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Re: [PLUG] Would possibly like to donate hardware: laptops, old monitor, etc
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On Tue, 29 Jan 2002 root@physiometrics.net wrote:
> My name is Brian Rea, I oversee the IT department for PhysioMetrics, a
> medical services company located in Mount Laurel, NJ. We've experienced a
> great deal of ramp-up in recent years with both our operations and our
> infrastructure. This has left us with some hardware which isn't used
> anymore.
>
> Some people would probably just like to give the parts and systems to family
> members or friends of the company, others (like my predecessor) would be
Honestly, if members of your staff want some of the "old junk" and are
actually going to get use out of it, then there should be a policy of
decommissioning old computers (and misc. equipment) that the company has
no other outlets for. It would probably help to build morale, or at least
make a few people a little happier.
> content to let it sit under our IT department's workbench until it's so
> obsolete that we claim it as some sort of business loss, but I see the
This is a legitimate point. But it's really an accounting/tax issue that
is much too complex for me. Honestly though, computing business assets do
depreciate a lot quicker than one would think. Talk to the right
department about this, and work out a policy. There *has* to be some
rules about what you do with things before you send them into the trash or
the recycler.
> situation differently for a couple of reasons: [A] the hardware isn't all
> that new and wouldn't make all that great a "gift" (i know that i would be
If employees are going to get the old junk, then they should be fully
aware of what they are taking.
> pretty upset if someone gave me a 14" monitor with a blurry screen for my
> birthday) and [B] i'd much rather see SOMEONE get use out of old parts
> rather than them become totally ancient and never touched again. It is for
> this reason that I'd like to speak with whomever in the Philly Linux Users
> Group could handle accepting this hardware as a donation to use however you
> see fit.
Okay now, as far as things go.. well, I actually DO have a nonprofit that
might gain some benefit from some stuff (see the website in the
.signature for more information on that), but beyond this, here are some
comments below:
> * One AMS Tech P-233 laptop
> Needs power adapter. any universal power adapter works well
> Needs hard disk drive. it's hard drive failed and was never replaced.
> Has combo drive... floppy is 100%, CD-ROM is a little flaky.
> Screen, keyboard, touchpad, all external ports are fine, afaik
We could probably make use of this, and I actually do have a spare laptop
harddrive.. although I am not really familiar with the different types of
laptop harddrive interfaces. As far as power adapters for computers
go... I guess I'll have to see if this is available at the local radio
shack and how much.
> * One CTX EzBook P-200 laptop
> Needs power adapter. any universal power adapter works well (the same
> one that worked with the AMS Tech above works with this model, as well...
> they're both 20V 2.2A)
> Needs hard disk drive.
> Has two bays for drives. Neither have drives installed. This and one
> other CTX EzBook had one dead drive each, so we made one working laptop with
> the good floppy and good CD-ROM. this laptop was left with neither. i've
> seen cheap replacements on the Internet before, tho, i think.
> Screen, keyboard, touchpad, all external ports are fine, afaik
My suggestion: Keep this. If as you said, you made one good laptop out of
two nonworking but matching ones, keep this one if your working one is
currently in service. Should it's lcd, keyboard, motherboard, or even
part of the case cease working, or get damaged, you will be thankful you
have the spare parts to fix it.
> > * One Princeton Graphics 14" SVGA monitor
> Screen is pretty blurry and crappy, frankly. :-( But it functions
> totally as a monitor... it's readable... just produces a lot of color
> distortion horizontally. Could work fine as either a server monitor or (if
> someone was so inclined) a learning tool for monitor repair, i guess.
As you said, it's pretty crappy. So, how come this hasn't been thrown out
yet? Well, actually, that is the problem with monitors (and TVs),
technically they are hazardous waste, and *should* be disposed of
properly. As far as to whether there are actually laws/regulations about
your disposal of these items, or not, that would apply to you and your
company, I am not the one at this time, to ask.
> * An assload of ThinNet BNC network cables, various lengths... most looks
> like 15' segments or longer.
Anybody? Anybody? I hear you can actually set up a beowulf cluster with
10base2.. ;) I'm interested in terminators, but that's about it.
> * An external Seagate tape drive. Looks to be SCSI-1
> Model Number STD64000N
> Last i heard it was working fine
Uhm, any tapes available?
> * Three or Four PCI modems
> These came from eMachine PCs... so the chance is high that they're
> WinModems. :-(
> Some made by PCTel, others have chips that say Conextant.
> No driver disks that i could find in my predecessor's office
Uhm, next. (Actually, I believe it may be possible to get these working
under Linux, check http://www.linmodems.org/ and
http://www.idir.net/~gromitkc/winmodem.html for more information.)
> * One or two internal IDE DVD-ROM drives
> These throw a lo of bad data out sometimes and aren't really reliable as
> standalone CD-ROMs (say, for installing software or what not) but i just
> can't pass up the chance to help Linux users get DeCSS working in any
> capacity. =)
What do you mean by throwing out a lot of bad data? Are these good enough
to use as dvd-rom drives for watching movies? How does the throwing out
bad data affect that, and what do you mean by that exactly? As far as
your comment goes, I would highly recommend against making such a comment,
even as a joke, as I know you meant this. (I can tell you meant it as a
joke because of the smiley.) It is probably not a good idea to make such
comments (at least, not from your work account acting as a representative
of the company) as you potentially expose your company to legal
liabilities and issues.
> * A Western Digital Caviar 28400 8.4 GB IDE hard drive
> This bloody thing is detected as a 1 Gig drive by every BIOS in our
> office... if you can make it detect at it's proper size you deserve to own
> it. :-) even if it doesn't detect for you, it's still a very functional
> drive at 1 GB.
I have one of these, I would guess there is a problem in the electronics
based on what you're saying. If there wasn't a problem, I would take it,
but as I doubt I would be able to fix it..
> * a PCMCIA SCSI interface by NewMedia corporation
> called a "Bus Toaster" model number NMC00505
> my predecessor claimed that it never really worked for him... but, then
> again, he was a bit of a dumbass. i have no need for it and haven't even
> taken it out of the box. i have all original disks and cables... but box
> only lists support for dos and windows :-(
Well, if we are going to take the 1st laptop (if it has pcmcia) we might
as well take this, too. I suppose this could be used with the pcmcia bus
for desktop PCs, below, but that would kind of be a kludge, wouldn't
it? :)
> * Hewlett-Packard external SCSI CD-R drive
> Model number: 6020e ? Part Number: 7000-0036 ? (sticker on unit is
> unclear)
> Nice external drive... has power adapter
> External SCSI ID toggle... can be ANY device # 0 thru 7
> External terminator power switch and two SCSI ports to be either middle
> or last device on chain
Sounds good to us. (and no complaints?? wow!! :D )
> * Something that appears to be a PCMCIA bus for desktop PCs
> ISA card with two 50-pin ribbon cables going to a 3.5" drive that appears
> to take PCMCIA cards
> Drive has two card bays
> - -- ----- ----------
I actually know what this is, and can be used for. And yes, we could
actually use it. (hmmm I would wonder also if there are any pcmcia card
like things you might have in relation to it, there should be some various
adapters, too.)
> That's about all i can find so far. If i come across anything more i'll be
> address. The only reason i could see for this donation to not happen would
> be if my company's Finance dept. doesn't go for it. Are donations Linux
Honestly, if your finance department doesn't even let you throw OUT old
junk, then something is wrong with them. I suggest starting to pile up
your old trash in their office, you can start with the 14" monitor..
I think you'll prove your point.
______________________________________________________________________
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