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</head><body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">One issue to contend with
in donating old computers for reuse is that once a computer is old
enough, it is no longer supported by newer versions of its operating
system. Of course, you <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span>
still run it with its old OS, but then...<br>
<ul>
<li>It probably won't be able to take security updates, potentially
leaving it (and its users) vulnerable to hacking and other security
flaws of the old OS, long since fixed in newer versions.</li>
<li>It may not be able to run a web browser new enough to include
capabilities contemporary web sites assume are there, causing some web
pages not to display properly, or some ecommerce things not to work.</li>
</ul>
<p>Some years back, my dad was using a hand-me-down computer, and his
bank's "on-line banking" web site began telling him that, after a
certain date, he wouldn't be able to access it with his current
browser. The browser was packaged with the OS, and the computer
couldn't run a newer version of the OS, so in order to continue to use
on-line banking, we had to get him a new(er) computer capable of running
a supported OS and browser.<br>
</p>
<p>At a senior center, especially, I'd worry that users might be
flustered by web pages not loading properly, or by compatibility
warnings from ecommerce sites. There's some point at which the most
appropriate destination for an old computer is an electronics recycling
facility.<br>
<br>
Ken Pogran<br>
</p>
<br>
<span>OLGA P GUTTAG wrote on 2/20/23 3:12 PM:</span><br>
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There are multiple organization that bring old computers back to life
and donate them to entities that have need for computing but at a very
low complexity (senior centers for email correspondence, …).
<div><br></div>
<div>Rather than frying your computers or destroying the disks plse
consider taking the effort of wiping the disc clean and donating your
old computer to one of these up-cycling groups. I bet there are many
very poor people in our rural areas and in the rest of the world who
would be happy to get your discarded computer.<div><br></div><div>Stay
well,</div><div>Olga<br>
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