Old computers are thrown away every year. Disposal of electronic equipment such as older computers, printers, copiers, fax machines, etc., is becoming a larger problem every day. It is increasingly common that you may have to pay to properly dispose of many types of older equipment.

Donations: I am missing some key artifacts, can you help "fill the gaps" in the collection? Systems I am still seeking for the collection include:

High Priority

• Apple 1 (single board computer, cassette interface)
• Apple Lisa 1 with Twiggly (5 1/4 inch) floppies
• Apple Lisa 2 or Lisa with Mac/XL
• Apple Macintosh 128K
• Apple Macintosh 20th anniversary edition
• Apple Macintosh Colour Classic II
• Apple Macintosh G4 Cube
• NeXT Cube (working with MO drive)

Patiently Waiting

• Mice, pens, trackballs: early ones from 60s-70s.
• PONG originals (1972 and later consoles)
• Soviet/Russian/Ukranian computers
• Osborne I (early, dark brown case) and Osborne II
• Rare documents including Home Brew Computer Club newsletters, early Byte magazines, Computer Notes from MITS, People's Computer Company and more.
• Xerox workstations (don't have to be working) or other Xerox artifacts
• Any low serial number or other prototype system of any model and brand

Remember the accessories. If you can, include the keyboard, mouse, printer, modem, packaged software, or any other accessories.

If possible, keep the operating system intact. If you are donating hardware with a pre-installed Microsoft operating system, keep in mind that the license is only valid when used on the original OEM machine on which it was first installed. Since charitable organizations usually cannot afford to purchase and license new operating systems, a legal transfer (keeping the machine and operating system together) can be very helpful. Linux and Mac operating systems have different requirements, but we urge that whenever possible, please pass on the operating system software with all donated computers.

Provide the original media and documentation. It's helpful to have the original disks, media, and documentation that came with the PC when it was purchased. Include the proof of license, which will help facilitate the legal transfer of the operating system.

If you clean your computer of personal information yourself, it's best to use some disk cleaning software to delete your Internet browser's cache, cookies, history, your e-mail contacts and messages, your documents, your recycle or trash folder, and non-transferable software. The best thing to do is to use a disk cleaning utility that overwrites data so that is unrecoverable.

Valuing your donation. If you want to get an idea of the value of your old equipment for tax purposes, you can search eBay or other auction sites for the model of the equipment you are donating, and be sure to look at closed auctions, too.

Do you have an old computer to donate? Contact me!