And while many developments will benefit students, for the last two years, the registrar's office has also been updating its record-keeping system. Built in the late 1970s, HERS, an acronym for the Harvard Education Record System, is now being slowly phased out by the more modern HERS2.

HERS2 is more efficient than its predecessor, according to Kenneth Ledeen '68, CEO of Nevo Technologies, Inc. Ledeen predicts that the new system will last Harvard for the next 20 years.

"The results are impressive," Ledeen says, referring to work already competed.

Still, Macintosh users should be wary: The newly instituted changes may force Macintosh computers off the network because HERS2 is designed to function most effectively with PCs, according to Keith Borgen, FAS manager of computer services. (Please see related story, this page.)

"Frankly, the battle to move users from Macs to PCs has been as much a part of the performance battle as anything," Borgen says.

So though the future looks to be speedier than ever, it is PC users who stand to benefit most. Even in the drive for "bigger-better-faster," there still seems to be a price to pay for convenience and innovation.