11 Nov
1998
11 Nov
'98
5:05 a.m.
At 09:31 AM 11/11/98 -0800, you wrote:
I frequently get given 286 and 386 computers as well as
hearing about people
that are just throwing them away. Does anyone else on this list try to find
homes for these things, or know of homes? It seems such as waste to throw
out perfectly good computers just because they don't run the current rage of
the day.
I have stacks of them in the basement. By the time I get them, they're
often divorced from their docs and software manuals. I don't have
similar piles of WordPerfect 4.2 or whatever to load on them. Giving
someone a computer like this can be a burden if they think they should
be running Windows 95, or are tantalized by the net and today's software.
And then there's tech support and maintenance - you realize you'll be
on the hook for charitable support well beyond the device itself.
- John