Am I out of touch with reality? (Small Pic Added)

[leoblob]

I have this nice (old) Gateway tower computer... 500 MHz PIII, 256MB RAM, Matrox video card, sound, 56K modem, 10/100 network card & CD ROM. Full size case has AGP slot, PCI slots and ISA slots. Fresh install of WIN98SE. Also 17" Sony Trinitron monitor, keyboard and mouse. It works perfectly.

Issue: I am trying to find a home for this. For FREE. No one around here is interested. I even brought it to a re-sale shop, and they wouldn't take it... even though I was giving it to them as a donation (=FREE). What... they don't think they can get $25 for this computer?

What am I missing? I think a computer like this can still perform useful work. Looks like I am the only one who thinks this way. Should I just take it to a recycler?

[Purcy]

That is too bad, it is hard to believe that you could not sell that set-up for $25; just the 17" monitor would be nice for that price. Do you have any Goodwill stores around you, in our city they have a separate Goodwill Computer store and they will definitely take donations. Have you tried listing it in your local craigslist?

[leoblob]

I will look for a Goodwill computer store. Thanks. Any other ideas?

BTW, I am looking to get $0 for this. I was surprised the resale shop wouldn't take it, since I thought THEY could get (at least) $25 for it.

[dsvochak]

Two suggestions:

1) Churches and other non-profit groups are always looking for useable equipment

2) Try a post on http://www.freecycle.org/

[Phazer]

That's amazing!! Up until I got these laptops, all my systems were/are HP 500mHz. The funny thing is, they do what I want just perfectly. All I do is browse eBay and visit forums. That's sad...

[ryengineer]

You can donate it to YMCA.

[JHEM]

I work with a national recycling .ORG. We no longer accept any computer donations with less than a P4 processor. We are awash in PIII desktops that no one wants, even the non-profs and NGOs we deal with daily.

Same goes for CRTs smaller than 17".

We can't get rid of them and wind up having to pay to have them recycled.

Conversely, we have hundreds of previously donated old PIII desktops and laptops that are happily doing yeoman duty for their present owners.

James

[pianowizard]

Issue: I am trying to find a home for this. For FREE. No one around here is interested.

That's insane. I have sold a bunch of old desktop computers similar to this on the Providence Craigslist and got between $20 and $50 for each. Is that one 256MB PC100 stick or 2x128MB?

[bill bolton]

I think a computer like this can still perform useful work.

For someone who understands a fair amount about computers and can slot it into the appropriate role, yes it might.

But its a different story for a member of the general public who would quickly find it wont support the "common stuff that everyone uses nowadays" in any effective way.... which is why the places that recycle things at low cost wont even take it as a donation.

Cheers,

Bill

[Kyocera]

Ditto to what dsigma6 said, Churches would be a good place, set up a printer on a network today at a church and they had a bunch of 95 machines - could not even install the software on those.

[ronbo613]

I work with a national recycling .ORG. We no longer accept any computer donations with less than a P4 processor. We are awash in PIII desktops that no one wants, even the non-profs and NGOs we deal with daily.

Same goes for CRTs smaller than 17".

We can't get rid of them and wind up having to pay to have them recycled.

Conversely, we have hundreds of previously donated old PIII desktops and laptops that are happily doing yeoman duty for their present owners.

James

I'd say it's a similar situation here in San Diego County. Most places won't even take an older computer and the recycling fees can be surprisingly steep, resulting in old computers and monitors on the side of the road next to the on ramp to the freeway nearest the dump, er, landfill.
I know there are places in Mexico, about an hour from here, that would love those computers. They have places where people under 21 who commit crimes are rehabilitated(they don't put kids in jail in Mexico), I'll bet they could use all the unwanted technology they could get.

[leoblob]

Thanks for all the responses & ideas. I've head of that freecycle. I'm sure they have one around here. I'll find a home for it.

As to why it's so hard to find someone who wants, I think Bill Bolton is right. My son told me the same thing when I came back home yesterday from the re-sale shop, with the computer & monitor still in the car.

[pianowizard]

As to why it's so hard to find someone who wants, I think Bill Bolton is right. My son told me the same thing when I came back home yesterday from the re-sale shop, with the computer & monitor still in the car.

Purcy asked you this earlier but you didn't answer her: Have you tried Craigslist? Some examples of old desktop computers that I sold just 3 months ago on Craigslist:

complete Dell system: 500MHz PIII/128MB/4GB/monitor - $25

Dell OptiPlex GX110 desktop computer: 600MHz PIII, 64MB RAM, ethernet - $18

Dell Dimension 4100 desktop computer (1GHz/256MB/8GB/DVD/CDRW) - $45

[ronbo613]

Dell OptiPlex GX110 desktop computer: 600MHz PIII, 64MB RAM, ethernet - $18

That's amazing that a computer that is as least twice or three times as powerful as the ones used in some of NASA's early space flights is only worth $18; two carne asada combo plates and a couple beers.

