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Re: Old Computers



There have been a number of responses both on list and off list about
colleges like mine doing upgrades and throwing away old computers. Most
people cannot imagine throwing working computers away. Some have suggested
sending our old computers to them, or to schools, or to non-profit
organizations. It's not that simple.

Here are some points to explain why what we do makes sense.

(1) Suppose your organization has hundreds of PCs, connected via intranet
and Internet, and lots if document sharing takes place. These can be Word
documents, Excel spreadsheets, databases, whatever. It just doesn't work to
have some people using Office 97 products and others using Office 2000
products. Everyone needs the same version of all the software. We have
site licenses with annual fees to keep all the software current. However,
every time the version upgraded the new version requires faster computers,
more memory, and more hard disk space. Windows 98 or 2000 with Office 2000
just doesn't work well on a 133-MHz Pentium with 64-Mbytes memory and
1-Gbyte hard drive. So, we have to keep everyone on the same software
version, and that requires computers that are younger than roughly 3 or 4
years old.

(2) How do you manage to keep everything current without working yourself to
death and/or spending a fortune? We have plan. Here is how it works. We
keep a computer 4 to 6 years, and it moves to a new spot on campus every two
years. (We actually move half the computers every year.) If science
faculty get new computers in 2000, they will get another new computer in
2002. The English faculty might get theirs in 2001 and 2003. For
example...

-- I get a new computer in my office in 2000. I will keep it for 2 years.

-- It is now 2002. My 2-yr-old computer moves to a location such as a
dormitory or another location where it will be used just for word processing
or web browsing. It stays there for 2 years.

-- It is now 2004. My computer from 2000 might be ready for retirement.
Before that we see if any place on campus could benefit from it. For
example our science labs get first dibs on 4-year olds because we still have
data-acquisition systems where data acquisition is all the computer does...
sometimes in DOS. These 4-yr-old computers will be more reliable than 6 or
8-yr-old computers currently acquiring data, even though the 6/8 year olds
are still working. What we are trying to do is change lab computers on "our
schedule" rather than in an emergency when lab is scheduled and the computer
has unexpectedly broken down. Unexpected downtimes are the primary reason
for replacing some aging computers in lab; otherwise we have experiments
that would be just fine with 20-year-old computers.

(3) This means when the college is ready to "throw away" a working computer,
it has been in use for at least 4 years and probably 6 years. They are
beginning to have reliability problems. Since these are "energy saving"
computers, it is possible they were rarely turned off during that whole time
period. On the other hand, some were turned off each night. We think the
ones that were continuously-on show more monitor problems and those turned
on-and-off show more hard disk bearing problems (seizing up). Anyway, these
computers are worn out in the sense they are beginning to have failures,
plus their current configuration does not have enough speed, memory, disk
space to run current versions of Windows applications. It would cost more
to upgrade these than to replace them. I know some would say they still
could be used by persons who cannot afford better, but they are a liability
for us... read on.

(4) For a while we did try to give used computers to schools or even to
individuals. But...

-- What happens when the hard drive won't start any more?
-- What happens when the monitor goes out?
-- What happens when the new owner wants more memory or a hard-drive upgrade
because they said they would use Windows 95 but now they want Windows 2000
and Office 2000.

I'll tell you what happens... they come back to us and ask us to help them.
Even those people who agreed with our statement, "Once you take this
computer we don't want to see it again or hear about it again," will come
back to us and say, "What kind of memory do I need for this? Would you put
it in for me? My monitor crashed, can you get me another? I switched
Internet providers and am having difficulty... would you help me.

Believe me, there is no end to this. If you refuse to help these people
they instantly forget you did them a favor by giving them the computer in
the first place. We are absolutely convinced it is better for public
relations if we never give a computer away rather than give one away and
later refuse to help the person we gave it to when they have problems with
it. We have quite a bit of experience with this.

Yes, there are those who have taken computers and never bothered us again.
But (a) it's difficult to predict who will bother us and who won't, and (b)
if you pre-judge John as a liability, how do you explain to John why you
gave a computer to Jim but won't give one to him?

At the present time, our chief computer person will (reluctantly) allow a
computer to be given away (not trashed) if another BC employee stands behind
it. If I want to give a computer to my neighbor, I have to stand behind it.
If my neighbor bothers the chief computer person instead of me, I will not
be allowed to give another college computer away. This sounds drastic, but
I totally agree with it. Computer literate people are hounded to death and
this can make their lives miserable. I have witnessed our chief computer
person being shouted at by persons he has helped for free because he said he
didn't have time to solve their problems today.

My son was helping an elderly person in the community learn basics of e-mail
and Internet browsing. One afternoon she called me to see if I would help
her. I asked why she was calling me instead of David. She said we was
"firing" David because he wouldn't come to her house when she needed him.
She said that when she has a question or a problem she needs it solved
today, not tomorrow. (She was not paying him, he was helping her
voluntarily as a service to elderly persons in the community.)
Unfortunately her behavior is common.


Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817