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Inventorying Miscellaneous Computer Junk?

Posted by timothy on from the bane-and-blessing-of-extra-bits dept.

drewhearle writes "I'm sure lots of Slashdot readers act as technical support to friends and family. I do a lot of this myself and have collected all sorts of miscellaneous computer hardware over the years, such as cases, power supplies, older memory, hard drives, cables and the like. If you're like me, you have to dig through everything and look in various closets, drawers and boxes whenever you need something. What do you use for keeping track of your inventory? Is there a full-featured open-source or freeware package out there that actually works?" Read more for what he's looking for -- sounds like a useful niche.

drewhearle continues "Ideally I'd like an open-source solution with the following features:

A web-browser-based system (or something else with LAN connectivity) that would allow me to access the inventory from multiple computers

Something to indicate where each part is, i.e. "under bed" or "behind bookshelf" :)

A way to attach one or more photos to each item

Category organization, like "hard drives," "memory," or "cables". Subcategories would be nice too.

A "notes" field for each item, to save misc. information

Search functionality, so I could search by category or text-search any field.

I'm probably asking too much, but if there isn't [widely available] software out there like this, maybe somebody has developed something similar for themselves and would be willing to share."

6 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. works for me.. by hookedup · · Score: 4, Funny

    my wife.

    explaining it like "a green thing, with metal on one end, and little things sticking out of the green part" would gets me close to a nic/video/sound card, i can do the rest myself :)

  2. I have a simple solution. by Bob+Cat+-+NYMPHS · · Score: 4, Funny

    Throw it all out. You aren't going to use those 256MB hard drives, or the 1MB SIMMs, or that ISA SCSI card that only works with the HP SCSI scanner that only works with that card.

    Now I have only to take my own advice. Anyone need a hundred ISA cards? v.32bis modems, AUI NICs, coax repeaters? How about power cords? I have about 50. Phone cords? 10 year old LaserJets with some toner? No?

    --
    The latest Slashdot meme.
    1. Re:I have a simple solution. by christopherfinke · · Score: 4, Funny
      Anyone need a hundred ISA cards? v.32bis modems, AUI NICs, coax repeaters? How about power cords? I have about 50. Phone cords? 10 year old LaserJets with some toner? No?
      Yes. Feel free to send it all to me:

      920 Delaware St. #3003
      Minneapolis, MN 55414

      That goes for anyone else too. Also, this would solve the problem posed by the submitter. Where's your stuff? I have it!
    2. Re:I have a simple solution. by christopherfinke · · Score: 4, Funny
      The question is will you pay for shipping?
      But wouldn't the measly cost of shipping be worth it to know that you're getting rid of your junk, but that it will still be going to good use? And by good use, I mean towards the building of my robot. This is going to be the best prom ever...
  3. I'm a karma whore! by NanoGator · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why must you use modern technology when you have the ancient pen and paper that obviously wasn't enough for a lot of people in the 20th century? Not only are they cheap, but they're y2k compliant and they even work when the power is out! You can't do sorting like you can with a spreadsheet, and formulas would have to be done by hand, but it's a tried and true technology!

    *Here's hopin the mods have a sense of humor today.*

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  4. I have just what you need by eggstasy · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've recently come across a great piece of software that lets you organize your old junk.
    TrashCan[tm], made by DumpsterCorp(r), enables you to quickly and easily file away each and every one of those things you think might have some use in the future, but never actually do. Retrieval, unfortunately, is a little bit difficult, but I hear they are working on that.
    Marriage[tm], from your friendly neighborhood software house, "Wife, Inc.", also helps you sort your old stuff by using a rule-based decision support system with natural language support:
    " IF (you havent needed it for the past 5-10 years)
    AND (you dont want me to file for divorce)
    THEN (you must get rid of your silly junk)
    AND (make room for sissy, pastel-colored baby gear)"
    I have found that after using these two great pieces of software to help organize my inventory, I have recovered such an amazing amount of space, it's as if I never had an inventory to begin with!