I am still really enjoying the work laptop. The mobility of it, especially the ability to get internet access has been extremely helpful for school projects. Example, this week I had to get a prescription filled. Instead of waiting the hour and a half at the store, I drove down to the Panera Bread and tried out their wifi connection and worked on homework for my Audio and Visual Resources class. I had absolutely no problem with connecting.
Still feeling the success of the Panera experience I took the laptop with me to the IUPUI library on Wednesday. I had a group project meeting online at 7 pm at the same time had a group of friends who have seen very little of me over the past month and were hoping I could meet up with them at the Rathskeller after the meeting. I got to the library early and went to my favorite study carrousel on the fourth floor. Turned on the laptop and found four different network choices. I had no idea which one to pick. I tried a trial and error approach, selecting one network at a time. Each one provided a nice little warning message that dissuaded me from pursuing a particular option any further. I couldn’t help but be a bit leery; this laptop isn’t a personal toy. I need to keep it in good running order so I can complete any and all jobs that my company.
I ended up shutting down the laptop and walking over to the tech station to see if there were handouts for using the IUPUI wireless network. The boxes where the self-help sheets are supposed to be stored were all empty. I ended up logging on to a campus workstation to access the internet, so that I could find out how to access the internet.
Luckily I wasn’t extremely frustrated by the situation. I could (and did) access the workstations provided. But what if the situation had been slightly different. It definitely makes me think hard about how we store and access information. I know that in my office, we constantly talk about how things will function when we go paperless. At the same time, I’m not sure that I agree that the day will come any too soon. Maybe I’m not very forward thinking, but paper will always be that lowest common denominator – that one piece of technology everyone had an ingrained knowledge of how to use.