That's right folks. We want your crap.
You see, I'm working at a Camp for Disabled Kids in PA at the moment. Here, we have 6 computers for the kids to use, and they all suck. I'm not just talking Pentium 2's here, one of them is an unbranded processor running at around 233Mhz. When was the last time you ever heard of an unbranded processor?
This biggest shortfall though is RAM. There's not enough RAM to go about; the XP machines, of which we have 2, each have 128MB of DDR. The rest of the computers seem to still be using PC memory, and have around 32-64MB each.
So these are old computers. Which isn't a problem, because they're running old software, but these kids do deserve better than this. All these computers and parts have been donated by happy parents or generous businesses, so all we're really looking for here is some more donations; it's pretty obvious from the Specs of these air-heaters exactly when the last charity drive was.
Ok, so what do we need? That there's a mighty fine question.
- RAM: PC, DDR, DDR2, whatever ya got lying around. If it's less than 32MB, don't bother, but that and above, we would welcome it here.
- Monitors: Ok, I don't really expect anyone to mail a monitor, unless you can persuade your boss to put it on their community support fund or something. We currently have a bunch of 17"CRT's that are in pretty weak condition. We also have a single 15" CRT and two nice 19" CRT's that seem pretty new. If you have any 19" CRT's, or flat panels of any size above 14", they would find a welcome home here.
- Educational Games: If you have any kid's educational games, or just non-violent games in general for the younger folks, they would be handy. The most modern game here is Lego Racers, and the second most modern is Descent 2. I don't know why Descent 2 is here, but we're looking for fun educational/kids games.
- Posters: The classroom currently has laminated clip art on the walls. That's a whole new breed of tacky. If you have any cool looking posters, like a scale poster of a CPU architecture or some such, that sort of stuff would look pretty good on the walls. Educational posters and such would also be very helpful. They should in some way be related to Computing.
- Whole computers: I don't really want bits of computer for this job, but if you have a whole computer that is in working condition and has a windows Licence (98, ME, XP, Vista, whatever) it's good. Yet again, high postage costs means that I'm not expecting much activity here, but if you don't ask you don't get.
- Mice and Keyboards: We have a bunch of old mice, mostly trackball with 2 buttons. Any decent mice would be incredibly helpful, as would decent keyboards. I'm in particular need of a USB mouse, as everything here is of the PS/2 variety but I have a working ME computer (hilarious, I know) with a Pentium 3 that has no PS/2 Ports. I have a USB keyboard, but need the mouse. I know they cost like a buck or two, so if I get no taker's I'll just buy one.
The final thing to remember is that this is a summer camp or disabled children, who spend most of their time playing simple games. Top of the range hardware is wasted here. I'm trying to build multi-purpose workstations, so anyone willing to sent me a Quad Core CPU, please ebay it and donate the money to charity instead.
You're probably wondering where exactly to send this stuff, eh? Well you can send it all to me directly at Camp Lee Mar. Information about the camp, along with the address and phone number are located there. I'm working at the camp, and the address starts with 450 Route 590. Please DO NOT phone the camp and ask to speak to me. I will be pretty p'd off if you do, so don't. Please. Don't forget that e-mail is still the best way to get in touch with me, and it's warndave@googlemail.com.
You can PM me, E-mail me, whatever you want. These are kids who spend most of their lives feeling out of place and misunderstood, and this Camp is one of the few places where they can really belong, even just for one summer. Anything you guys can do to help would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks.
-Dave