About two years ago, I stopped accepting donations of CRT monitors and computers with Windows XP at the women's center. It seemed that people were using us as a dump, and I ended up taking a lot of stuff to Goodwill for electronics recycling.

About that time, we finally started getting donations of 15-inch LCD monitors, so I replaced our CRT monitors as LCDs came in. Now I'm getting donations of widescreen monitors, so I'm starting not to take the little LCD monitors. I offered to set up second monitors for the staff, but nobody wanted one. I think I'll set up one, so they'll see the advantages.

Sure is hard to get the staff to accept new equipment, though. They like the stuff they're used to. I thought I was going to be able to give computers to some of our guests, but there hasn't been much demand. I tried putting Linux on old computers, but there was no way I could give those computers away. Nobody wanted them.

A guy from Hewlett-Packard donated three brand-new laptops and brought in a team to hardwire a network for us - that's a donation I sure didn't turn down.

I used to think it was ungrateful not to accept donations. Now that I'm on the receiving end, I have a different opinion. When people bring me their junk, I don't know what to do with it, and I have no room to store it.

-Joe-