Last Wednesday marked the welcoming of a new friend to my desktop and the beginning of a very promising future. It was on that day I purchased Mac OS X from the good folks at MPC.

After not quite a week of usage, I’m ready to declare that this OS is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

I have a few complaints. For instance, application launching and window resizing are slow right now on my G4/400. I can’t watch DVDs or burn CDs.

The preview edition of Internet Explorer lives up to its title – it’s every bit as awful as a preview release should be.

But that’s about it, and I’m actually glad the performance of Internet Explorer was so unacceptably pathetic, because I ditched it for an OS X-native browser called OmniWeb.

Of all the touted features Apple has been plugging, the one thing I found I enjoyed the most was the Quartz 2D rendering engine.

It draws the cleanest, smoothest text I’ve ever seen, and OmniWeb fully supports it.

I’ll actually crack open OmniWeb and stare at any old webpage just to ogle the way OS X renders fonts. (Apple even went after my own heart when the included a “Megadeth” font.)

I’m really excited and could easily write an entire column on the virtues and upcoming hurdles of OS X, but you can read that stuff online for free. Instead, I would like to talk about students, information and technology.

We’re remarkably at ease with technology here. Iowa State prides itself on being a high-tech campus.

I would go so far as to assume that everyone here is comfortable enough with firing off a quick e-mail or configuring a Cisco 7204 VXR router.

Not surprisingly, the rest of the world isn’t as technologically savvy.

For example, my mom only recently cracked like a stubborn hazelnut in a die-cast nutcracker and asked me how to use the computer.

It was only two weeks ago when she asked me to tutor her in the ways of the Web browser and the finer points of route bridged encapsulation for RFC 1490-based PVC terminations. She’s a quick study.

Actually, she hasn’t gotten that far. Not that I have. I just copied some stuff from Cisco’s Web site to sound knowledgeable. But my mom and I have had two sessions so far.

We’ve covered the “Big Three” of the Internet – e-mail, web browsing and why Microsoft is evil.

I realized how challenging and intimidating computers must be for new users when I tried to explain how the file system hierarchy worked, and why exactly the creators of the QWERTY keyboard made it so hard to learn.

My mom has finally made it to the 21st century. If this is any indication of the rest of the country, this landmark means any American who ever wanted to learn how to use a computer and get on the Internet (and could afford it) has already done so.

The rest will follow suit once PCs get so cheap that manufacturers actually pay you to take them after all the mail-in rebates are sorted out.

In the meantime, everyone on campus knows computers backwards and forwards. We have a 10MB per second connection to our rooms and young, curious minds.

Presented with all this readily available information, the world at our fingertips, what do we do with this empowering technology?

Well, I for one ogle font rendering. I certainly don’t read the online editions of New York Times, Chicago Tribune or Des Moines Register in a crazed frenzy to satisfy an appetite for information. But at any time, I sure could. I’m content knowing that.

I simply read news that interests me and get on with my life.

The widespread availability of information on the web makes for an interesting parallel with the recently IRHA-approved USA Today Readership Program.

When the program kicks in (and you live in a residence hall), you’ll have five amazing newspapers to choose from.

All for the price of a measly $10 per semester. This is a steal.

The newsstand price of one New York Times alone is a dollar, and $10 wouldn’t cover a month of The New York Times even at Iowa State’s educational rate. So for very little green, students will have access to the finest newspapers in the country.

If you don’t plan on ever reading The New York Times and are dismayed at shelling out the $10, simply take the papers you’re entitled to and start your own discount subscription service.

Each paper has its own strengths and weaknesses which make the combination all the more exciting and potent.

The New York Times is letter-for-letter perfect.

The Chicago Tribune has a vibe a little closer to home.

And USA Today has bright, captivating colors.

The Des Moines Register has the most complete comic strip page around and Dave Barry on Mondays.

The Daily has the best local coverage you’ll find anywhere.

You’ve got all your bases covered. But for most people, the program is like the Internet – more information than any normal person could ever desire.

Five newspapers may mean a new crossword for every class. The availability of so much news in print may instigate a newfound enlightenment of the world without ever having to touch a computer.

During its trial run, the USA Today Readership Program was popular with students at Maple-Willow-Larch as evident by all the newspapers strewn across the dining hall tables.

It got kind of messy, but I find it hard to gripe that people are taking steps to educate themselves beyond the admittedly limited scope of the Daily.

During this time, I don’t believe any one student made it a point to read each publication every day. That makes sense, because religiously devouring all five newspapers in an attempt to justify the fee is probably not the best use of your time.

The USA Today Readership Program gives students freedom of choice, the opportunity to read up on big-name newspapers, whether they elect to or not. I can appreciate that.

I’ll predict that next semester, the typical student will read the important parts of their favorite paper, perhaps sample others on occasion and hopefully recycle what they take. Sounds like 10 bucks well-spent.

Sam Wong is a sophomore in electrical engineering. Vote Perdios.