[Lust] reviving old machines with Linux

[Jim Halfpenny]

2009/5/5 Chris Allison <chris at cca.me.uk>

>
>
> What do people feel about this?
>
> regards
>
> Chris Allison
>
>
Hi,
It's a good idea, I'd certainly be willing to help out with this. DSL is
pretty good but the lack of software updates potentially leave this
vulnerable to security flaws particularly if the machine is networked. A
lightweight Ubuntu install might be a better bet depending on the hardware
available. A standard build might be difficult to define since there would
no doubt be a lot of different kit involved, maybe a list of standard
packages would be good.

The old hardware could come from various sources. Lists like this are a good
start as there are bound to be lots of old doorstops out there that could
find a new lease of life. Freecycle (www.freecycle.co.uk) is a list for
people to trade items they no longer use and this too could be a good source
of parts. One other option would be to solicit businesses who may have old
PCs to dispose of. Wiping of hard disks and disposal costs money and we
obtain get hardware by offering this service. I'm not sure of the legal
implications of offering disposal services, anyone else have a view?

My feeling is the machines ought to go to 'worthy causes' first, that being
schools and charities rather than individuals. Someone might have a better
insight to the needs of the community than I. Support costs should be
minimal since we're providing free kit not free support. I'm sure there are
people out there who will be willing to help on a best endevours basis and
I'm sure we can get a bit more traffic on list list by promoting it as a
source of help.

Jim
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