1. List on Craigslist and try it sell it. (but do not sell HDs unless they are completely scrubbed and overwritten)
2. Donate it
If the equipment still functions, consider donating it to a local school or nonprofit organization. Below is a list of various organizations that also accept used computer equipment. Please call them before sending anything to ensure the item(s) meet their needs.
Share The Technology: (http://sharetechnology.org) Phone: (856)234-6156 Fax: (856)234-5809 Address: P.O. Box 548 Rancocas, NJ 08073 Note: See web site with database of organizations looking for donated computers.
National Cristina Foundation: (http://www.cristina.org) Phone: (203)863-9100 Fax: (203)297-8000 Address: National Cristina Foundation 500 West Putnam Avenue Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 Note: This organization accepts computer equipment for donation to organizations serving the disadvantaged.
Recycles.org: (http://www.recycles.org/) Phone: None or unknown E-mail: Click here Note: Nonprofit materials exchange network that connects users and organizations looking to share or gather computer equipment for reuse across America.
CompuMentor: (http://www.compumentor.org/) Phone: (415)633-9300 E-mail: realperson@compumentor.org Note: An organization that's been around since 1987 that's dedicated to helping nonprofits use technology.
RECONNECT: (http://www.reconnectpartnership.com/) Note: Comprehensive electronics recovery, reuse, and environmental responsible partnership between Goodwill and Dell. This organization has dozens of locations throughout the United States in states such as: California, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The address and other contact information for each of these locations is found on the above link under participating goodwills.
3. List it on your local freecycle list (see www.freecycle.org) for a list of lists to see if anyone wants some of it free.
4. Contact your HS computer classes and see if they want old equipment to tear apart and see how things work.
5. Then if all else fails, see about disposing of the rest through a PC recycling/disposal
Many computer manufacturers and computer hardware manufactures also have their own recycling and/or trade in programs. Below is a list of some of the major manufactures and links to their recycling programs.
Apple recycling program Dell recycling program Epson recycling program Gateway recycling program Hewlett Packard recycling program IBM / Lenovo recycling program Lexmark recycling program NEC recycling program
Below is a short list of some of the major recycling companies capable of recycling computers.
E-Tech Recycling (http://www.etechrecycling.com/)
Phone:(503) 693-8939 or (703) 421-4340 Fax: (503) 693-8939 or (703) 421-4340 Address: 1600 NE 25th Ave Suite E Hillsboro, OR 97124
21580 Atlantic Blvd, Suite #120 Sterling, VA 20166 Note: Company capable of recycling computers, monitors, telephones, and related equipment, and various other electronic items.
Genesis Recycling (http://genesisrecycling.ca/)
Phone: (604) 533-2537 Fax: (604) 533-2537 Address: 19632 40th Avenue Langley, B.C. V3A 6L7 Note: Company who's capable of recycling all types of computers, printers, monitors, phones, and numerous other electronic components.
IBM PC Recycling Service (http://www.ibm.com/ibm/environment/products)
Phone: (888) SHOP-IBM (Reference part number 06P7513) Note: IBM can recycle any manufacturer's PCs, including system units, monitors, printers, and optional attachments for $29.99 which includes shipping. Parts capable
Well then Doug is not the bad guy, the RIAA is. The way I read his testimony, he was saying he could not find any indication of any P2P on the computer. In my mind, that would show innocence and the RIAA should have gone away with its tail between its legs. It's the RIAA who made the jump in conclusions- not Doug.
I've never detected any indication of a big ego in Doug (yep, I've known him for several years). I've also not heard any instance where his personal ethics were questioned. I highly doubt that he got anywhere near the payment the "expert" overseas got. Why couldn't they find someone to offer a rebuttal in the U.S.? Is it because they saw how Doug has been persecuted and decided they didn't want to get anywhere near this case?
I think that if the RIAA really wanted a forensic review of the HD that would stand up in court, they should have gone to a company with a track record in not only forensics but court testimony.
Prof. Johan Pouwelse got 220 Euros per hour plus expenses for his "investigation" and report. Do you really think he was unbiased in his report? Could one of the reasons he agreed to do this was to toot his own horn as an "expert"? He states he is a P2P expert. He makes no mention of being a computer forensics expert or even slightly competent
There are a few things I noticed that the initial testimony and Pouweles's report that need to be addressed......
1) What was Prof. Jacobsen hired to do? If he was not hired to investigate something like how Verizon identified the IP addresses, he cannot be faulted for not knowing these.
