Almost free computer

[computoman]

checkout http://freelinuxbox.org/

[phatlip]

Too bad it's a piece of junk.

[computoman]

To you maybe yes, but not all people feel that way.

[bobv13]

I know I'm asking for it but what practical use could this computer serve other than a toy for a hobbyist, computoman? (I'm actually asking what use did computers serve 10 years ago) never mind..

[tokenuser]

I know I'm asking for it but what practical use could this computer serve other than a toy for a hobbyist, computoman? (I'm actually asking what use did computers serve 10 years ago) never mind..No - thats still a pretty accurate statement ...

Reuse is fine, but unless you are local to the person making the offer those computers will cost more in shipping than they are worth.

[computoman]

If it was the only computer you had, I would almost think that you would find a use for it. Personally if you have to run a bloated os, then you might think some powerful machine. You would be surprised what you can do with a stripped down os, It is a matter of systems analysis or cost vs benefits. My feeling is what can you not do with it? . For what "most" people do, that machine would be fine. What is your ROI? (return on investment). No computer is dead till I say it is. I have some old p3's that have been a lot more dependable than some of the new brand name machines i have dealt with. It still makes me laugh that "Leo" was expecting retired people on limited incomes to purchase over priced macs just to do light office applications, simple web browsing and email.

http://hubpages.com/hub/_86_Mac_Plus_Vs_07_AMD_DualCore_You_Wont_Believe_W ho_Wins

[guytheninja]

That computer is rather old-school. However, knowing the Linux community, someone is going to buy it. :D In general though, Pentium III computers are not worth buying (even if the price is only shipping costs). If you want a low performance computer, its probably better to buy something like a sheeva plug for $100. You will definitely save on power. Heck, I love my Linux based wrt54gl. It does all the things my old Pentium II IPCOP router did, and it uses 7.5 times less power. It only cost ~$50 too. :D

[computoman]

if your a techie, then maybe the sheevaplug or the like would be a good deal. Retired people are not going mess with that stuff.. Mepis antix or the like would be awesome on a p3 for a low income family. I would not pay for shipping either on that p3, But someone who lived nearby that did not have to pay shipping.would be in for a super good deal. Yes dd-wrt is nice. I have installed it on the linksys wrt54gl, Buffalo whr-g125, and an Airlink ar430w. It's all relative. I can run a stripped down p3 for a long time before I would come to the cost of the higher end sheevaplug. I like to use old p1's for data collection and various other equipment control. Besides by the time you plug in a external hard drive or two (not a usb thumb drive) the savings are not really that significant.

[gta_bmx]

Craigslist is a good source for getting free or almost free, obsolete computers. Also I have bought obsolete PC's off ebay locally, from local folks so instead of paying $30 shipping, I just drove 5 miles and picked it up in person. Freecycle and Cheapcycle are yahoo/google groups for buying/selling bulky stuff locally.

The problem with PC's of this vintage (P3 and P4) is that, yes, they can be very handy and useful to low income people for internet job searches, resume/cover letters, online education. But low income people usually don't have internet connections, they don't know where to look for deals like this, they've never heard of Craigslist/Freecycle/Cheapcycle, they wouldn't know how to load Ubuntu onto it, and they don't have cars to go and pick the PC up. There has to be smart/caring people connecting the dots -- getting the obsolete equipment into the hands of the people who need it.

[computoman]

There has to be smart/caring people connecting the dots -- getting the obsolete equipment into the hands of the people who need it.

Exactly and that is why I put it there so the caring people can take advantage of it.

[gta_bmx]

oh that's your computer? It's cool you're giving it away. hopefully it'll make it to someone who can put it to work. I know a guy locally here who funnels some PC's to poor folks. I have given him about 5 or 6 PC's. He didn't know about Ubuntu or Linux in general. I gave him some Ubuntu discs, so instead of having to buy copies of Win XP and then farting around for 2 hours loading Windows and all the updates and AV and such, he just slaps Ubuntu on the PC's. So I connected the dots, so to speak, locally. We need more dot connecting!!!! :)

[guytheninja]

The problem with PC's of this vintage (P3 and P4) is that, yes, they can be very handy and useful to low income people for internet job searches, resume/cover letters, online education. But low income people usually don't have internet connections, they don't know where to look for deals like this, they've never heard of Craigslist/Freecycle/Cheapcycle, .

Yea, one problem with internet connections is that they cost around $40-50 bucks for high speed anyway, and if you install a house alarm --- you have to get a landline phone as well. So, you might as well throw in cable TV and get a bundle or something.

I pay $84 for telephone, cable TV and high speed internet per month. My parents pay above $100. If you can pay a bill like that every month, why can't you buy a linux based netbook for ~$250? Giving old computers away to retired/poor folks sounds like a good idea, but the cost of a good internet connection sounds like a bigger hurdle than the cost of a computer to get on the internet.

I'm sure you can still buy a dialup account, but your options are really limited if you do that. You sure can't watch Revision3 or Youtube for that matter. :(

Fortunately, my electricity bill is not very high (I live in the land of TVA), so the size of a computer matters more to me that the electrical efficiency (my place is somewhat space constrained). I'm frankly think that Pentium III computers given away like this are only useful to fellow geeks (like ourselves) who are looking for a computer to act as a linux based router, print server, file server etc... IDK, maybe I am just too skeptical; I'm having a hard time seeing how this can make a serious impact with the poor.

