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DEL.ICIO.USIt’s a giveaway - and you’re doing the giving
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sometimes the best thing you can do with a computer is give it away.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because I say it around this time every year. Many of you got computers for Christmas, which means you may have a surplus machine sitting around. The worst place for an extra computer is an attic or basement, where it will just take up space until dampness or critters destroy it.
Let someone use it instead.
It could go to a member of your extended family, or to a friend’s family. Or you could check with your church or synagogue, a civic club you belong to, or a school.
Young people enjoy messing with computers. And, for old people, the Web and e-mail enable travel to places where legs will no longer go.
A computer that was cruising the Web, writing letters and e-mails, and helping create documents before the holiday season is still capable of doing all that, probably for quite a while to come.
It’s fun for me to find someone who would enjoy having the old computer. But there are also organizations that take old computers and refurbish them. I live in Atlanta, and the group closest to me is called Tech Corps Georgia. You can find information on making a donation at this Web address: . If you live in another area, just use Google and type in this search: donate computer.
Many of you want to give a computer away but worry - with good cause - that the information you saved on the hard disk could be used by someone else. And you know that merely erasing, or even reformatting, the hard disk isn’t a surefire method of getting rid of data.
Here’s what I do with a computer that I plan to donate: I open the case and remove the hard disk. Some people physically destroy the hard disk, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But, for me, I simply stick the hard disk in a drawer.
That way, if I need some data from the old computer and can’t rely on my backup data, I can retrieve it by temporarily installing the hard drive as a second hard disk in the new computer. That’s an easy task. I’ll include a link here that will offer some tips on doing that
In some cases, you can give the computer away without the hard disk. Other organizations may want a fully functioning computer.
There are two ways to go if you’re in that boat. You can buy another hard disk -it’s easy find one for $50 or less. Or you can use a program that reliably removes data. For a discussion of that process the names of various programs- including a free one that claims to do it safely, check out this Web address:
So if you have a computer that isn’t being used, go ahead and have some real fun with it. Give it away.
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By BigDog
January 5, 2008 7:25 AM | Link to this
Hey Bill - the link to how to use an old hard drive on another computer is a dead link. Can you repost? I have two pcs after the holidays that are candidates for recycling.
By Technical Failure
January 5, 2008 8:00 AM | Link to this
The hard drive. Does it have every keyboard stroke and every website ever visited?
Can you recommend a camera that is the easiest ever to put photos on email or website? “Easiest ever” being the critical part of my techie-wannabe brain malfunction.
By Bill
January 5, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this
Thanks for spotting the bad link BigDog - I’ve corrected that.
Tech Failure - you can clear your Web browser’s cache to make sure that the history of your browsing isn’t recorded. But the real message - since there’s a bunch of other stuff on the disk too - is to either remove the disk, replace it, or reliably erase it.
As far as recommending a camera, really the method of attaching pictures to an e-mail doesn’t changed based on the type of camera you own. It’s more of a function of saving the photos to your hard disk and using the attach file or picture command from your e-mail client.
By JAMES OKEEFFE
January 8, 2008 10:37 PM | Link to this
Dear Bill
I thoroughly enjoy your TechnoBuddy column each sunday and I have lost one column that I clipped but cannot find in my files.
I am looking for your article about a home security/intrusion alarm system that features wireless setup and works both inside and outside. I think I clipped it during the last three to six months.
Please RSVP with a reference or date of the article.
Thanks for your help.
James OKeeffe
By Bill
January 8, 2008 11:20 PM | Link to this
Sure James, click on the column link at the left and select the Nov. 2 article. It was mentioned toward the middle of the piece.
I know the device you’re talking about but it isn’t exactly as you describe. It does warn of outside intruders but isn’t made for indoor use. So it really is a supplement to an indoor alarm system.
Still works great by the way.