While one might think "hourglass syndrome" refers to the fear of a young woman not meeting perceived ideal body image proportions, it's actually a term coined by Intel to describe the frustration students feel when dealing with slow computers.

According to the survey, conducted on behalf of Intel by Angus Reid Public Opinion, more than 60% of post-secondary Canadian students and 55% of high school students experience "hourglass syndrome" (presumably called "beach ball syndrome" for Mac users.) If you hadn't yet figured it out, the image of an hourglass appears on a Windows-based PC when it's attempting to complete a task or respond to a request for longer than a few seconds. Similarly, the image that appears on a Mac is that of a multi-coloured spinning wheel, which we've lovingly called the "beach ball" in our office.

Close to one-in-five (19%) of these students say that computer delays and sluggish performance cause them a lot of stress: after all, 88% of post-secondary and 64% of high school students say their success at school is dependent on the computer. And a slow computer means it takes longer to complete an assignment. Even wrose, 39% of post-secondary students and 27% of those in high school report having lost work because of computer-related issues.

The study, conducted with 1,000 students, also finds that college and university students spend more than 27 hours per week working on a computer; high school students spent more than 18 hours.

"Results of this survey tell us that students need to do things faster than the technology available to them allows," says Doug Cooper, Country Manager, Intel Canada. "We all can appreciate that school is becoming more competitive. This survey shows that students are much more dependent on their computers to do school work and to stay connected with friends and family, therefore making the right technology investment is critical."

Not surprisingly, than, all students reported performance as being the number-one factor that will influence a buying decision for a new computer.

Photo: www.freedigitalphotos.net

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