Mac users rejoice for new lab in Union Building

"The Mac Lab," a computer lab composed of new Macintosh computers, is now open for students and faculty to use in the Shepherd Union Building. The lab provides students with programs like the Adobe Design Suite and Safari to make homework and Internet access a breeze.

Some students are glad to have the new lab.

Student Karen Nichols said she will use the lab for e-mail and homework.

"(I) would use the Adobe programs," said Tyler Cahoon. "It's a good tool (for students) to use."

Apple manufactures the iMac desktop computers which are acclaimed for their operating system, fluidity and ease of use. Steve Jobs, Stephen Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded the company in 1976, and released their first product, the Apple I, shortly thereafter. After a series of new Apple releases, an ad played in the 1984 Super Bowl that created a flurry of new Mac owners, and brought further acclaim to the ads director Ridley Scott. The ad featured a desolate looking future, including gray-colored people walking in a straight line to sit in front of a large screen with a face instructing them on how to behave. A woman then runs through the crowd to break the screen with a sledgehammer to change the bleak present and revolutionize the future. On the shoulders of the ad's success, co-founders Stephen Wozniak and Steve Jobs resigned the following year. After a brief hiatus, Jobs returned to Apple. In 2000, he became the company's permanent CEO.

The Apple iMac computers, long touted for innovative software and hardware stability, are at the forefront of technology. The average iMac desktop comes with 2GB of RAM, an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz processor, and 320 GB of hard drive space, which makes the iMac capable of running multiple programs at once and providing enough space to store songs, movies, and pictures. The "Mac Lab" computers come with the added bonus of the Adobe Design Suite and Microsoft Office Suite. The Adobe Design Suite contains many programs, such as InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and Illustrator to suit all of a student's design and artistic needs. The Microsoft Office Suite comes with Office, Excel, and Powerpoint to help students get through essays and presentations.

Located in the Southeast corner of the Shepherd Union Building, a student needs their login and password (the same login and password used to gain access to the eWeber portal on the school website) to gain access to the iMac computers. When logged-in, the student or faculty member can check e-mail, post on blogs, conduct research, write essays, design advertisements, edit photos, play games, and put together presentations with ease. The "Mac Lab" is a helpful tool that will help with every students' homework and social needs. If a student can't login to the computers, or is having trouble with passwords, call the IT desk (Information Technology) at (801) 626-7777 or ask a nearby user.