Filed under: Desktops, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends
Florida school may trash 200 Macs to go PC-only
Cult of Mac also updates with pictures of the Macs, and we warn you, if all of those machines really are headed for the landfill, it's a little scary to look at. Fortunately, the outcry has caused school officials to reconsider (or at least state their position more clearly), and it looks like what they'll be doing is assessing the machines to see if they can be refurbished and then given away or sent off to a recycling center. The other problem apparently lies in the software -- giving away the machines is no problem, but the school has to make sure all the software is cleaned off of the computers, as they don't have licenses to distribute software that way. And as the school administrator says, the computers aren't much good without an OS on them.
But surely we can save these guys. Apple, want to step in here and grant this school some licenses to keep these computers (208 in total, many of which are likely workable, even at "five to ten years old") in the hands of people who can use them? It would be a shame if the school had to toss working computers because their hands were tied by OS X software licenses.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Arinya said 10:13AM on 8-12-2009
Um, I'll take one! Good lord that is a huge waste! I'll buy it a new OS! I could use a spare laptop so my wife isn't filling mine up with her pics!
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philpoccia said 10:21AM on 8-12-2009
I want one of those iBooks. I would pay for shipping, I don't care.
nomadic0ne said 10:53AM on 8-12-2009
Ditto!
Jeff said 11:33AM on 8-12-2009
word - my fiance still uses a 1.0GHz G3 iBook as her daily computer. It's little more than a netbook at this point, but it keeps up (and easily out-handles most of the "netbooks" on sale today)
I'd take one or two to use as basic web browsers for sure.
Ryan Trevisol said 11:57AM on 8-12-2009
Dibs on the Lampshade! I love those things.
But honestly. All those Indigo iMacs are really, really almost useless anymore.
I work at a Middle School in Florida (nowhere near Sarasota though), and we are trying to rid ourselves of all these classic machines ourselves. The Indigo's we have all look nice, but at 4-600MHz, even with 512MB ram or more, they won't run OSX 10.3.9 well enough to run web-based educational tools. Even the eMacs are getting sluggish and Tiger runs slow.
I don't blame them for dumping these particular computers but going PC is just stupid. From a management perspective it's a nightmare. Macs are easy to deploy, easy to lock down for student use, and easy to manage.
bioadam said 1:00PM on 8-12-2009
Yeah, I'll take an ibook too. No OS needed. I'll pay shipping.
Juaquin said 3:38PM on 8-12-2009
Slow news day huh? Regardless of whether they go PC or Mac, you can't blame them for tossing G3s. Those things have trouble playing youtube videos, let alone anything more taxing.
Granted, they shouldn't end up in landfills. The best they can do is wipe the machines and sell/recycle them, which is exactly what they're doing. What else would you like them to do? And begging Apple to give out 200+ licenses for outdated software? Unlikely.
LAGal said 4:18PM on 8-12-2009
those guys are too old to run leopard well. and snow leopard at all
michaelB said 10:31AM on 8-12-2009
Yeah not having an OS is no big deal. Think of all the things one could do with a cheap laptop. Portable DVD player, LCD picture frame, smarthome control center, car media player...man i need like 4 of those now!
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mgworek said 10:23AM on 8-12-2009
I worked for this school district briefly 5 years ago when they were doing a pc swap out in every school. There were a couple of schools that had macs.
I know someone who's wife works for the school district, email sent.
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philpoccia said 10:26AM on 8-12-2009
Is there anyway you can help us get some of these computers before they are wasted and thrown out?
Thanks!
KTaylor said 2:19PM on 8-12-2009
If I could get some of these they'd even stay in use in academia.
Nathan said 5:16PM on 8-12-2009
I would even pay a slight premium over shipping for one of those ibooks.
But if it comes down to it, doesn't Apple offer a recycling program?
tevetorbes said 10:22AM on 8-12-2009
Same- I'll take one or two of those laptops as well. Could put them to good use, certainly much better than the dumpster could.
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Eric Warnke said 10:25AM on 8-12-2009
Looks like all older hardware. It's a PITA to maintain ( I know someone who runs a k-12 ). Depending on state requirements they are probably legally obligated to auction the stuff off or trash it, they can't just sell it to the staff/students or give it away.
5-10 years old means we are talking 100% PPC chips. Likely there are a few gems in there ( g5 PM's ), but the vast majority are probably G4 and G3's and may not run Leopard.
It's noble to think these items can be saved but it's a non trivial task and the school just can not be expected to invest that kind of time on this older hardware.
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Tim Rosencrans said 10:55AM on 8-12-2009
Actually sticking in a CD and pressing the power button is a trivial task. Thats all you have to do to prep a Mac.
And the school officials are pretty dense every one of those machines came with a transferable OS They may have site licensed the updates but the original OS can be applied no problem
David owens said 10:26AM on 8-12-2009
I guaranty you, somebody is getting a new swimming pool
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Dave said 1:59PM on 8-12-2009
I GUARANTEE someone doesn't know how to spell
Patriks7 said 10:26AM on 8-12-2009
I'd buy some from them just so that they won't end up dead!
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hartline said 10:31AM on 8-12-2009
Sending obsolete computers to be recycled is not the problem for me in this story. The conversion to 100% Windows IS a problem. It's not surprising. Our school systems here in Florida often act before they think.
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