[Wftl-lug] Tuxzine

[Christian Einfeldt]

On 1/8/07, Jon Biddell <jon at mandrake.net.au> wrote:
>
>
> I have a dream of creating a LUG that focuses on hardware and shares
> hardware.  So I created DIYparts.org for that purpose.
>
> http://www.DIYparts.org
>
> I haven't had enough time lately to promote it, and so we have very few
> items of hardware listed there, only two items right now.  But that's okay,
> as you say below, one thing at a time.  But maybe we could use
> DIYparts.org as a supplement to this list, as a way of letting each other
> know what kinds of hardware we have that we are looking to sell, trade, or
> giveaway.  DIYparts.org has no advertising, and there is no fee to use
> it.  I really just wanted a place for people to stay in touch about what
> kinds of hardware they have, and what they need.
>
>
> Suggestion, and this will lighten your workload too....  As this is
> intended to be a worldwide site (and A Bloody Good Idea(tm)) how about
> having someone in each country to coordinate efforts within that
> country....  I'll volunteer for Australia !!
>

That sounds wonderful!!!  I'm glad to offer you any support that you might
need.

   I'd rather see the old PC gear I have / get from time to time go to
> someone who is going to break the Microsoft stranglehold rather than having
> to bin it.
>

Right.  And there is a business model here, too.  Many companies will pay a
fee to have data destroyed securely.  Also, here in the US, there is public
funding available for companies that train employees with new skills, say
through the California Unemployment Office.  So here's what you do.  You
contract with companies that are getting rid of old hardware.  They pay you
a set fee per item to haul away old computer stuff.  They pay an additional
set fee to securely destroy the data on the hard drive.  You destroy the
data by overwriting the hard drive two or three times with Damn Small Linux,
and then one final time with a distro that is appropriate for that machine,
say Mepis or Ubuntu or Linspire etc depending on the machine's specs.  You
then offer them a tax discount for donation to schools, and you set up a
school donation program to donate the machine to a school and thus to a
school kid.  You could even provide training to the kids as to how to
install the OS.

Bang, in one fell swoop, you

1) save stuff from landfill
2) get a FOSS computer into a kids hands.
3) provide training as to how to install and use Linux.

I have been wanting to do that for some time now.
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