The Informer: Revolutionary way to get laundry done

There is this thing out there called the Internet. Millions of people have come to rely on it, the Chinese have sought to control it and Google seems to rule it. It has done well with interconnecting the world’s computers and all, allowing for the dissemination of information on a level never seen before in human history. Now, it’s not only personal computers that are plugged into the Internet but also home electronics are getting in on the mix (e-toaster anyone?). It’s very convenient, everything streamlined into apps on your phone, your house lights, garage door, feeding your pets; house sitting has never been so easy. So the question is, can Rider take advantage of this series of interconnected tubes and wires? What can Rider do to make life on campus easier for students? I ran across one such possibility and that is the Esuds program.

Esuds is a washer and dryer management program that allows you to keep track of your clothes by sending a text message to your phone when your laundry is done or when a machine becomes available. It’s amazingly simple; it is compatible with BlackBoard and even gives estimates of how long it will take before your laundry is done. Imagine that — for once that dryer hog down the hallway will no longer have an excuse for leaving his laundry in the dryer all day. Even better, you won’t have to touch the dryer hog’s knickers and things because he left them in the dryer all day. Dare I say this could be revolutionary to the way we do laundry at Rider? This program is so good that it even notifies Facilities via email when a machine breaks down; no more unfulfilled work orders and month-long machine shortages.

So why don’t we already have this program at Rider? Well, the company is not that great at marketing, so it takes a bit more than a simple Google search to get Rider signed up, and of course, there is the financial aspect of it all. But we pay good money to go to Rider and to live on campus — some would say a little too much — and we ought to have these kinds of amenities, particularly since they are mutually beneficial for the school and student body. The best reason I can come up with as to why we don’t have it already in place is because, like many things at Rider, someone signed a contract with a company to maintain our washers and dryers some time ago and no one seems to know how to change it. Well, my understanding is the person who signs said agreement is Fred Porter and it is scheduled to end this year, 2010. So if you want to see Rider with Esuds next semester, speak up. We need student body support to make campus life better and nothing is going to get better if you just go home on weekends. Help make Rider better than home instead of going home.

– Jonathon Padron

Junior political science major