When hired, what level of forensic proof was requested? If the RIAA did not specify a level that would hold up in criminal court then Prof. Jacobson cannot be faulted for not meeting that level. Was he even asked to pursue alternate explanations as part if his "marching orders"? Or was he asked to do a cursory "first look" at the hard disk and RIAA never went further to cover all their bases?
2) Stating that you did not know what processes and procedures MediSentry employed is not incompetence. Stating that you were absolutely certain of the process but in reality have no clue would be incompetence.
3) When giving testimony, the witness must consider the "audience". When speaking of highly technical things, there are two ways to go - a) completely technical and difficult for the layman to follow (and possibly lose the court case as a result), or b) a simplified explanation that can get the main point across and be understandable to the average person. So explaining a "network of networks" should not imply incompetence.
I started grad school in a Computer Science department and switched over to the Computer Engineering department to finish my degree. I went for a specialized MS computer degree and that program was still relatively US citizens - although we had many foreign students attend some of the classes.
Yes, the CS departmen had two non-foreign graduate students, including myself. The reasons I think there weren't more US citizens were:
1) The MS program was geared towards the PhD program and was mostly theory. Very little could be applied to the workforce.
2) Students who were there just for the MS were treated like dirt. They got the assistantships that no one wanted - if they got one at all.
3) Many students with a BSCS/CE have the potential to make more than professors within 3-4 years. So, unless they really want to teach, there's no monetary incentive to stay for advanced degrees. (BTW, I'm 2 years out of MS classes and I make about 40K more than an Assoc prof.) I guess I should get off my butt and finish that MS degree also.
4) Some foreign CS students go to grad school to be able to be in the US and look for jobs. They can stay on a student visa and then start sending out resumes. I knew of one students who said he was going to the PhD but left after 2 years with his MS to work for Microsoft. (of course, many say they are going for the PhD so they get the assistanships they want and then leave with the MS - which was their goal anyway)
5) Many grad schools seem to rely heavily on the GRE and it appeared that some foreign students spent extra time learning how to pass these tests - even if they did not have the practical skills to back them up. I knew of many who had perfect 800's in the necessary sections. So, if a department bases admissions on the GRE scores, they may select a higher percentage of students who are good at passing tests.
6) Plus, people in the workforce may actually be going for their MSCS / CE degree but you just don't see them because they are taking their courses online, distance, etc.
I am in the fast growing field of Information Assurance (aka computer/system security). Every time there's a security/data breach, my field gets more visibility and more companies develop positions in IA. It is definitely not something that will be outsourced overseas either.
Some people in this field have a lot of OJT in a lot of areas (sounds like you) and others have gotten degrees with or without additional experience. I am currently finishing a MS in Information Assurance from
Iowa State University via distance. Among my classmates who went to work in private industry, the lowest starting salary was 60K - for 23YOs without experience. Some chose to work for "three-letter government agencies" and after a few years, their experience plus high level security clearance will practically guarantee a quantum leap in salary in private industry.
I have heard that people who go on to get the ISC2 CISSP certification (requires 4 years IA OJT or 3 years w/IA degree from certain universities) have an average salary of 100K.
Some specialize in network security but others have chosen forensics, project management (at MS), applications development, database security, certification and accredidation teams, PKI administration, etc.
I chose the specialization of Information Assurance oversight. I use my broad knowledge of computers/systems but I do no systems/network administration or even have an account on the systems I oversee. Plus, because I had a broader experience/qualifications than my classmates, I started at a lot higher salary also (my net is more than my peers' gross).
Watch ABC Nightline, ABC news, and Good Morning America about the US Ground-Based Missile Defense program. The news pieces are supposed to air the week of the 19th.
You may want to take the few extra courses you need to get a MS in both areas. You would be taken more seriously.
Plus, many online job applications have drop down boxes to fill in your major. I can pretty much guarantee that games programming will not be on them. I found this out when I pursueed my degree in Information Assurance. By getting a dual in IA and COmputer Engineering, I was able to "fit into the box" for job applications (and got a nice job from one of them)..
Keep in mind that the skills required for gaming may also be desired for developing things like flight simulators or battlefield simulations. Don't limit you focus to entertainment-type games.
I work in the defense industry. All of the software for the systems I work with are not only coded in the U.S. but the programmers must have a security clearance. While it doesn't completely eliminate the threat, it is not as large as this article makes it seem.