[rkawakami]

That's amazing that a computer that is as least twice or three times as powerful as the ones used in some of NASA's early space flights is only worth $18

Uh, you may want to change that to "today's space flights"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP-101

[ronbo613]

Well, now I'm hoping there are no B-52s flying over my house.

[rkawakami]

Hmm... Carlsbad... SoCal... near Edwards AFB... (well, at least closer than I am). I think that Edwards (NASA) still flies a couple of B-52s out of there.

Sorry to get OT...

@leoblob:

If you can't dump off (sorry, donate) your Gateway dinosaur to freecycle or your local Goodwill store, then have you thought about using it as a server? There's some freeware software that you can use to turn that system into a backup file storage server. I think that a 500Mhz 256MB system qualifies.

[tfflivemb2]

I'd take it in a heart beat if I could, even if only for the 17" monitor. Chicago is about 4.5 hours from me, but I don't plan on being down there for another month or two.

Let me see if I have a friend that can meet with you.

[Turbo Audi]

Id take it if I were in Chicago, I need another Linux machine.

[ronbo613]

I think I might have a PIII 850 slot 1 CPU and some PC100 RAM lying around here that I'll wind up tossing in the trash because I'm moving. If somebody wants them(and I can find it), you can have it.

Ray-They still fly B-52s out of Edwards AFB. I drive past the base on the way to the Bear Mt. ski resorts.

[Purcy]

Ray-They still fly B-52s out of Edwards AFB. I drive past the base on the way to the Bear Mt. ski resorts.

Totally OT (sorry) but in the summer we have two large airshows out this way and they have fly-ins of several B-52s; I got to tour inside one, they are as big as a 2 story house, it is truly awesome how big they are - and they can still fly! That is my other passion, old aircraft.

[tvsjr]

I work with a national recycling .ORG. We no longer accept any computer donations with less than a P4 processor. We are awash in PIII desktops that no one wants, even the non-profs and NGOs we deal with daily.

That's utterly assinine. I've got P3 servers still in production use living at data centers. Nothing wrong with a P3.

[JHEM]

That is my other passion, old aircraft.

The BUFF has been in active inventory for 53 years. It's forecast that the 85 remaining aircraft of the 700+ that were built will remain active until 2040 thanks to several SLEP contracts, including replacing the 8 P&W engines with 4 RR high bypass fanjets.

I've always dreamed of getting one for us.

BUFF - Big Ugly Fat Fu*ker, the name given to the aircraft by its flight crews and used with fondness by them.
SLEP - Service Life Extension Program. MILSPEAK for refurbishing.

[Purcy]

BUFF - Big Ugly Fat Fu*ker, the name given to the aircraft by its flight crews and used with fondness by them

I thought it was the Flying Fortress!! edited to ask: aren't there a group of people who keep and maintain a fleet of some of the remaining B-52s out in the desert? Just for the beauty of it?

Captain, I am intrigued with your Air Victory Museum and have bookmarked that to read tomorrow. Wow.

[ronbo613]

Sorry to go off topic again, but you guys should try CFS 2. Only "game" I play. Probably run on just about any Thinkpad.

[JHEM]

edited to ask: aren't there a group of people who keep and maintain a fleet of some of the remaining B-52s out in the desert? Just for the beauty of it?

If only that were true... sigh.

AMARC

What happens to them there.

[JHEM]

Only "game" I play.

Game? I don't need no steenkin' game!

[ronbo613]

[leoblob]

Wow, a lot of interesting side trips here on this thread (but that's OK with me! )

Let's see... I haven't tried criagslist, but it sounds like a good bet. I'm leaning toward freecycle since I don't really want/need to get any money out of it. I'd like to see someone who could use a computer--but is low on bucks--end up with this one.

If I can't find it a home, I think learning Linux on it would be one good option. I have a PIII 700 chip sitting around somehwere, and probably enough RAM to get it to 384 or more.

The 17" monitor is not perfect. It will only run at 1024 x 786 if it's at 60Hz... a bit of flicker there.

Overall, I agree that a computer like this was a BIG deal in its day, and now it's worth the same as a family meal at McDonalds, tops. Sometimes, the progress of technology is a bit too intense for me to comprehend.

And I use the PIIIs in my signature everyday for my work. Never any limitations. If I ever do video editing (eventually?) I know I would need something faster, but for regular "office work," they're quite fast and very stable...

[pianowizard]

I'm leaning toward freecycle since I don't really want/need to get any money out of it. I'd like to see someone who could use a computer--but is low on bucks--end up with this one.

You can "sell" the computer in Craigslist's "computer" section for $0, or just post it in the "free" section. I recommend that you do both if you want to get rid of this thing quickly.