Old Hardware

[Mike Schwartz]

On 3/30/07, der.hans <PLUGd at lufthans.com> wrote:
>
> Am 30. Mar, 2007 schwätzte Kurt Granroth so:
>
> > This thread reminded me... a number of years ago, I donated some
> > computer equipment to a guy (professor, I think) at Scottsdale Community
> > College.  His group was refurbishing them for use in 3rd world
> > countries, I believe.  I don't remember any details beyond that.
> >
> > Does that ring a bell for anybody that remembers more?
>
> That could be KidComputers or where it got started. KidComputers is run by
> an instructor at SCC.
>
> He also teaches classes on refurbishing computers.
>
> ciao,
>
> der.hans
> --
> #  https://www.LuftHans.com/        http://www.CiscoLearning.org/
> #  "Wasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please."  -- Steven Meretzky
> ---------------------------------------------------
> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss at lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change  you mail settings:
> http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
>

This comment is really in response to der.hans
(sorry for the late hit - I am "way" behind on my e-mail!).
I remember when, a few years back (circa summer 1994),
someone had donated some used computers,
(dinosaurs even by then-current standards, but they still worked great)
to the Phoenix Chapter ACM.
(...which sorta still exists, but has not been active for about 6.5 years or
so).
They were old '286-based PC's, each with "one" MB of RAM, and
I forget how much HD space, but it was probably circa 40MB.
They ran DOS (5.0 I think, but that was probably an upgrade from
what cam factory installed) and they each had a monitor, keyboard,
and even an (Epson) printer [dot matrix].  They each had two
5.25" floppy drives.
No one seemed to want them, so I said I would be happy to take one.
I still have it.
For the first few years that the AzTeC Free-Net was in existence,
this computer was my only link to the 'Net, from home.
(text e-mail, and a "lynx" web browser [text oriented]).
Eventually a friend "gave" me a 3.5 inch floppy drive,
and even installed it for me (I did have to spend a few
bucks on some adapter kit).  So now, it has the ability
to "convert" (copy) data files back and forth, between
3.5" and 5.25" floppies.
(Maybe not too useful now, but a friend of mine once
 needed to access some data, that was in one of those
 formats, and only had a PC with the other kind of drive -
 since he was in some other city, I was not able to help;
 and I think he ended up having to go somewhere and
 have it done commercially...)
My wife would probably prefer if I would get rid of this
old machine, but I have kept it around partly because
it could be useful some day, if someone has some
5.25 inch floppy disks, say, and wants to get the data
off of them, and preserve it (say) on comp.archives
or something.
Anyway, the connection to the comment from der.hans,
> for use in 3rd world
> countries,
is that the other 2 PCs, we couldn't even find anyone
from [e.g.] the Aztec Free-Net, who wanted them
/would take them (brings to mind the phrase
"couldn't even 'give' them "way"), and
so I think I heard (from Woody [Norwood] Sisson,
who by the way was there at one of the recent
Developer meetings of PLUG [at Adtron])
that someone had donated them to some project
involving taking PC's to some place in Central America
or something, where some
faith-based organization (I think) was working with
the poor people there, and helping them, apparently
with some computers (for which the spare parts had
to be  cheap, or supplied by the donors)
as well as (I guess) with food, clothing, shelter,
and (I guess) medical help.
Maybe Woody knows / remembers more
about that.  (is he on this list?)
-- 
Mike Schwartz
Glendale  AZ
schwartz at acm.org
Mike.L.Schwartz at gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/pipermail/plug-discuss/attachments/20070405/0d7c6e83/attachment.htm