There are other factors that protect the systems. Many are closed systems so it's not like a kiddie hacker could trigger something or start "Global Thermonuclear War".
As far as I can see, a bigger threat would be ot put in malicious coding into the OS where it would not be detected.
You know, if I were your professor and you used that as your thesis for your degree, I would probably have the same opinion of you that your soon-to-be-ex does. Just imagine what potential employers will think of this also.
Just think of the wide range of people who may be interested in this -
Company executives doing "Enron" accounting
Pedophiles looking for their next victim
Online porn (sort of a one time look before you buy) - kiddie porn anyone?
Drug deals (logistics & sales)
Communication between terrorist cells
People having affairs
kidnapping/extortion/blackmailers
Man in the middle attacks (was that email saying "sell everything" REALLY from Jim?)
Hmmm, untraceable spam, phishing, spearphishing?
Companies in the past have tried "anonymous" email services. Each time, they got visits from police with subpenas for their records. Even if there's nothing on the recipients computer (and I'd need to run some HD forensic diagnostics to verify this), the info is still on the company's computers. It would be interesting to see how long it takes before this company gets a "visit" and has servers confiscated for evidence.
I agree that many people learn better in a classroom. I know that I need the discipline of sitting in class. However, sometimes I could not make it (weather, illness, etc) and I was never sure if the person whose note I copied really got it all (and many were inpossible to figure out anyway). W webcast was good - but I frequently lacked he discipline to watch it (esp if the professor has a monotone voice).
Having lectures podcast/webcast, etc means that a university course can break its geographical boundaries and have students all over the world (increasing their bottom line). This includes students in the local area who have a time/work conflict with the class. But there's the "dilemma" of getting "local" students to class if a podcast/webcast is available.
One really simple solution would be to have a week or two delay of podcasts/webcasts (and delay distance students semester start/end dates accordingly). Students who are "local" can still get the material for review - but may miss some material if they rely on this method for class "attendance" before tests.
Slashdot Mirror
1. List on Craigslist and try it sell it. (but do not sell HDs unless they are completely scrubbed and overwritten)
2. Donate it
If the equipment still functions, consider donating it to a local school or nonprofit organization. Below is a list of various organizations that also accept used computer equipment. Please call them before sending anything to ensure the item(s) meet their needs.
Share The Technology: (http://sharetechnology.org)
Phone: (856)234-6156
Fax: (856)234-5809
Address:
P.O. Box 548
Rancocas, NJ 08073
Note: See web site with database of organizations looking for donated computers.
National Cristina Foundation: (http://www.cristina.org)
Phone: (203)863-9100
Fax: (203)297-8000
Address:
National Cristina Foundation
500 West Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, Connecticut 06830
Note: This organization accepts computer equipment for donation to organizations serving the disadvantaged.
Recycles.org: (http://www.recycles.org/)
Phone: None or unknown
E-mail: Click here
Note: Nonprofit materials exchange network that connects users and organizations looking to share or gather computer equipment for reuse across America.
CompuMentor: (http://www.compumentor.org/)
Phone: (415)633-9300
E-mail: realperson@compumentor.org
Note: An organization that's been around since 1987 that's dedicated to helping nonprofits use technology.
Reboot Canada: (http://www.reboot.on.ca)
Phone: (416) 534-6017
Fax: (416) 534-6083
E-mail: info@reboot.on.ca
Address:
136 Geary Avenue, Unit 110
Toronto, Ontario
M6H 4H1
Note: Nonprofit charity providing computer hardware, networking, and technology support.
RECONNECT: (http://www.reconnectpartnership.com/)
Note: Comprehensive electronics recovery, reuse, and environmental responsible partnership between Goodwill and Dell. This organization has dozens of locations throughout the United States in states such as: California, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The address and other contact information for each of these locations is found on the above link under participating goodwills.
3. List it on your local freecycle list (see www.freecycle.org) for a list of lists to see if anyone wants some of it free.
4. Contact your HS computer classes and see if they want old equipment to tear apart and see how things work.
5. Then if all else fails, see about disposing of the rest through a PC recycling/disposal
Many computer manufacturers and computer hardware manufactures also have their own recycling and/or trade in programs. Below is a list of some of the major manufactures and links to their recycling programs.
Apple recycling program
Dell recycling program
Epson recycling program
Gateway recycling program
Hewlett Packard recycling program
IBM / Lenovo recycling program
Lexmark recycling program
NEC recycling program
Below is a short list of some of the major recycling companies capable of recycling computers.
