Vassar Technology Today | The mystery of your slow computer: What’s the culprit?

Matthew Leung Managing Editor

Adding a new refrain to the recent chorus of Vassar technology complaints is the increasing slowness of computers. This complaint is so common that it seems like there must be someone, or something, behind this “slow computer” syndrome. Even though there are many hardware and software components to a computer that could cause the problem, the solution is probably not what you think.

First, we must first be more specific about our words. Our idea of a fast computer, like our idea of a smart person, is actually pretty imprecise. When we say we know a computer is fast, do we mean fast in that it can process data quickly? Or do we actually mean in terms of what we view on the screen?

Before the turn of the millennium, the speed of a computer was heavily dependent on the speed of the microprocessor, which was only about 500 to 600 megahertz (Mhz), and many common Internet and word-processing applications would easily consume the processor to full capacity. Hence, an upgrade of just a few hundred Mhz would provide noticeable improvement in speed as well as lengthen the computer’s life expectancy.

However, in the past few years, the average processor’s speed has more than tripled to about 2.8 gigahertz (Ghz, or 1,000 Mhz), a speed many times more than what is needed by commonly used Internet and word-processing applications. Yet, the problem of slow computers still exists. The fast runner is having a hard time doing well in the race.

The problem, it seems, has nothing to do with the processor. To continue the search for a culprit, we would need to turn to our definition of “slow.” Our complaints about slow computers almost always have to do with how it acts rather than how it processes information. A complaint about the latter would be, for example, how slowly a computer renders video or graphics, such as when one is using content-creation applications such as Photoshop, Premiere, and FinalCut Pro. This is usually not the case, because the average user doesn’t even know how to create graphics and videos with content-creation applications.

Our complaints having to do with how a computer acts, on the other hand, is about the frustration that we cannot do work as efficiently as we would like. This comes from a key difference between the digital world and reality. In reality, for example, if there are several files on my desk, I can pick up each file to look at it, and switch to looking at other files without pausing in between. On the computer, however, in order to switch from working on one program to another, it usually takes a pause, maybe less than a second, for the computer to load the contents of the new file. This interruption is unnatural because in reality, we are not used to having to pause from the time we pick up a piece of paper to the time we can view its content. When these pauses get longer and more frequent, our frustration grows and we start complaining about our “slow computer.”

This means that there is a problem with the “how” of the operation of the computer: the way the hardware components work together, the way data is organized, and the way the hardware stores and executes the data. Of these three, the issue of the hardware components is inherent to the makeup of a computer and so nothing can be done about it. For the other two, the problem is caused by the user’s expectations clashing with the way the computer operates.

So, the mystery is solved. The problem of a slow computer has little to nothing to do with hardware and software but instead is caused by the way the user manages and uses the computer. You are the guilty party for the mystery you create. Multitasking may be all the rage, but, unlike humans, computers are actually bad at multitasking, and you should avoid making your computer do this as much as possible. When multiple foreground and background programs are running, the available resource of the computer, which is like the horsepower produced by all the components working together, is spread thinly.

If you’re not convinced, consider the fact that a video game console like Play Station 3 can execute video games better and with less processing power and vulnerability to errors than a personal computer because the entire resource of the console is dedicated to running the game.

While multitasking can be helpful, too much of it causes problems. In addition to avoiding having many applications open simultaneously, you should also minimize the number of background programs running behind the scenes of the computer, like the one which enables use of the mouse. Also, uninstalling unnecessary programs and partitioning and defragmenting the hard drive can help. For instructions, view the web edition at misc.vassar.edu. The best advice, it seems, is to keep your computer simple and let it focus.