[OT] Tatty, old computers.

[Richmond Mathewson]

Following recent remarks about my computers I feel a need to explain why
I use "tatty, old computers" most of the time:

4 years ago I 'sat on my bottom' for about a year, having reached a 
stage in my
life where I really didn't feel an urge to work for any state institutions.

At that time I decided to start a one-man EFL operation; from scratch.

I then spent considerable time working out what I needed and how much that
would cost.

I was amazed that when I looked at things it came out that, at least in 
Bulgaria,
it would be ultimately cheaper to buy second-hand PCs and monitors rather
than new ones. Here's the maths:

1. 3 Pentium III, 600-700 MHz, 256 MB RAM PCs:  $150
2. 3 Monitors capable of 1024 x 768 Screen Resolution: $90

after 4 years I have replaced one monitor!

c.f. 1. 3 new, cheapo PCs: $800
      2. 3 Flat-screen monitors: $1200  I was informed that the average 
life-expectancy of a flat-screen
          monitor is about 4 years.

I, subsequently invested in some very good, new, teaching keyboards 
(because I needed them).

The Pentium IIIs chunter along on Ubuntu 5.10; they do exactly what I 
require in the school, i.e:

Run my content delivery and reinforcement programs written with Runtime 
Revolution.
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I am bemused by all the commercial hype to endlessly upgrade; most PCs 
currently on the market
can do a lot more than the average consumer will ever require.

I run a G4 Mac (Mirror Door 2003, Dual Proc.), a PPC Mac Mini, a G3 
iMac, and a "Bits-and-Bobs-flung-together-from-
the-discard-pile" Pentium 4: between them they satisfy all my computing 
needs.
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My ability to get old computers working is strictly restricted to 
bunging an install disk into the CD drive!

If the computing world would sit back and think a bit, instead of 
continually spending money on ever more
spiffy computers, and filling up landfills like nobody's business; they 
might see the virtues of hanging on to
older hardware and "milking it" as long as possible: this is, ultimately 
far more 'green' than buying
Steve Jobs' "latest thang", which, supposedly, is so 'eco' that it gives 
free massages to members of greenpeace :)

sincerely, Richmond Mathewson.