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klevin writes "Grist magazine's running an article on what to look for when the old PC's running out of gas and you want to avoid trashing the environment even further. Their suggestions include: upgrade instead of replacing, go for LCD monitors instead of CRTs and, if replacing, reuse the old one as an MP3 server on your home network."
Since Linux is so darn lightweight and easy to use I took my old laptop, removed the broken screen, installed base SuSE Linux (no X) and networked it. With an installation of rsync I've got an instant backup server for all the machines in our place.
Sure that machine's processor is only 750Mhz, but a laptop with no screen and a large hard drive makes a nice "blade server" sitting on the shelf and with a core operating system running the CPU load is never high.
John.
goodwil has computer centers where they take your trash computers and build systems for the less privelidged...or..just the cheap for that matter. I've gone into their center to buy parts for my older machines before.
The recent announcment where Intel is building greener chips is an example of reduce...as is simplified packaging, reusable containers, using your own coffee mug instead of a disposable cup etc.
The next best thing is Reuse. I recently turned my old box into a file server for example. The downside is this machine is always on (i.e. I have two heaters in my basement instead of one). I can reduce my power consumption a bit by clocking it down...but not eliminate that electrical demand completely.
All in all I think a general awareness of the "Total Cost of Ownership" on a global scale will hopefully lead to more enlightened decision making. That some of the big players are taking part is a good sign.
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
You can donate your stuff to http://www.usedpccanada.com - enterprises can also get rid of pallets of old pc's too.
"...a generation of kids has grown up thinking Trance is the shittiest music since country and western." - Paul van Dyk
You are thinking of the IBM product recycling plan, which includes a UPS pre-paid shipping label.
"... released a ... report on the environmental impact of computers, from production through USE and disposal." (emPHAsis mine)
A friend of mine just measured his power consumption on a 24/7 P166 MP3 server machine and concluded it costs 52.3 kwh/month ($6.14/month for him). Even if the monitor were constantly in use (~double the above numbers) he'd have to save $150 a year with NEW equipment (cost to make/buy + (cost to dispose x2) VS cost to run) to justify trashing the old. If he used a clever timer system so it was only on when needed, then he'd save lots more and REALLY have to work hard to justify new equipment.
The math seems very in favor of careful reutilization in most cases. You have to have something really sucky to justify getting a new thing and THROWING OUT the old thing. The materials almost always cost more to deal with than the energy consumed for use, apparently.
I'm thinking about it, therefore I might be.
There are a lot of limitations on what I can do with old computer equipment. True, CRTs contain all sorts of horrible stuff, but LCDs contain a lot of mercury, so they too will need to be reclaimed in a responsible way. It's not enough to put it on the curb with the correct sticker and claim that you are "recycling." It is likely that the thing is still going into a landfill, maybe a lined one, maybe not.
As for donations, the schools in my area won't accept anything less than a Pentium III, so the whole "the only need an old P75" isn't going to work anymore.
Recycling never takes off until the law says it has to. Until real recycling is a requirement, it just is not profitable enough to build that infrastructure.
It doesn't really need a videocard either. Or a harddisk, if you already have a server for other purposes that can provide an NFS root filesystem. My MP3 (or rather OGG) server is a Pentium 75 with a fanless lightweigh PSU, an AWE 64 Gold soundcard, a network card and a floppy drive for the kernel (which I could replace by a boot ROM if I ever get to it). As a side note, the lower CPU requirement for OGG decoding (vs. MP3) really shows on this system (any background task causes MP3 playback to stutter, while OGG playback still goes fine).
Can anyone show me an easy-to-setup MP3 streamer for Linux?
I simply installed Debian Sarge with some useful player programs. I can't give you a complete HowTo, but once you've got the base system running it should be trivial to browse through the Debian "sound" section of programs and find whatever you need.
Except running a PC, especially without a monitor, probably draws less power than the light bulbs in your apartment. The "300W" you see on PC power supplies is just the peak power they can produce - normal usage doesn't even draw close to that. And there's also the fact that if you live in a cold climate, none of that energy is really wasted during 3 out of 4 of the year's seasons (it doesn't matter if you heat your apartment with oil power, electric radiators, light bulbs or a computer - the total amount of energy required for heating will still be the same).
As far as I know, not much people know about this, but if you plan on using your old machine as a server this will probably come in handy. http://www.gnu.org/software/gnump3d/
I wrote that software, cheers for the pimping! As a small note though you should use either the GNU Address, or the gnump3d.org domain.
Since it became part of the GNU Project everything was migrated away from SourceForge.
Portland, Oregon is home to "Free Geek," a really neat PC recycling / refurb effort:
http://freegeek.org/
They charge $5 to recycle a PC or monitor. If it has usable parts, they strip them out and use them to build Linux-loaded PCs for schools, nonprofits, and the like.
Labor comes from volunteers. They will give you a PC for every six you build / refurb.
Stefan