It’s rush hour at InfoCommons. Every computer is occupied; a human mass has formed near the printing station, and at least 15 people are talking on cell phones while a handful of others rock out to their iPods. There’s a line for the proctor and about six people waiting at the media service desk.

I take a deep breath because I know everything is going to be all right. I’ve set aside a good hour to print my one-page PDF. I’ve scoped out a Mac. Nothing can stop me now.

I insert my flash drive, open the file and click print. After waiting the obligatory 13 seconds, I head up to the printing station to grab my paper. I rifle through the “B” box. Nothing. I dance around for six seconds until something is dropped in my box. My fellow Bs and I surge forward, checking the document. Someone named “Boris” grabs it.

I dance some more. Five minutes pass. My printout never arrives.

It turns out that I was sitting at one of the many Macs that arbitrarily chooses to not print. Warning: there’s a handful of them out there. They look like every other Mac in the ‘commons. They act like every other Mac in the ‘commons. The only difference: no matter how hard you rage at them, they simply will not print.

The printer is not paused. There’s no warning message. There’s nothing; just some inexplicable reason it won’t print.

I wasted a good 20 minutes at the machine – uploading, editing, attempting to print, failing – until accepting my fate. I surrendered my computer before staking out another.

This time, I sat at a fully-functional Mac and successfully printed my PDF on the first try. I scooped it up and sprinted to class. I arrived out of breath, swearing to never go to InfoCommons again.

I’ll be back tomorrow.

The thing is, I’m aware that InfoCommons is a wonderful resource. It’s just that we have a severe love-hate relationship and I’m not the one calling the shots. Yes, I could end this quickly by buying an ink cartridge for my HP Photosmart printer. But I’d probably still come back for more.

I relish in the computer free-for-all during hectic hours. I appreciate the ability to use Adobe Creative Suite software, among others, and am grateful for my 400-page free print quota.

The only thing I ask is that the technology be maintained a little better. I’m saddened every time I see a Mac with a “Not working” sign, and think it’s weird that no PCs have these signs. Macs can’t get viruses, right? So what’s going on here? I also haven’t noticed any printing problems with the PCs. So why are the Macs such a hit or miss?

At this point, it might seem reasonable for me to gravitate toward PCs. In order for me to operate a Dell, I have to first convert all my files to PC-compatible formats. Once I stake out a PC, I’m forced to wait approximately 10 years for my settings to load. It takes me another 10 years to readjust to the Microsoft Windows operating system. Some decades later, I’m in business.

Something tells me it doesn’t have to be this way.

It’s increasingly becoming a Mac world and InfoCommons is not keeping up. I should be able to use my machine of choice without crossing my fingers, doing a dance and praying to the gods of technology. Or there should be a warning that any given computer can’t perform certain basic functions.

Let’s do this for the sake of my relationship with the ‘commons. I’m hoping for a little more love, a lot less hate and many more printed printouts.

– Julie Balise is a junior journalism major and member of The News staff.