E-Tech Recycling (http://www.etechrecycling.com/)
Phone:(503) 693-8939 or (703) 421-4340
Fax: (503) 693-8939 or (703) 421-4340
Address:
1600 NE 25th Ave Suite E
Hillsboro, OR 97124
21580 Atlantic Blvd, Suite #120
Sterling, VA 20166
Note: Company capable of recycling computers, monitors, telephones, and related equipment, and various other electronic items.
Genesis Recycling (http://genesisrecycling.ca/)
Phone: (604) 533-2537
Fax: (604) 533-2537
Address:
19632 40th Avenue
Langley, B.C. V3A 6L7
Note: Company who's capable of recycling all types of computers, printers, monitors, phones, and numerous other electronic components.
IBM PC Recycling Service (http://www.ibm.com/ibm/environment/products)
Phone: (888) SHOP-IBM (Reference part number 06P7513)
Note: IBM can recycle any manufacturer's PCs, including system units, monitors, printers, and optional attachments for $29.99 which includes shipping.
Parts capable
Well then Doug is not the bad guy, the RIAA is. The way I read his testimony, he was saying he could not find any indication of any P2P on the computer. In my mind, that would show innocence and the RIAA should have gone away with its tail between its legs. It's the RIAA who made the jump in conclusions- not Doug.
I've never detected any indication of a big ego in Doug (yep, I've known him for several years). I've also not heard any instance where his personal ethics were questioned. I highly doubt that he got anywhere near the payment the "expert" overseas got. Why couldn't they find someone to offer a rebuttal in the U.S.? Is it because they saw how Doug has been persecuted and decided they didn't want to get anywhere near this case?
I think that if the RIAA really wanted a forensic review of the HD that would stand up in court, they should have gone to a company with a track record in not only forensics but court testimony.
Prof. Johan Pouwelse got 220 Euros per hour plus expenses for his "investigation" and report. Do you really think he was unbiased in his report? Could one of the reasons he agreed to do this was to toot his own horn as an "expert"? He states he is a P2P expert. He makes no mention of being a computer forensics expert or even slightly competent
There are a few things I noticed that the initial testimony and Pouweles's report that need to be addressed......
1) What was Prof. Jacobsen hired to do? If he was not hired to investigate something like how Verizon identified the IP addresses, he cannot be faulted for not knowing these.
When hired, what level of forensic proof was requested? If the RIAA did not specify a level that would hold up in criminal court then Prof. Jacobson cannot be faulted for not meeting that level. Was he even asked to pursue alternate explanations as part if his "marching orders"? Or was he asked to do a cursory "first look" at the hard disk and RIAA never went further to cover all their bases?
2) Stating that you did not know what processes and procedures MediSentry employed is not incompetence. Stating that you were absolutely certain of the process but in reality have no clue would be incompetence.
3) When giving testimony, the witness must consider the "audience". When speaking of highly technical things, there are two ways to go - a) completely technical and difficult for the layman to follow (and possibly lose the court case as a result), or b) a simplified explanation that can get the main point across and be understandable to the average person. So explaining a "network of networks" should not imply incompetence.
I started grad school in a Computer Science department and switched over to the Computer Engineering department to finish my degree. I went for a specialized MS computer degree and that program was still relatively US citizens - although we had many foreign students attend some of the classes.
/CE have the potential to make more than professors within 3-4 years. So, unless they really want to teach, there's no monetary incentive to stay for advanced degrees. (BTW, I'm 2 years out of MS classes and I make about 40K more than an Assoc prof.) I guess I should get off my butt and finish that MS degree also.
Yes, the CS departmen had two non-foreign graduate students, including myself. The reasons I think there weren't more US citizens were:
1) The MS program was geared towards the PhD program and was mostly theory. Very little could be applied to the workforce.
2) Students who were there just for the MS were treated like dirt. They got the assistantships that no one wanted - if they got one at all.
3) Many students with a BSCS
4) Some foreign CS students go to grad school to be able to be in the US and look for jobs. They can stay on a student visa and then start sending out resumes. I knew of one students who said he was going to the PhD but left after 2 years with his MS to work for Microsoft. (of course, many say they are going for the PhD so they get the assistanships they want and then leave with the MS - which was their goal anyway)
5) Many grad schools seem to rely heavily on the GRE and it appeared that some foreign students spent extra time learning how to pass these tests - even if they did not have the practical skills to back them up. I knew of many who had perfect 800's in the necessary sections. So, if a department bases admissions on the GRE scores, they may select a higher percentage of students who are good at passing tests.
