Recycle Cheap Used Computers

The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that electronic goods, including computers and related materials, comprise approximately 2 million tons of waste on an annual basis in the United States. Indeed, according to California's Integrated Waste Management Board, in excess of 6 million out-of-date computer monitors and other pieces of electronic equipment are stockpiled in homes in that state alone waiting for disposal. There is growing concern about disposal of these products, as many of them contain hazardous substances such as mercury, cadmium, and lead.

So, what is the solution? Computer companies IBM, Dell and Hewlett-Packard and retailers Staples and Best Buy have started offering voluntary recycling options for customers. Yet, these programs reportedly have not translated into substantial returns of outdated computer systems.

Against this backdrop, there has been a call for legal action. Last March, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., introduced a bill in Congress entitled The National Computer Recycling Act. The stated purpose of the act is to establish a grant and fee program throughout the EPA to encourage and promote the recycling of used computers and to develop a national infrastructure for the recycling of used computers.

Under the act, 180 days after the submission to Congress of the results of a study by the EPA relating to hazardous wastes in computer products, the EPA would be required to assess a fee on the sale to end-users of computers, monitors or electronic devices designated by the EPA. The fee is not to exceed $10 per computer, monitor or device.

Companies that collect the required fees would be permitted to keep 3% of the fees collected to pay the cost of administering the program. Non-profit organizations would be exempt from the fee.

Software Watchdog To Zero In On "Little Guys" Like Cheap Guys Computers!!!

Michael Gaertner worried he could lose his company. A group called the Business Software Alliance was claiming that his 10-person architectural firm was using unlicensed software. The alliance demanded $67,000 - most of one year's profit - or else it would seek more in court. "It just scared the hell out of me," Gaertner said.

An analysis by The Associated Press reveals that targeting small businesses is lucrative for the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the main copyright-enforcement watchdog for such companies as Microsoft, Adobe Systems and Symantec.

Of the $13 million that the BSA reaped in software violation settlements with North American companies last year, almost 90 percent came from small business, The AP found. The BSA is well within its rights to wring expensive punishments aimed at stopping the willful software copying that undoubtedly happens in many businesses. And its leaders say they concentrate on small businesses because that's where illegitimate use of software is rampant.

But software experts say the picture has more shades of gray. Companies of all sizes inadvertently break licensing rules because of problems the software industry itself has created. Unable or unwilling to create technological blocks against copying, the industry has saddled its customers with complex licensing agreements that are hard to master.

In that view, the BSA amasses most of its bounties from small businesses because they have fewer technological, organizational and legal resources to avoid a run-in. In Gaertner's case, employees had been unable to open files with the film's drafting software, so they worked around it by installing programs they found on their own, breaking company rules, he said. And receipts for legitimate software had been lost in the hubbub of running his company.

Cheap Notebooks Computers Helping Out Developing Countries!!!

The One Laptop per Child Foundation, started in 2005 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nicholas Negroponte, said Taiwan's Quanta Computer had started mass production of its first product, the lime-green-and-white XO laptop computer, at a factory in Changshu, China.

The group has already announced orders for children in Uruguay and Mongolia. It also plans to offer the laptops to Americans and Canadians through a $US 399 holiday charity program that covers the cost of providing a second machine to a child overseas.

The device, which runs on free Linux software, has already had a significant impact on the industry. Negroponte has traveled the globe meeting world leaders and talking to the public about speeding introduction of computers to children in the developing world. The XO is designed for elementary school students who are given the machines to take to and from school, like textbooks.

Analysts say the publicity he generated, along with concern his foundation's laptop might take businesses from commercial products, prompted companies including chipmaker Intel Corp and software maker Microsoft Corp, to boost investment in developing countries.

It has also spurred the launch of a new class of low-cost computers for a market broader than school children. Intel has developed the Classmate PC for the education market in developing countries, a laptop that it says cost $200 to build. So far its biggest customer is Pakistan's Allama Iqbal Open University, which ordered 700,000 of them.

