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73 Comments
- Foofoofoofoobar, on 11/19/2008, -1/+10File this under "old farts discover four years too late the cool new-fangled thing all the kids are doing."
- celeronxl, on 11/19/2008, -1/+9We have this at Worcester Polytech also. You can also get messaged on Google Talk when your clothes are done.
- 0ffl1n3, on 11/19/2008, -0/+6I go to UVA and use these washers every week. The online part doesn't always work so well, especially during busy times. It might say there are 8 or 9 washers open, but you get down to the laundry room and there is maybe 1 or 2 if any at all. And as far as knowing when the laundry is done, it is easier to just set an alarm on your phone because you never have to worry about that not working.
Oh, and as far as them recently installing "a high tech laundry room". There are at least 10 different laundry rooms, all of which use the technology, and they have been here for at least 2 years, probably longer. - babbitblob, on 11/19/2008, -1/+5why is this any better than the typical timer, or for you fancypants, a sound-sensitive trigger?
- dhulser, on 11/19/2008, -2/+6nothing new, have this at Ithaca College as well, unfortunately won't stop someone from stealing my pants.
- Q8Jin, on 11/19/2008, -0/+4Yes, but can it run Crysis?
- stephhicks68, on 11/19/2008, -1/+4Awesome! I could have really used one of these in college!
- ryborg, on 11/19/2008, -1/+4weird. I just hacked my own washing machine to do this about 5 days ago. No joke.
- cozinator, on 11/19/2008, -0/+2Way to making a sweeping generalization about 20,000 people.
Looks like somebody didn't get in... - Juaquin, on 11/20/2008, -0/+2UCLA has this as well. Really not that crazy or new.
- neo991lb, on 11/19/2008, -0/+2Good.
Can they make it so people who don't own the clothes can't open the washer and take my clothes out and leave them on top, absorbing all the grit on top of the washer, because I was 5 minutes late to the laundry room? ***** you impatient, persnickety *****. - streetblader, on 11/19/2008, -0/+2Northeastern University has this too, we have Laundryview and have had it for years...
- rizon, on 11/19/2008, -0/+2They're planning on putting it in at Radford University within the next 2-3 years.
- rmxz, on 11/19/2008, -0/+2Reminds me of the coke machine that was one of the earlier systems on the internet.
http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ia_myths_coke.htm - charters14, on 11/19/2008, -1/+2I like the new texting feature because on laundryview.com which we have here at Wake Forest you still have to remember to check the website, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has forgotten and left laundry down there to be pillaged
- ultrafez, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1No, but at least you can wash your Crysis and get it squeaky clean, and know when it's done!
- theplaz, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1Drexel has it too - LaundryView - it's run by a big contracting firm that runs the laundries for a bunch of schools
- aserer511, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1Brandeis has this too
- geneusutwerk, on 11/19/2008, -1/+2We had this at Case Western but the text message part never seemed to work. It was nice checking to see if washers were open before lugging clothing down.
- sonnybobiche, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1LaundryView is not new.
- j3ff86, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1I had something just as useful: a watch.
- neowolfwitch, on 11/19/2008, -1/+2Several universities have had this for a long time. I remember when it was a big deal something like 5-6 years ago in the US. Other countries like Japan have probably had this for a generation now. This is one of those "How did this make it to the front page?" stories.
- EricJ2190, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1George Mason University does it, too!
http://gmu.esuds.net/ - inactive, on 11/19/2008, -6/+7I'm surprised the elitist jerk-offs that attend UVA don't have a valet to deal with such mundane necessities.
- diggmeup, on 11/19/2008, -2/+3they had this at stanford a long time ago, with real time web status
- Thisiscjfool, on 11/19/2008, -1/+2I don't know why someone would make a story about an old technology that has been around and useful for a long time. It's like me making a story on cars.
"Automobiles! They drive and get you places! *****!"
