(February 23, 2007) — The new semester brought along many changes, but there’s one change that senior Jessica Ohanian can clearly see: new computers. As she stepped into her photography 5-6 class Jan. 3, she was surprised to see a white ocean of shiny computers. Made up of new Apple iMacs running on OS X and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, this sea-like mass was installed during winter break. “I thought it was unnecessary,” Ohanian said. “I seriously thought that because we had good computers to start with. But now that we’re using it, they’re faster so I guess it’s good in the long run.” Other students found the computers to be overwhelming. Junior David Mangikyan was taken aback. “I thought ‘We’re really lucky to have them here’ because they’re better than the ones we usually have at home. They’re brand new, not pre-used like our other stuff.” In addition to the computers in photography teacher Bill Saul’s room, new computers were also installed in Animation/Tech Lit teacher Frank Wyatt’s class. Instead of getting the Apple iMacs, Wyatt’s class got PCs from Hewlett-Packard, running on Windows XP and, like the Apple G5s, featured Intel Core 2 Duo processors. “We jumped from version six to nine,” said Wyatt in regard to their animation program, 3D Studio MAX. The new computers have built-in DVD burners and came with 20 inch LCD flat screen panels. According to Principal Douglas Dall, all the computers were donations from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Some of the computers and monitors came from the Disney Animation Studio while some of the money came from the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act. In total, there were 37 computers installed in each of the two classrooms. “We have a strategic plan to remove [all the old] computers,” Dall said. The plan revolves around a cascading effect. In simpler terms, it is the process of recycling computers by donating them to other schools. Some of the old computers were donated to the science and art department around campus. Other computers were donated to Lincoln and Dunsmore elementary schools. “We have nothing less than Pentium 4 for student applications,” Dall said.