[LUG] Computer Donations

[Drew]

> Why?  Those sound like perfectly serviceable machines.  Upgrade the RAM
> for speed, hard drive and power supply for reliability and they'll be
> good as new...

Under normal circumstances I'd agree and in fact it was one of the
options presented to management.

The biggest cost driver for us in this situation is actually the cost
of Windows. A few months ago most of our OEM copies of Windows XP Pro
started failing Windows Genuine Validation. Both the OEM and M$ have
washed their hands of it saying it's the others problem and "Why not
just upgrade to Vista or Windows 7?" We can't ditch Windows because of
certain apps we run and they can't be emulated under WINE (I tried).

Once we took into account the cost of upgrading the hardware, my time
spent upgrading each machine, and the cost of Volume Licensing
Windows, it's not much more expensive to go to brand new PC's.


-- 
Drew

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."
--Marie Curie