>
>
> >
> > Oh - that's some group that is running a save-energy campaign (I think
> > they are partly leftist or neo luddite also) as an Email chain
> > letter. Protest the evil empire societiy that demands you consume so much
> > in other words. They do have a point - lead article in today's paper is
> > about the problem of getting rid of obsolete computers that are toxic
> > waste and due to the endless march of so called progress are turning into
> > paperweights.
> >
> > Kristin
> >
>
> Except those machines are perfectly good for schools in deprived areas.
> There's a program to ship 386s and 486s to African schools. :o)
>
Really? Well you still have to rasie money to get them shipped there. It
is dificult to get even a charity here in Silly Valley to take a PC more
than five years old. There's a few recyclers that will take them off your
hands and try to recover what they can of value. It's mostly hazardous
waste disposal though. The whole thing is costly and may even wind up
being a taxpayer burden.
My father finally succeeded in getting rid of his Macintosh SE, but it
took him quite a few tries. And these development groups can do a little,
when it comes to re direting resources round the world (Dirt poor
countries? You need a full belly before you get interested in computers,
man...) but there's no way they can shoulder the whole burden of disposing
of millions of old computers. It's like redistributing wealth itseslf, I
guess. You couldn't just give all the rich people's excess to the poor
even if you tried.
Kristin
