Dubbed LaundryView, colleges and universities can set up networks of washing machines and dryers. Via an online site, students can see which machines are free and how much time is left on those that are currently in use.
What's more, the system will send alerts to mobile phones and PDAs when the machine a student is using finishes its cycle. According to the site, LaundryView will also track overall usage for the last two weeks, so students can determine which days and times are usually the busiest.
If I remember my college laundry experience (which remains ever-vivid, of course...), what's really needed is a washer or dryer that will go and physically drag someone down to the laundry room to remove their clothes when they're done. And from what I recall, the laundry room at my freshman dorm was purportedly haunted (the "evidence" presented being that, one time someone saw "a person there she didn't recognize"--well, Q.E.D.). Still, surely the ghost could be put to productive use monitoring washers.
A long time ago, when I lived in Astoria, Queens, a new neighborhood laundrette had opened--it was great; they had the newest machines and it was always empty (which probably explained why they went out of business in less than a year). But I was always amused by their sign, which in bold letters touted their "Drop Of Service." I could never determine if they meant "Drop Off Service" or if it was finally a case of truth in advertising ("We don't offer a lot of service, just a drop").
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