Gentlefolk,

Now that the gift giving is, for most of us, behind us, let me make a suggestion.

If you, or anyone you know, has received a computer for Christmas, please consider as an alternative to discarding it, donating it to one of the organizations which refurbish them and them distribute them to those who need them. While that cantankerous dinosaur which you can FINALLY get rid of may be nothing compared to the rocket you just plugged in, there remain many who would be very pleased indeed to get their hands on a working system.

Most of the organizations listed below will reformat your drive, and load the latest drivers for any peripherals to go with the system etc., so there is little need to be concerned about data security. If there is data about which you feel particularly squeamish, there are programs available which can render any file unrecoverable by anyone other than the government spy agencies.

Free disk cleaning software for Wintel boxes available at Shareware.com
Eraser
Disk Cleaner
Sure Delete

MacOS Disk Cleaning Software ... sorry, I'm not really up to speed here
SuperScrubber
iClean
Norton Utilities

While on the subject of government agencies, you may be able, of course you may not be able, to get a tax break for your donation. If you plan on getting rid of a computer anytime soon, give the organizations below a thought.

The Lazarus Foundation

World Computer Exchange

East-West Education Development Foundation

Another Byte

Gifts In Kind America

Share the Technology

Computer Recycling Center

National Cristina Foundation

The Surplus Exchange

Goodwill Industries of Greater New York & Northern NJ

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Eudaimonia

Oh jseal! That's a wonderful idea hun!

I have to admit, I've told friends that if anything should ever happen to myself and Mr. Lixy simultaneously they should not wait, but instead get themselves to our house, break down the door (or use the hidden key if they are privvy to it), and take a sledgehammer to our box!!!!!!!

^^^^ *giggle*

Some things...parents shouldn't ever have to know existed (ie: what they would think of as "deviant pictures")!

But for those comfortable with someone revamping their old puter...this is a wonderful idea!

__________________
Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~

I would also suggest your local school,Boys & Girls Club or GAL office often knows of someone in need. I took a donated system to my GAL family Saturday and they were so appreciative.

__________________

The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.~ Betty Grable

If I wanted your opinion, I'd remove the duct tape and ask you for it.~ Me
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
One man's dream is another man's nightmare~~~~> §¤ Lilith ¤§
~>My Scribbles<~
==>Gone Shopping<== ~Just a Quickie~ *~A Celebration Vacation~* ~Surprises~ Sleeping With the Window Open
What Did You Do Today? Self Defense Class ~Short Sweet Snippets~ § Summer Spin § Story Challenge Submission Pajamas

I wouldnt dream of chucking a fully working machine out.....i'd certainly give it to someone.

But

We tend to strip our old puters of anything that can be kept for spare parts to keep going the machines we have and the rest goes to the tip (dump)

__________________

I'm a cheapy who flogs a puter till it dies.

That's why I lose so much data etc.

I've heard of a process called backup, but like most people . . .

__________________
Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

You could always play Secret Santa with it.





But only if someone is home so flipping UPS can deliver it!

jseal, that is an excellent suggestion

*whistles innocently*

Gentlefolk,

Just a reminder - if you have older computer stuff you no longer need, don't throw it away, give it away.

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Eudaimonia

Good reminder and a great idea. I've mentioned that I do volunteer work and part of that is collecting and sending things to a hard-pressed coal county in Appalachia. One of our "biggies" is computers where they've been used in recently reopened schools ... and, given to students who stay in school and keep up good attendance (their old dropout rate was 70% in high school ... it's down to 40%).

Gentlefolk,

If for no other reason than giving future Pixies their start in the cyber-universe.

__________________
Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

My class room is the land of reincarnation. I take all the old computers that people want to pitch and we clean em up. Then at least my guys have word processing and some games.

__________________

The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.~ Betty Grable

If I wanted your opinion, I'd remove the duct tape and ask you for it.~ Me
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
One man's dream is another man's nightmare~~~~> §¤ Lilith ¤§
~>My Scribbles<~
==>Gone Shopping<== ~Just a Quickie~ *~A Celebration Vacation~* ~Surprises~ Sleeping With the Window Open
What Did You Do Today? Self Defense Class ~Short Sweet Snippets~ § Summer Spin § Story Challenge Submission Pajamas

I goofed!

I failed to check the links before I bumped this thread. The links below no longer work.

SuperScrubber
East-West Education Development Foundation
Gifts In Kind America
Goodwill Industries of Greater New York & Northern NJ

Sorry ‘bout that!

John

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Eudaimonia

Bump!

__________________
Eudaimonia

Still a great idea, jseal!

And let me add ... Happy New Year!