I guess someone finally realized that the internet was actually useful for something other than porn. - arobar, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1Unless you're waiting in the laundromat for the entire wash and dry cycle, the buzzer signal doesn't do you any good.
- Cougarcat, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1We have laundryview at my school, but not school-wide wireless. Go figure.
It's also rather pointless because half the time you'll see that a washer is "available" only to go downstairs and find that someone's snagged it right before you. And the time remaining for dryers is always messed up. - phatphil, on 11/24/2008, -0/+1epic fail
- CraigB12, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1My school has network connected washers and dryers that update their status on a website when done. There were websites setup by building, and the page was setup to reflect the placement of the machines in the laundry room. When the machines were running they're orange with time remaining on them, and when they're done they'd turn gray. Pretty convenient.
- godofpumpkins, on 11/19/2008, -1/+2yeah, there are definitely other colleges where this has been around for a while :) but it's awesome nonetheless!
- ezekahr, on 11/19/2008, -1/+2Wasn't that once a joke in Two and Half Men?
- summer59, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1This is old news LaundryView has been at Technical schools forever
- arobar, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1Convenience drives nearly everything we do. You're using a computer to communicate. You could use "breakthrough pen to paper techniques" to write a letter instead, but that's a lot less convenient. You don't have to use any of the features these machines incorporate, but for the people that do want to use them they're very convenient. Try going a day without any of the conveniences that you obviously find so stupid and see how far you get. It takes a lot longer to get anywhere using revolutionary one foot in front of the other techniques than it does to use a car or a bike.
- fantasyflamz, on 11/20/2008, -0/+1My school has been using that for years... This technology is so old. And they're not even the first to do this. laundryview.com
- phatphil, on 11/24/2008, -0/+1I still thought it was funny.
- mattgee725, on 11/20/2008, -0/+1I have this at my college now. It seems like a great idea, but there are plenty of flaws. Mainly, if a dryer or washer is done and someone opens the door, it sets the machine as "open," regardless of whether or not the person took out the clothes. I've checked the website and seen all the machines open, only to go to the laundry room and fine all the so-called "open" machines full of laundry.
tl;dr - It's not really that great. - jonathaz, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1We always walked to the laundromat down the street when I was a freshman at UVa. There wasn't even a washer/dryer in our dorm or the one next to it. I think the laundromat was called Suds, and I remember Professor Pausch talking about it during his time management rants how he always dropped his laundry off there because they charged by the pound. He would drop it off and pick it up later. It's great to hear they haven't added any more machines, just instrumented the 4 they have for the entire freshman class with text messaging. There's probably still no air conditioning in the dorms either.
- DeathMote, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1That's because the colleges oversell ridiculously expensive parking permits so need a group of student valets to fit all the cars in a small lot. :(
- PSyMastR, on 11/20/2008, -0/+1Northeastern has this as well...
- sdemat, on 11/19/2008, -0/+0Yup my school has it to
- erkokite, on 11/19/2008, -1/+1We've had it for at least a year or two at my university. Never really used it.
- erichw1504, on 11/19/2008, -1/+1I was going to say the exact same thing.
- xxpor, on 11/19/2008, -2/+2yay esuds
- gkiltz, on 11/20/2008, -0/+0One more thing that never shuts up!!
If I wanted to be pestered constantly, I'd move back in with Mom! - tacidsky, on 11/19/2008, -1/+1My college, Keene State College, Does this also. They started it this year, but now it costs $.45 more per load.
- mannkim, on 11/19/2008, -2/+2Georgia Tech has had this since 96.
- SoundJudgment, on 11/19/2008, -2/+2Extra: Two students were seen running around to all the dryers in the room and opening up the lids... giggling as they ran past.
- Jambi, on 11/19/2008, -2/+2This has existed in Japan since the late 90s, to my knowledge.
- MiniXP, on 11/19/2008, -2/+2My school (high point) has this too. It kind of sucks though because the text messages dont come through right away. No one really uses it.
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