Comments

A long overdue funeral — 15 Comments

  1. Can clapped-out computer hardware and software be recycled by educational charities that assist third world countries?

    • I think they prefer to get something that at least works in a rudimentary way.  My stuff is antiquated by any standards and is useless even for spares.

  2. Download linux (Of whatever flavour you like, I use mint) and bang that on them. What’s more it’s free..

    • Teaching Grandad to suck eggs, huh?  The tower machine was running Linux [Mint] until it collapsed.  I tried a reinstall but no go.  Disk fucked.  The ex-work machine won't even get as far as loading the DVD.  Probably not enough memory.  I possibly could install Windows 3.1 on it?

      I have been using Linux Mint for as long as I can remember – eight or nine years?  Won't use anything else!  Currently on 18, Cinnamon.

      • You could always try Mint 13 XFCE, I doesn't need quite as much memory.. I have it running on an old Dell P3 laptop..

        • I might give that a try just as an experiment.  It would be on the low [i.e. zero] powered machine so would be next to useless though.

  3. It's amazing how what only a few years ago seemed excessive nowadays isn't enough.

    When I arrived here about 13 years ago, I brought with me a tower unit (bought from 'Time' computers in UK, I seem to recall) which had what seemed to be a massive 19 GB HDD. A few years later, it needed replacing – it just couldn't cope anymore.

    So my computer wizz-kid built me a new tower unit, with 2 GB of RAM and a huge 350GB HDD. ("What the fuck do I need 350 GB for, Manolis? I'll never use even half of it!"). Of course, over the intervening years he's upgraded it here and there (not to mention replacing dead PSUs, CDR drives etc), and it now has a 1TB internal HDD (plus two 1TB external drives) and about 5 GB RAM, but I fear the processor is having a hard time coping, and I wonder how much longer I have before it bites the dust, and I have to start all over again. Perhaps I'm a bit of a Luddite, but I do prefer using the PC over the laptop, and I will probably build another tower unit when this one finally expires.

    • My first machine was a Tandon 386.  I can't remember the memory size [64K?] but I asked for two upgrades – upgrade the hard disk from 20Mb to 40Mb and to include a three and a half floppy drive as well as the five and a quarter.  They said that both upgrades were a waste of money!

      Laptop now has 8Gb memory, 1Tb hard drive and no floppy disk drive.  I would have needed 25,000 Tandons just to have the disk capacity of the laptop.  The Tandon also cost over twice the price of the laptop!

      Just a thought.

  4. When I replaced my last computer, I asked what I should do with the old one – the recycling centre, charities, third-world re-use etc etc.  He suggested I donate it to a museum, it was that old!!

    • Can copper wiring, plastic framing and other substances in discarded computers be extracted and recycled for other purposes? I ask this because for many years shiploads of discarded computers have been dumped in South China. Chinese people scrape a dangerous living burning off toxic perishable materials to get at metals that are then sold n bulk to scrap dealers. If safe extraction can be done in countries of origin, and proceeds from the sale of scrap donated to charities, carcinogenic situations could be avoided.

      • I think there may be a recycling centre somewhere around Skobieville.  I might look into that.  Or else just leave them rusting in the garden!

  5. "It does need my personal attention to switch it on though. A bit like herself."

    grandad,you rock!!!!

    • Thank you, Katelyn and welcome!  I don't think Herself would agree though.  She has called me many things, but never a rock.

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