6) Plus, people in the workforce may actually be going for their MSCS / CE degree but you just don't see them because they are taking their courses online, distance, etc.
The article mentioned was written in 2002. If this were valid, don't you think we would have heard more about this by now?
http://www.lifestraw.com/en/high/maincont2.asp Ths company is producing water filtration straws for $3 each for people in third world countries. E.
I am in the fast growing field of Information Assurance (aka computer/system security). Every time there's a security/data breach, my field gets more visibility and more companies develop positions in IA. It is definitely not something that will be outsourced overseas either.
Some people in this field have a lot of OJT in a lot of areas (sounds like you) and others have gotten degrees with or without additional experience. I am currently finishing a MS in Information Assurance from Iowa State University via distance. Among my classmates who went to work in private industry, the lowest starting salary was 60K - for 23YOs without experience. Some chose to work for "three-letter government agencies" and after a few years, their experience plus high level security clearance will practically guarantee a quantum leap in salary in private industry.
I have heard that people who go on to get the ISC2 CISSP certification (requires 4 years IA OJT or 3 years w/IA degree from certain universities) have an average salary of 100K.
Some specialize in network security but others have chosen forensics, project management (at MS), applications development, database security, certification and accredidation teams, PKI administration, etc.
I chose the specialization of Information Assurance oversight. I use my broad knowledge of computers/systems but I do no systems/network administration or even have an account on the systems I oversee. Plus, because I had a broader experience/qualifications than my classmates, I started at a lot higher salary also (my net is more than my peers' gross).
Watch ABC Nightline, ABC news, and Good Morning America about the US Ground-Based Missile Defense program. The news pieces are supposed to air the week of the 19th.
You may want to take the few extra courses you need to get a MS in both areas. You would be taken more seriously.
Plus, many online job applications have drop down boxes to fill in your major. I can pretty much guarantee that games programming will not be on them. I found this out when I pursueed my degree in Information Assurance. By getting a dual in IA and COmputer Engineering, I was able to "fit into the box" for job applications (and got a nice job from one of them)..
Keep in mind that the skills required for gaming may also be desired for developing things like flight simulators or battlefield simulations. Don't limit you focus to entertainment-type games.
I work in the defense industry. All of the software for the systems I work with are not only coded in the U.S. but the programmers must have a security clearance. While it doesn't completely eliminate the threat, it is not as large as this article makes it seem. There are other factors that protect the systems. Many are closed systems so it's not like a kiddie hacker could trigger something or start "Global Thermonuclear War". As far as I can see, a bigger threat would be ot put in malicious coding into the OS where it would not be detected.
I went to the URL and it is now removed.
You know, if I were your professor and you used that as your thesis for your degree, I would probably have the same opinion of you that your soon-to-be-ex does. Just imagine what potential employers will think of this also.
Just think of the wide range of people who may be interested in this -
Company executives doing "Enron" accounting
Pedophiles looking for their next victim
Online porn (sort of a one time look before you buy) - kiddie porn anyone?
Drug deals (logistics & sales)
Communication between terrorist cells
People having affairs
kidnapping/extortion/blackmailers
Man in the middle attacks (was that email saying "sell everything" REALLY from Jim?)
Hmmm, untraceable spam, phishing, spearphishing?
Companies in the past have tried "anonymous" email services. Each time, they got visits from police with subpenas for their records. Even if there's nothing on the recipients computer (and I'd need to run some HD forensic diagnostics to verify this), the info is still on the company's computers. It would be interesting to see how long it takes before this company gets a "visit" and has servers confiscated for evidence.
I agree that many people learn better in a classroom. I know that I need the discipline of sitting in class. However, sometimes I could not make it (weather, illness, etc) and I was never sure if the person whose note I copied really got it all (and many were inpossible to figure out anyway). W webcast was good - but I frequently lacked he discipline to watch it (esp if the professor has a monotone voice).
Having lectures podcast/webcast, etc means that a university course can break its geographical boundaries and have students all over the world (increasing their bottom line). This includes students in the local area who have a time/work conflict with the class. But there's the "dilemma" of getting "local" students to class if a podcast/webcast is available.
One really simple solution would be to have a week or two delay of podcasts/webcasts (and delay distance students semester start/end dates accordingly). Students who are "local" can still get the material for review - but may miss some material if they rely on this method for class "attendance" before tests.