Stewardship

Stewardship

But industrial civilization is only possible when there's no self-denial. Self-indulgence up to the very limits imposed by hygiene and economics. Otherwise the wheels stop turning. [Mustapha Mond justifying his world to the Savage]

Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (New York: HarperCollins, 1932): 237.

Perhaps you have owned a computer for some time, or you work with an older computer on the job. Then you have probably considered whether you should upgrade your machine or purchase a new one. Obsolesence in the digital age comes quickly. It seems that one barely has a new computer out of the packaging when a newer model comes along, making yours seem ancient. How do you know when to make the move to a newer machine?

Reasons to upgrade might include:

People you work with, or friends, share files with you from a more recent version of software than what you have on your machine. You are unable to read the files. You decide to upgrade your software but discover that the newer software requires a more powerful machine with more memory.
The latest computer game is out, but it cannot run on your home machine because you don't have a fast enough processor (at least not according to the label on the box).
A new version of your operating system is available with attractive new features such as improved security and better reliability (fewer crashes), but the vendor recommends more hard drive space than you have available.
For the same money you spent on your old home machine, you can now purchase a machine that has a microprocessor that runs twice as fast as your old processor, with double the RAM memory, and a hard drive several times larger. It also comes with a bigger monitor and an ergonomic keyboard.
You work with a computer, but you could work more efficiently and get more work done with a new machine and a more advanced operating system.

Let's examine when it makes sense to upgrade a computer in a business. Based purely on the financial numbers, one should only upgrade when the cost of the new machine is outweighed by the savings produced by the more efficient machine. There are a number of costs associated with moving to a new machine:

Lost time backing up important data from old computer
Lost time moving out old computer
Cost of new machine
Cost of any software not transferred from old machine
Lost time setting up new computer (including dealing with any glitches)
Lost time installing software on new machine
Lost time setting up personal preferences and customization
Lost time transferring saved data to new machine
Lost time learning new versions of software and operating system

There are also some other hidden costs that might not show up on a corporate balance sheet but should be considered by discerning users. For example, computers are difficult to recycle because the component parts cannot be easily separated. The specialized circuits use a number of exotic chemicals and materials that are difficult to extract. If the old machine cannot be put to use by someone else then it often gets thrown in the garbage heap. It is not always easy finding someone who wants an outdated computer, because it cannot run the lastest software.

The costs of replacing the old computer must be outweighed by the savings produced by the new machine, such as:

Some tasks will get done more quickly with a faster machine. Long, complex calculations; rendering large images; simulations; and so forth will all be completed faster, allowing one to finish the job quicker. This does not apply to tasks that involve a lot of "think time," where the computer is waiting for your input while you think about your next move.
You may experience fewer system crashes if you move to a more reliable operating system. A system crash means lost time waiting for a reboot, and possibly further lost time if important work was lost in the crash.
You may be able to work on larger documents or keep more programs running simultaneously with more RAM memory and a larger hard drive. This may lead to a time savings if you can transfer information back and forth between programs more quickly.
There may be some software that will only run on a more powerful machine, so new tasks can be performed that were impossible with the old machine.

There are some benefits that are less objective. For example, a faster machine provides a quick response time to commands. When a computer does not respond instantly (which for humans should be under a tenth of a second), it disrupts the user's thought process. Thus a quicker machine can eliminate some frustration and provide a more realistic environment. Because the computer simulates an environment (such as a desktop various documents in windows), it is important to have good response time to user commands, or else the environment loses realism.

They might look innocuous sitting on desks, but each computer monitor contains up to eight pounds of lead. Other toxic metals are present in smaller amounts. . . . If those metals get into groundwater, they can create a deadly stew. "The average computer is pretty toxic," said Dale DeKraker, environmental quality analyst for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. "They have heavy metals, like mercury. Some of them cause cancer. Some can affect the nervous system. They're kept out of the environment for a reason" ("Computer Overload," Grand Rapids Press, Sunday, March 11, 2001).

If you encounter technical errors, contact computing@calvin.edu.