[computoman]

Until we have to use the ac again,(just days away) our ac bill is low. There should be $100 laptops in the near future. I thought they would have been out by now. Retailers probably do not want to touch them fearing existing laptop inventory might not get sold at a fair price for them. Things will get really fun. There has been a lot of activity for taking old thin clients and converting them to full or near full pc.s. Another market that is emerging to challenge the hw vendors. I went by the user group meeting place a few weeks back and there was nothing there. it is always inundated with equipment. Recycling computers is gone full force. Probably have to get some ide to sata adapters though. Also looking at ide to compact flash adapters also. Even compact flash has gone up in price like ram.... Ram makers need another kick in the pants to make sure there is no alleged price fixing again. Almost cheaper to buy a system that to piecemeal it anymore again.

Fry's supposedly has a cheap dial up/

[gta_bmx]

Yea, one problem with internet connections is that they cost around $40-50 bucks for high speed anyway, and if you install a house alarm --- you have to get a landline phone as well. So, you might as well throw in cable TV and get a bundle or something.

I pay $84 for telephone, cable TV and high speed internet per month. My parents pay above $100. If you can pay a bill like that every month, why can't you buy a linux based netbook for ~$250? Giving old computers away to retired/poor folks sounds like a good idea, but the cost of a good internet connection sounds like a bigger hurdle than the cost of a computer to get on the internet.

I'm sure you can still buy a dialup account, but your options are really limited if you do that. You sure can't watch Revision3 or Youtube for that matter. :(

Fortunately, my electricity bill is not very high (I live in the land of TVA), so the size of a computer matters more to me that the electrical efficiency (my place is somewhat space constrained). I'm frankly think that Pentium III computers given away like this are only useful to fellow geeks (like ourselves) who are looking for a computer to act as a linux based router, print server, file server etc... IDK, maybe I am just too skeptical; I'm having a hard time seeing how this can make a serious impact with the poor.


As far as the poor folks around here that I used to work with at a job I used to have, most of them have cable tv and phones, so adding DSL or a dialup to the equation wouldn't add too much to their bill, esp. if they package or bundle. They all can afford cell phones and cigarettes. :) However, coming up with $350 in one chunk is hard for them because they don't budget what little money they get in. So a P4, Celeron or AMD Athlon 2400mhz or whatever can be a valuable resource. A lot of them have to get down to the local library to print out cover letters and do job searches on Monster or CareerBuilder.

Job searches used to be such a pain. You'd physically have to go down to the place that was hiring and fill out a huge application. Now you just shoot off a resume/cover letter to a company, and if your experience and qualifications warrant an interview, the company will set one up with you. This is a big plus for people without cars.

[gta_bmx]

I went to the optometrist yesterday for an eye exam, and he was using a laptop to test people's eyes. Dell Inspiron B130 with a Celeron CPU running XP Home. Fairly large with about a 14" screen. This model laptop is about 5 years old and can be had on ebay for $75. Anyway, there was an LCD monitor attached to the back wall that was connected to the laptop, and in front of the patient was a mirror, so when the Dr. would show eye charts on his laptop, it would be reflected to the front mirror for the patient to see and then do the old "which is better? 1 or 2?". Pretty neat to see technology has invaded the optical stores.

[guytheninja]

Poor is one of those "fuzzy" words. One person's definition of poor may be different from another (like the word tall for instance). When I think of "poor", I think of those unfortunate souls that have to ask the church down the street for a food/gas voucher because the can no longer make ends meet (due to the economy). A computer may help these folks, but they most likely have more pressing needs (like how in the world am I going to pay the electric bill).

I think it is a great idea to help the poor. The problem with helping the poor is that you want to make sure your charity is going to the right people who need it --- instead of folks looking for a free bargain (like myself :D j/k).

[tokenuser]

My wife's department at school is heavily involved in the government's "Broadband Everywhere" initiative. Its a great idea - pulling fiber independent of the ISPs control in all areas, not just those deemed profitable for the carrier.

But there is a problem. It is a broadband infrastructure project that doesn't go the last mile (ie from the pole to the house). It is intended to hook schools and libraries (ie community resources) to high speed backbones, with the added side advantage of residential use too (for those that want to pay for the last "virtual" mile). They are looking at low cost ways to do this in poor neighborhoods.

What is poor? There are government based definitions of poor involving income, single parents, education levels, etc. Well documented. Well accepted.

Once the internet is through, it will be great, but there will be a cost involved. Freecycled computers will serve a roll, but I would bet it will more likely be more inline with the OLPC type efforts - cheap laptops, probably subsidised/distributed and maintained via schools.

[computoman]

oh that's your computer? It's cool you're giving it away. hopefully it'll make it to someone who can put it to work. I know a guy locally here who funnels some PC's to poor folks. I have given him about 5 or 6 PC's. He didn't know about Ubuntu or Linux in general. I gave him some Ubuntu discs, so instead of having to buy copies of Win XP and then farting around for 2 hours loading Windows and all the updates and AV and such, he just slaps Ubuntu on the PC's. So I connected the dots, so to speak, locally. We need more dot connecting!!!! :)



No, it's not my computer. I have not idea who it belongs to. Me, give a computer away?

Bravo to you!!!!!