Students returned to campus in September to find brand new flat-panel monitors replacing some of the older monitors in their computer clusters and libraries.
As part of its plan to replace a third of the campus' public computers each year, OIT introduced 20 Dell Precision 340 desktops, 16 Dell 260 desktops, 57 Dell 260 towers and 22 iMacs to take the place of older models.
The OIT Student Computing Services group spent several months negotiating with sales representatives on the cost of new computers. The University received discounts for its large purchases. According to prices cited on Dell's website, a Dell Precision 340 Workstation would cost around $1,300 for higher education clients.
The University's switch to flat-panel displays is part of a national trend.
The research firm DisplaySearch predicted in its annual monitor report that revenue from sales of the flat-panel models will exceed sales of their bulkier counterparts this year, Reuters reported.
But this is mostly because of flat-screens' higher price, the firm found. The firm forecasted that flat-panel monitors will surpass the traditional models in actual numbers sold by 2004.
Though more expensive, flat-panel monitors are "easier on the eye" and "more environmentally conscientious," said Leila Shahbender, manager of student computing services.
While most desktop monitors use a cathode ray tube, flat-screen monitors, like laptops, use liquid crystal display technology.
CRTs consume an average of 110 watts for a display, which accounts for 80 percent of the electricity a computer uses, while an LCD monitor uses between 30 and 40 watts.
The money saved on electricity bills can help make up the difference in price between the two types of monitor.
Shahbender, who is in charge of deciding which computers to purchase, said that price is not the primary factor in her decisions. Rather, she said she first considers student needs.
Shahbender said a four-year-old computer simply cannot perform quickly enough to satisfy student needs.
Older computers are redistributed to other areas of the campus, such as academic departments that need them for basic programs. Clusters used by students receive newer computers capable of running more complicated applications, specifically engineering programs, she said.
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