free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

[RwL]

Seriously! I'm giving away this laptop just because we have no use for it; maybe it can be of service to someone here on the forums. My first experience with Ubuntu was in trying to install it on this old Compaq Armada 4210T. The CD-drive isn't bootable but thanks to the forums here, I learned about Smart Boot Manager and was able to install. It took all night, but it worked great. The only odd thing I've noticed is that it seems to have a backward conception of what each mouse button should do on the Synaptics touchpad; it behaved like a left-handed mouse until I selected "left-handed mouse" in the mouse preferences, and now it behaves like a right-handed mouse ;^) Oh, and the touchpad itself is a little bit wonky; the cursor jumps around a bit, but you can always hook up a mouse or just keyboard-navigate.

Make no mistake, this is a really old, really slow laptop (specs are still out there if you root around the HP/Compaq support pages for this model (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Home.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=96225&lang=en&cc=us)). Chances are, whoever takes it will probably want to strip it down, maybe remove the desktop environment and use it for some non-desktoppy purpose or experiments or whatever. Hell, it's free, so you can smash it up with a sledgehammer, put it on a pedestal, and sell it as modern art if you like.

I'm in Austin, TX, and would really like to avoid the hassle of shipping it, so the first person who promises in this thread that they'll arrange with me to pick it up here in town before the end of this year can have it, no strings attached. Any takers?


UPDATE: IT'S OVER

Someone in Austin has stepped up via PM to claim the laptop.

To those of you who requested shipping, I'm sorry I couldn't accommodate your requests, but please believe me when I say this thing is so heavy enough that the shipping fees to almost anywhere would almost certainly exceed its value. Hopefully there'll be a giveaway like this near you someday.

[TravisNewman]

wow, that's pretty old. Good pc to load a light WM on to just check email etc.

[poptones]

Man, I kinda wish I was back in Austin. And not just for a free laptop.

[darkoptix]

I'm a poor collage student, who like doing things with computers. I'm sure it can be of my service as a desktop/server/firewall/many others.

[matthew]

It looks like a prime candidate for something like this:
laptop picture frame (http://www.likelysoft.com/hacks/pictureframes.shtml)

[poofyhairguy]

Your offer is tempting.

[benplaut]

is hawaii too far away? :D

[az]

I run icewm on a slower laptop than that (166 MHz) and it rocks!

[nsa_767]

is South Africa too far away... LOL?

[dolny]

I've sent you a PM :roll:

[anjanb]

hi there,

thanks for the generosity :-)

i don't have a laptop -- am in oregon -- would appreciate if you could send it to me. will pay for mail.

thank you.

BR,
~A

[RwL]

OK, it's over...

Someone in Austin has stepped up via PM to claim the laptop.

To those of you who requested shipping, I'm sorry I couldn't accommodate your requests, but please believe me when I say this thing is old, slow, and heavy enough to incur shipping fees that exceed its value. Seriously.

[sshatery]

hi
my name is shahin and i'm from iran
i'm a poor hightschool student and i study computer but i haven't a computer.
if you give it to me i can use it for my good dream and i study computer good.

please e-mail: shcomputer2000@yahoo.com

thanks

[Goodguy]

There are a number of referral based sites like Notebooks4Free (http://tinyurl.com/3zwjh) and Laptops.FreePay (http://tinyurl.com/7vb4x) that offer decent models as incentives for people who bring friends to try trials and offers from companies like Blockbuster or AOL.

It's not an overnight thing though. It can take a month or so to find enough people to earn that reward. If you live in the USA, and are broke, or short of funds (like a student), it may be worth considering.

If not, then try thrift shops, or dumpster dive behind the local Best Buy. ;)

[amin_947]

Hello :
I'm From Iran & Very Poor . If You Send Me A Laptop I will Thank You .
Please Contact Me As Soon As Possible By This E-Mail :

amin_947@yahoo.com

I Really Need A Laptop.
Thanks.

[mohammad hassan]

:mad::rolleyes:
sir kindly send me free laptop

[mohammad hassan]

Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.

[Edward The Bonobo]

There are various charities who might be interested. Google 'donate computer'.

[petani]

i need your help, we are a youth trainer need some equipment one of it is laptop or old PC to trainer youth in indonesia, please contact me at petani_digital@yahoo.com

[osmarwan putra]

Seriously! I'm giving away this laptop just because we have no use for it; maybe it can be of service to someone here on the forums. My first experience with Ubuntu was in trying to install it on this old Compaq Armada 4210T. The CD-drive isn't bootable but thanks to the forums here, I learned about Smart Boot Manager and was able to install. It took all night, but it worked great. The only odd thing I've noticed is that it seems to have a backward conception of what each mouse button should do on the Synaptics touchpad; it behaved like a left-handed mouse until I selected "left-handed mouse" in the mouse preferences, and now it behaves like a right-handed mouse ;^) Oh, and the touchpad itself is a little bit wonky; the cursor jumps around a bit, but you can always hook up a mouse or just keyboard-navigate.

Make no mistake, this is a really old, really slow laptop (specs are still out there if you root around the HP/Compaq support pages for this model (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Home.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=96225&lang=en&cc=us)). Chances are, whoever takes it will probably want to strip it down, maybe remove the desktop environment and use it for some non-desktoppy purpose or experiments or whatever. Hell, it's free, so you can smash it up with a sledgehammer, put it on a pedestal, and sell it as modern art if you like.

I'm in Austin, TX, and would really like to avoid the hassle of shipping it, so the first person who promises in this thread that they'll arrange with me to pick it up here in town before the end of this year can have it, no strings attached. Any takers?


UPDATE: IT'S OVER

Someone in Austin has stepped up via PM to claim the laptop.

To those of you who requested shipping, I'm sorry I couldn't accommodate your requests, but please believe me when I say this thing is so heavy enough that the shipping fees to almost anywhere would almost certainly exceed its value. Hopefully there'll be a giveaway like this near you someday.


I need Laptop, to support my activity in social NGO, In West Sumatra Indonesia, to support child from poor family, to study at the university free, we give them living cost, study cost, and also training skill to improve their knowledge and skill.

my adress:
Osmarwan Putra, SH
Komp.Wisma Buana Indah 3 Blok E/6 Taratak Paneh Kuranji Padang, Sumatra Barat Indonesia. 25156