Multimedia Reporting (Bradford-Utsler)

This is the second semester ResNet, the campus internet service has required residents to register their game consoles to play internet games.

Weston Vice, residential communications consultant for ResNet said an Xbox or a PlayStation 2 takes bandwidth and slows the network down like any computer so they need to know how many consoles will be playing online.

“We just need to know how much information is going to be passing through our servers so we can keep the network from slowing down,” he said.

Vice said without registering your console with ResNet it won’t run on the internet. Every computer should have its own MAC address he said. A number specific to that computer and when the computer is registered with ResNet that address is registered as well. Unless the console’s MAC address is registered it won’t run on the network.

“No machine ever has the same MAC address so we can tell what device is running on our network,” he said.

Although ResNet wants people to register their consoles with their department many campus residents refuse to pay the extra fee and have found ways around the registration process.

“John” has lived on campus for several semesters and has always played Xbox live, an online game network. He has never paid the registration fee and he said he doesn’t plan on it.

“If I was at home I would pay for internet and it wouldn’t matter how many computers I have hooked up I would still pay one fee,” he said. “I don’t see why I should have to pay for my computer and for my Xbox.”

John said that he simply programs his computer information into his Xbox manually and ResNet views his Xbox as his computer. As long as he isn’t using his computer at the same time he has no connection problems.

“I can’t imagine paying $83 each semester to play Xbox live on top of my $50 yearly account,” he said.

John said the internet speed isn’t even very fast and he often had such a slow connection he couldn’t play or is just disconnected for having a slow connection speed. The quality of gameplay he would get wouldn’t be worth it.

John said he understands that ResNet has problems with bandwidth being taken up, but he isn’t very concerned.

“First of all if they’re concerned with me taking up bandwidth they would have talked to me a long time ago … I think as much people are downloading with their computers that’s taking up way more bandwidth than any Xbox,” John said. “They’ve caught people for downloading but they’ve never mentioned anything to me for my Xbox.”