If you have an old computer, pass it on and make someone happy today!

[Adrian Wong]

All of us at Tech ARP love computers. It's an irrevocable fact. Heck, some LICH folks here change parts more often than the rest of us change our underwear!

But while we oogle and salivate at all the latest developments and releases in the PC industry, we forget that many others have never even used a computer, or even touched one. It's a sad fact, but it's true.

A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to follow a fisherman in Sg. Udang, Penang out to the pride of his life's work - a shared kelong. A kelong, for those not familiar with local fishing methods, is a platform that floats out at sea and allows fishermen to farm fish in netted enclosures.

Even after working for many years at sea, he couldn't afford his own kelong. He only managed to buy a small section and that only after getting a loan from a relative. Even so, he was extremely friendly and eager to show me the skills of his trade. It was a truly amazing day for me at sea and at his kelong. Will have pictures to show you guys later.

When I came back to shore and visited his home, I realized that his children did not own a computer. When they heard that I was in the "computer business", they asked me if a computer was very expensive. Evidently, they would love to own one. Who doesn't?

Then the idea struck me. Tech ARP had some review samples that we did not give out and I personally had some parts I intended to put out for sale. Why not use them to build them a computer? And so, Operation Nemo came into being.

While Nemo was to be donated to them, it should not be something obsolete. It should be usable and good enough to last them for the next few years. So, I gathered the best components I had and put the older stuff for sale at the FreeTradeZone.

Finally, I managed to assemble the following computer for them :

AMD Athlon XP 1700+ overclocked to 1.8GHz
ABIT NF7-S nForce2 motherboard
Two 512GB Kingston PC3200 DDR SDRAM
Seagate 120GB Barracuda 7200.8 hard drive
ABIT GeForce 4 Ti4200 OTES (overclocked to 280MHz core, 390MHz RAM)
ASUS 16X DVD-ROM
Sony 17" E220 Trinitron CRT monitor (capable of 1280x1024 @ 75Hz)
Acer PS/2 keyboard
Microsoft PS/2 mouse

Well, as you can see, it's not state-of-the-art, but it should serve them well, especially after being overclocked and optimized.

Anyway, I had the pleasure of going back to Sg. Udang recently to surprise them with the computer. Needless to say, they were soon engrossed with it and even fought over it. Hehe.. Kids.

Take a look at these photos. I hope it inspires some of you to contribute your older computers to those who never had the opportunity to use one. For me, it certainly won't be my last project.

[Adrian Wong]

Two more pictures.

[strawroot]

it was a really nice of you
the girl is cute!

[zy]

its not state of the art but its already pretty powerful
now make sure the kids dont fight over it

[Jet]

Boss is so kind!!!

[Echolac]

wah...you didnt show them any game ah boss...the kid is playing with microsoft word!! LOL..anyway... it very nice of you!!

[Bestia(ry)]

Nah, look closer, they're plain' pinball. ^^

Adrian ->

[Echolac]

LOL...still tagged under MS

[Trinity]

That was very kind of you Adrian.


Ghaaa!!!

It is better speced then what I am using now!
(trin waits for mid April C2D price cut)

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by strawroot

it was a really nice of you
the girl is cute!

Ahh.. It is only a small thing la.. Now, donate your notebook!!!