Black Friday Allows Consumers To Get Computers Cheap!!!

Shopping on Black Friday requires a certain amount of masochism - struggling through the crowds, punching mothers in front of their children to get that cheap plasma TV - it's dangerous business.

If you decide to brave the battlefield at Best Buy this year, you'll be rewarded with an opportunity to grab an eMachines PC with a 17 inch LCD monitor for the super low price of $200. Don't expect the world though. The PC is rumored to be powered by an Intel Celeron running at 2.66 Ghz (meaning no efficient and powerful 'Core' for you), comes with 512 megabytes of RAM (which is the bare minimum for doing just about anything on a computer these days), has a measly 80 gigabyte hard drive, and it has no DVD burner.

Don't get us wrong - $200 is still a heck of a price, but you could get so much more, or at least more interesting for a tad more cash. For instance, Wal-Mart is selling their own $200 PC without monitor. The gPC, as it's called, runs Linux instead of the resource-hungry Vista and uses an ultra low-power (and carbon-neutral) processor from Via. Or, how about the diminutive and cheap Eee from Asus which is also powered by Linux. Priced from $200 to $400, these little laptops let you get all your basic computing tasks done by focusing on web applications.

Or, if you're in the market for something truly different, head on over to Laptop.org and you can get yourself one of the OLPC XOs (also Linux powered). These tiny, innovative convertible laptops are meant for kids in developing nations, but for a limited time you can order one for yourself as long as you're willing to pay for two. The second one gets sent to a child in the third world on your dime. In that case, $400 gets you a technological marvel, a piece of history, and a warm, fuzzy feeling.

AMD Unleasheds Incredibly Cheap Gaming Computer!!!

AMD today announced the introduction and immediate availability of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of graphics processing units. As the world's first series of graphics processors to deliver Microsoft's Direct X 10.1 support, 55nm process technology and tri and quad multi-GPU support with ATI CrossFireX, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series ushers in a new era of enthusiast gaming performance at mainstream price points.

The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series will be introduced in two variants at launch, from US $179 MSRP, the ATI Radeon HD 3850 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and from US $219 MSRP, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 with 512MB GDDR4 memory. The launch of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series redefines the enthusiast segment and puts high performance gaming in reach more users than ever before. This innovative new series of graphic products also represent the first step in the launch of AMD's upcoming enthusiast platform codenamed, "Spider."

"With the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series we are redefining the market for enthusiast graphics with a new class of price, performance and features that have never been seen before in this industry," said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Graphics Product Group, AMD.

"Through a flawless transition to 55nm and Microsoft DirectX 10.1, we can deliver an unprecedented level of scalable performance, image quality enhancements and power efficiency at the sub-$200 segment that rivals today's most expensive graphics processors and opens up enthusiast gaming to more end users than ever before."

Wal-Mart Finds Succes In Cheap Desktop Computers!!!

Linux, the free operating system that's a perpetual underdog in the desktop market, will get another chance this holiday season at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The chain was taking orders online Wednesday for a computer called the "Green gPC" that is made by Everex of of Taiwan, costs $199 and runs Linux.

It will be available in about 600 stores, as well as online, Wal-Mart said.A comparable Everex PC that comes with Windows Vista Home Basic and more memory costs $99 more, or $298, partly because the manufacturer has to pay Microsoft Corp. for a software license.

Both computers come with keyboard, mouse and speakers, but no monitor.Linux is maintained and developed by individuals and companies around the world volunteering on an "open source" basis, meaning that everyone has access to the software's blueprints.

It is in widespread use in server computers, particularly servers that host Web sites. But it hasn't yet made a dent in the desktop market.Surveys usually put its of that market around 1 percent, far behind Windows and Apple Inc.'s OS X.

Wal-Mart started selling Linux computers at its online store in 2002, at prices as low as $199. Computers from several manufacturers were available for several years, but are now gone from the inventory.