Feb 17 2009
Hand me Down Computers
We used to hand down clothes, automobiles, bicycles, and numerous other things as we outgrew them.
Today, we are again recycling a favorite old computer. From Grandma to kids–to grandkids. We have just kept updating the software and then limiting the uses to what the memory can handle.
This old machine has Windows ME, and that pretty much tells you all you need to know to understand that this ‘puter has just been something for the grandkids to play with.
There isn’t a lot one can do with a computer that is pushing eight years old. 
I think that you can just look at a monitor and obviously see how old they are. It’s more obvious than looking at the CPU tower.
Isn’t it amazing how fast these things become obsolete? One can only add so much memory and storage before it just doesn’t do any good anymore. The computer is so limited in speed and capacity that it cannot handle the software programs that we commonly use today.
There comes a point when you just have to give up. Is there a term for a computer that is the equivalent of an old car that we would call a jalopy, a junker, an old “beater”?
So…this machine has served many of us very well. It will soon be time to recycle. Now that is the next problem to figure out. We are not supposed to send these things to the landfill, so we have to find some place that will take them for recyling. I guess that will be my job, as I just reclaimed the old machine and am outfitting the kids with another cast off machine from the office. This “new” machine has Windows XP, so the 7-year-old and 12-year-old will be able to play REAL games.
Circuit City (before going out of business) would take old electronics such as computer for recycling. Maybe check with a similar store in your area to see if they have a program like that.