Almost every business seems to have a few of them crammed into
a closet or corner somewhere - the leftover computer remnants
from upgrading to newer systems that are often doing nothing more
for a business than collecting dust once their purpose has been
served and outdated. Surely, there must be some way in which
they can be put to good use.

Some businesses hold a regular sale or auction to simply get
these unused boxes out of their hair. This option allows the
business to recoup a small amount of the money spent on
these computers while allowing them to clean out the closets.

Another possible solution similar to the sale option is to 
give them to employees for home use. While the computers
aren't often modern enough for business use, many employees
can use them for word processing or other tasks and they
will appreciate an employer willing to give them an added
bonus.

Many of these computers can be put to use in the office
network infrastructure. An older system which is inadequate
for running the latest office applications can be converted
into helpful devices such as a router to direct data around
the network or a firewall which improves security by keeping
outsiders from reaching the computers and network that hide 
behind it. Other possibilities include making a file server 
that offers centralized storage across the network reducing
the need for each workstation or a print server that will allow
multiple computers to share one printer. Simply have a system
administrator install a copy of a free operating system
like Linux or OpenBSD and the computer can be used for years
to come with little or no additional hardware costs and
very little future maintenance.

Donations are a great way to improve community relations and
receive a tax break at the same time. Schools are always in
need of new computers for students to use and learn on.
Often, all they need is a minimal configuration to connect to
a server somewhere or better infrastructure and older
computers can easily provide both of these.

Many communities also have non-profit organizations who will
gladly take older computer systems and fix them up so they
can be resold much like the Salvation Army does with clothing.
They provide yet another way to help out the community while
allowing a tax break for the donation.

Even if a business decides not to use or donate the computer 
in some way, the last thing they will want to do is to throw
it in the trash since there is a lot of lead and other toxic
materials in the monitor and other components. Most areas
have a recycling program which will take a computer for
little to no fee and dispose of it properly.

In any event, dusting off those boxes and doing something with
them is a good idea for everybody. It doesn't matter so much
what is done with them but as long as they are put to good use
somewhere it will help the business and maybe the community at 
large in some way.

Ken Witherow
This article is Copyright 2001, Ken Witherow. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, email phantoml@rochester.rr.com