Hey guys!

It’s almost over! I just finished up writing my last paper and I submitted it on webCT!

Oh… have I not told you about webCT? Well, late is better than never I suppose!

WebCT is a online service that the College of Mount St. Joseph pays to have for us. It’s used to help teachers communicate to students and vice versa! It really is a really cool resource! I wish all my teachers used it!

Yeah, that’s the problem right there. You see, teachers don’t have to use it if they don’t want to. For instance I have some teachers that don’t use it at all. Not even a little bit. Then I have a few teachers that have their webCT set up, but they really don’t put anything useful up there.  Theeeeeeeen I have my Photography teacher! And in his class you better learn to use WebCT or your probably going to fail.

My photo professor is as old school as anyone here, but when it comes to technology, he’s really got his stuff together. Each week, he gives a presentation on the technique we’re going to be trying in the darkroom that week. But he doesn’t hand anything else out. There are projects sheets, and usually pages upon pages upon pages of extra hints and instructions, but they’re not printed. If you want them, you have to go online to WebCT.

I actually like that for a ton of reasons. Firstly, it saves a mountain of paper which we’re all just going to eventually throw away anyhow. The best part is though, you always have your project sheets, because chances are you didn’t forget your laptop. If you did, there’s computers on campus. Wanna work ahead? Project sheet is already up! Lagging behind? Your project sheet is still there! Good stuffs!

Anyway, back to work! I still have finals tomorrow!

See you all soon!

Hey everyone.  For the past few months, I have been living in a world we are all unfamiliar with.  This is the world without ownership of a personal computer or the internet.  Luckily, the Mount provides us with a beautiful computer lab so I can get my blog on.  Anyway, to make a long story short, my Gateway got friend, and because Gateway apparently isn't alive anymore, my warrantly was ineffective.  So, for the entire summer of 2009, I was out of touch with reality, living in what I like to call the frontier days.  Not since the 1700's has one person been without a computer for this length of time.

And then it happened.  I got a new computer.  A nice little HP.  Then, again, my world came crashing down.  I didn't even know how to work a computer anymore.  I have a brand new computer and I can do exactly nothing with it except play the free trial games that came with it.  All the Microsoft programs we college students must have to live, nonexistent on my desktop.  Windows Vista, what do I need that for, Windows 7 will be out in a few weeks.  I could hold out until 2012 and get Windows 8.  Trying to get on the internet?  Well, my apartment still doesn't have internet, and hooking it up at the school means about 80,000 live updates which won't finish until I graduate.  Itunes, not there.  I basically have a box that sits in front of me and laughs because it can't do anything and it knows it can't do anything, so it's making fun of me for buying it.  It boils down to me being very upset that Gateway ditched me and now I am back at square one.  I guess for now, until I can regain some of my previous tech savvy, it's back to the frontier days.  Below is my cousin, with my original computer, circa 1862.  Wheel and stick included, Microsoft word sold seperately.

Hey all!

Well, I did manage to get my macbook back from the shop and those guys did a good job.  They really take care of you if you’re under warranty. They fixed my problem, which was my logic board giving out. Then they gave me a new keyboard, new mouse trackpad and clicker button, new battery, and they fixed all the plastic frames on my laptop’s case (some of them had cracked from being tossed around)…yeah, all of that was free! How cool is that?

Now, I know there’s been a bitter argument between Mac and PC users. I’m gonna tell you what, I use and like both, so I’m gonna give you guys the lowdown.

If you’re an artist, I think a lot of schools recommend you get a Mac. I know a few art schools in Cincinnati even require it. Well, that’s not all bad. If you’re in Graphic Design, Web Design, or Interior Design, chances are you’re eventually going to work in a place that’s going to make you use a Mac. So you might as well learn while you’re ahead.

Very important question: Do you like to play computer games? If you’re only on bejeweled and peggle, those are still made for mac, but if you want the high-end games like Half-life 2, Crysis, Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead… any of those ringing a bell? If you want video games on your computer, you want a PC. No question.

The cool thing about my mac, is you can buy the extended warranty and you’re going to get first class service repairing that mac at any apple store in the country for free as long as your extended warranty is in place. As of right now on this mac, I’ve had something close to $2000 in repairs on it, done completely for free. That’s not to say they’re not sturdy. My screen had one line of dead pixels on it, not a killer, just annoying. They gave me a new screen, back to me in three days. My escape key and my F1 key on my laptop keyboard fell off. They gave me an entirely new keyboard. Get the picture? You’re not gonna get service like that on any PC I’ve ever heard of without a HUGE price tag attached.

Here at the mount, all of the web printers and the login sytem… that was all originally designed for windows. If you’ve got a PC, that’s all gonna work for you pretty easily. If you’ve got a mac it still works, just not nearly as easily.

Last but not least, Adobe Products. If you’re gonna use Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, or anything else made by Adobe, those all run smoother on mac. I’ve used the same programs on a Mac and a PC and they just work a little bit nicer on Mac.

So there you have it. Choose wisely! They’re both cool, they just do different things!

The hour grows late and I still have homework that’s due tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Man it’s a computer nightmare! 

I have a Macbook Pro which I purchased through the Mount when I was a frosh a few years ago. Anyway, the computer, even though it’s 3 years old still is an awesome little machine! But she decided to go south on me last Monday. My techy friends theorize that either my graphics card dies, or my logic board decided to quit. I don’t know yet, but it’s been over a week, and I want my laptop back!

Computers break, for better or for worse. There are signs all over school that show laptops that have been destroyed and read in huge letters: “LAPTOPS AREN’T INVICIBLE. BACK UP YOUR DATA” Even looking at those, I never really did. It wasn’t until I almost lost my computer earlier this year that I really started religiously backing up my data. 

I got all my data back last time, but I really think that this time my hard drive is going to come back blank.

If you have certain computers, our ISS department might be able to fix your computer right here on campus. But if you have a Mac like me, the only way to get it fixed is to take it to the apple store. Now, the apple guys are usually fantastic. If it’s anything short of a major hardware problem, they’ll fix it right there in store. Last time, my entire operating system was corrupted. They reinstalled it right in store, they let me go buy lunch while they did it. Fixed in about 2 hours, didn’t lose any data. 

However, I had a scare there. Since then, I’ve backed up my data fairly often onto a large external hard drive I keep in my dorm room. So before my computer messed up this time… I can’t remember how recently I had backed up my stuff. I know I lost some of my files, I hope not very many. I’ll have to wait until I get my mac back to see.

Thankfully the Mount has lots of computers for me to use, so I’ll be okay in the mean time. It’s really hard to get by without my calendar on my computer! 

Anyway, hopefully I’ll get it back soon! In the mean time, I got class!

See you all soon!