly "My computer science degree is useless" quota with this one.
I left the engineering program at my school because I realized the only reason I started in it was because I had convinced myself it was the only way to get a good job. Now that I'm in the CS program, I'm confident knowing that I came to college to get an education, not to learn a trade.
At the University I attend, "library renovation" did not include any new books. It did however include a new computer lab, leather chairs and couches, and food carts. If you walked in the front door, it'd be hard to tell it was a library. I realize that most research is being done on the internet these days, but some of us actually like to read.
at my University. All the dorm rooms have wired ethernet connections, but it is policy that students can not use wireless access points in their rooms. And, the only computers that are allowed access to the campus wireless network (that covers the library, the student center, and the IT building) are University machines.
There reasoning? Viruses. I kid you not. Or at least that's the lastest excuse coming from InformationSystems. Although the main spreading of viruses comes from the fact that the few Faculty (last I heard it was 7) who has access to sending mail to allstudents@myuniversity.edu all but refuse to take simple measures to keeping viruses from spreading.
And it's not like the few who would use the wireless are going to do any more damage the the hoardes of students who infect the campus network from their machines as soon as they plug them in to the wall.
I don't particularly care for the way this whole excite@home situation has been dealt with on a public relations front. Personally, I had to email my service provider to get information concerning this, and then they suggest things like "Check our website for updates."
I can't do that if I don't have service..
You would think that in an age where people have become dependent on the internet for just about everything that these companies should be obligated to tell you when they are just going to cut you off, or when they really don't know what's going to happen. It's not like you've violated your end of the deal and they have the right to "discontinue service at any time."
I sent an email to mediacom@home asking them what was going to happen if @home went down tomorrow, and got this:
" Dear Valued Customer,
We know that having reliable high-speed cable Internet service is important to you, and Mediacom always strives to provide you with the quality high-speed cable Internet service and customer care that you expect.
As you may have heard, our service provider, Excite@Home, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The creditors of Excite@Home have secured a hearing in bankruptcy court this Friday, November 30, which could result in service interruptions or shutdown of the Excite@Home service. Mediacom and other cable operators, including AT&T Broadband, Comcast and Cox Communications, are fighting to prevent this from happening and remain hopeful that no service interruptions or shutdown will occur.
To ensure minimal disruption to your service, we request that you check your email account(s) on a daily basis. Doing this will automatically save your email to your hard
drive as well as ensure timely receipt of important future communications from Mediacom. Also, backup your personal web page(s) by copying them to a diskette, CD or to your computer hard drive.
Mediacom is working hard to avoid any disruption of your high-speed cable Internet service and to seek alternate service providers in the event that Excite@Home discontinues service. Please check your email, U.S. Mail and our company website (www.mediacomcc.com) for important information about any potential changes to your service.
Thank you for your patience as we strive to provide you with the best high-speed cable Internet service possible.
Sincerely,
John G. Pascarelli
Senior Vice President
Marketing and Consumer Services "
Valued Customer? yea, right.. I'm sure they didn't plan on telling anybody unless they asked about it.
Slashdot Mirror
If your university did buy more bandwidth, I can assure you the quality of the students gaming experience didn't cross anyone's mind. It's not quite as simple as the network admin calling up the local ISP and going to the next tier.
Aside from the argument that the bandwidth is for educational use, trying to support gaming in our dorms would be a full-time job based on the number of calls and emails we get on a daily basis about it.
People use to be all "well that sucks, i'll get over it." Now I've got parents calling wondering why Johnny can't play his favorite MMO that he "really, really likes to play." I seriously thought that a guy that came to my office a few weeks ago was going to hit me because he couldn't play FFXI.
The worse part though, is when a group of students try to fake network problems in order for us to fix Johnny's issues, because, apparently, we don't monitor the network at all until 20 people on the same floor complain.
If they really need their fix, they are more than welcome to get a cable modem from the local cable company. I can't vouch for all Universities, but nobody here is forced to use our LAN.
If there's something I don't like about a restaurant, then I choose to not patron it and hope that enough people will do the same so that they get the idea.
Is it just me, or is Slashdot trying to fill it's monthly "My computer science degree is useless" quota with this one.
I left the engineering program at my school because I realized the only reason I started in it was because I had convinced myself it was the only way to get a good job. Now that I'm in the CS program, I'm confident knowing that I came to college to get an education, not to learn a trade.
Stick with what you enjoy.
At the University I attend, "library renovation" did not include any new books. It did however include a new computer lab, leather chairs and couches, and food carts. If you walked in the front door, it'd be hard to tell it was a library. I realize that most research is being done on the internet these days, but some of us actually like to read.
There reasoning? Viruses. I kid you not. Or at least that's the lastest excuse coming from InformationSystems. Although the main spreading of viruses comes from the fact that the few Faculty (last I heard it was 7) who has access to sending mail to allstudents@myuniversity.edu all but refuse to take simple measures to keeping viruses from spreading.
And it's not like the few who would use the wireless are going to do any more damage the the hoardes of students who infect the campus network from their machines as soon as they plug them in to the wall.
Is there an overzealous parent robot in the crowd yelling obscenities at the coach and screaming "Daddy didn't raise a loser!"
I don't particularly care for the way this whole excite@home situation has been dealt with on a public relations front. Personally, I had to email my service provider to get information concerning this, and then they suggest things like "Check our website for updates."
I can't do that if I don't have service..
You would think that in an age where people have become dependent on the internet for just about everything that these companies should be obligated to tell you when they are just going to cut you off, or when they really don't know what's going to happen. It's not like you've violated your end of the deal and they have the right to "discontinue service at any time."
Valued Customer? yea, right.. I'm sure they didn't plan on telling anybody unless they asked about it.