I've just had the most amazing email calling for geek help. It's such an incredible snapshot of how bad things can get when an org doesn't have the resources or geek knowledge for far too long. It made me wonder...
How frequently do you upgrade your computer? My current home machine is an old iBook G4, the ancient Power PC model. I keep meaning to upgrade but it still works pretty well and a new mac is going to set me back a bit more than I can spare right now. When I do upgrade, the old workhorse will become a media centre, plugged in to my telly and sound system.
What about you? Have you got old machines that are too good to scrap but not great enough for the video editing or game play you demand on a regular basis? How about accessories? Before I left the UK I had boxes and boxes of old network hubs, wifi routers, cabling, etc. I would take them with me for workshops or loan them out to friends in need, they always came in handy.
If you have that stuff lying around, getting in the way, would you consider donating it to a needy cause?
Help!
There are so many arts organisations out there who struggle daily with old, broken hardware. They need to upgrade licenses on software but the new versions wouldn't even run on the systems they have. They have a printer which only works on Thursdays (no one knows why). Their network switch hasn't been replaced for sixteen years. You know how it is...
So I wondered if maybe some of you might have bits and pieces you would be willing to share, even if on loan.
I don't quite know how this might work, but if you have anything useful - printers, laptops, desktops, scanners, anything! - then can you post it here or email me f.plumley-AT-australiacouncil.gov.au. In the meantime I'll have a think about how we can make something like this a bit more formal. I just need to do something now to try to help this poor organisation. It's a good place with good people doing good things, we should help them if we can!
Thanking you in greatful anticipation... x
Image courtesy SouthernPixel on Flickr, under Creative Commons license.
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