Here’s an idea that could use some evaluation- an open source approach to computer recycling/re-use.
What are the lmits here?
How useful can these things be?
Are they only going to be geek-boxes or can us laymen use them too?
Dumpsternet.org
Dumpsternet.org “Mission statement”
Moore’s law is awesome. To paraphrase, it states that processor capacity will double every 18 months. So far, Moore’s law has never been broken. People rush out to get the latest and greatest processor as soon as it comes out. Great for video games. Companies can take advantage of new power to work more efficiently. Everyone profits. That’s why we love technology. But let’s slow down. Moore’s law DOESN’T state that the “old” computers should end up in a landfill or on a slow barge to an underdeveloped country. In 1995, a 166mhz desktop with a 10gig hard drive was more computing power than NASA used to send humans to the moon. You can still USE this stuff, folks.
Dumpsternet.org is an open source approach to computer recycling. It’s not a non-profit organization (maybe that will change, it’s up to us). It doesn’t aim to make material profit (however, you might add a couple trashed boxes to your network). The goal of dumpsternet is to merge the efforts of computer hobbyists into a community that will find applications for discarded hardware. In short, computers don’t become obsolete, they just become undervalued.
Couldn't your local library use a few more computers for people to browse the online catalog with? Does your local church need a computer to keep track of events? Are you looking for a dedicated firewall/virus scanner for your home network? People throw away hardware that can do all these jobs and more. All it takes is a bit of effort, some creative thinking and GNU/Linux.
[INDENT]Dumpsternet mainpage
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For the “typical” web-browsing, email-reading, solitaire-playing layman, any reasonably modern destkop-oriented distro will do fine, especially if you get a geek to do the installation for you.
And I’m 100% in favor of rescuing old hardware. Its utility kinda depends on who you intend to donate it to. If your local library is anything like mine, they’ve got a fifty-person IT staff that’s wearing a multi-million dollar chain to a Microsoft-only strategy for the next ten years or so, even in the face of a projected $15m revenue shortfall this year. Adding any more duties for a support staff that has absolutely no interest in any solution that isn’t provided by the vendor who provides the best fringe bennies is probably a non-starter.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little burned out on working for the local government.
For a church or community center, though, a couple of desktops that’ll allow their clients to send emails and type up resumes would probably be much appreciated.
Talking completely out of my ass, I think that you’re going to get the best reception from those organizations that, paradoxically, don’t have an IT staff of their own. You’re not going to get very far if you have to worry about stepping on some MCSE’s toes.
The real problem with recycling old hardware is support. Even if you had a talented admin (which most donation recipients will not), it’s much easier to support 100 new identical systems than 10 random, pieced together old ones.
It’s not that these computers are worthless, it’s just that the actual hardware cost of a computer is a very small fraction of the cost to keep a computer system in good working order. Unless you want to donate your time to constantly fix those systems, they won’t last long.
So, it sounds like these’d be better suited for individuals and small orgs that just need to be able to participate in the internet- email, browsing, shopping and what have you.