In December 2023, we announced a new initiative in cooperation with Lucy’s Hearth, the wonderful homeless shelter for families in Middletown, RI. The project is called:
“CPR for Computers.”
Here is our logo.
Donate Your Old Computers to Clients of Lucy’s Hearth.
We can resuscitate them.
We invite anyone to drop off their old, slow laptops and desktops at Lucy’s Hearth and we will revive them so they can be used by clients and kids at Lucy’s.
We first wipe the computer clean of all your data, so there is no risk to your information.
Lucy’s Hearth accepts donations of any computer type or brand. Just drop them off.
Lucy’s Hearth, 19 Valley Road, Middletown, RI.
PLEASE SHARE!!
If you have any questions, feel free to email:
Roger Warburton: cpr4cpus@gmail.com
We have already resuscitated several dozen computers, including one very old laptop (from 2006!). Residents are now able to access health records and perform job searches. Children of all ages work on school work and educational games.
Resuscitated computers at Lucy’s Hearth. Desktop computers are used by residents and children, laptops are provided to families transitioning back into the community.
Using a free program called Mint (a version of Linux), we have resuscitated desktops and laptops. Mint is small and fast and works well on any old, spare desktops or laptops just lying around. Mint is an environmentally friendly way to resuscitate computers that are too old to run Windows or macOS.
Mint is easy to use and supports standard WiFi for web browsing and email. Mint also supports a vast selection of software applications.
Installed Software Applications
While each computer installation is unique, we install a standardized configuration with several important applications. Typical apps include:
- Firefox web browser
- Thunderbird email client
- Libre Office
- This is a set of applications that includes a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet (Calc), and a drawing program (Draw). The word processor can open and save Microsoft Word files and Calc is compatible with Microsoft Excel.
We install a variety of software packages, including:
- Calculator
- Dropbox
- Pix: view and organize images
- RhythmBox: play and organize music
- Screenshot: take a picture of the computer screen
- VLC: media player
- WhatsApp: communication with groups
- Zoom: video calls
We also install Desklets, which are small useful applications, such as:
- Clock
- Date & Time
- Calendar
Other Applications
Since Linux Mint is a standard unix distribution, there are thousands of additional software applications available. These can be installed with the “System -> Software Manager.”
However, we strongly recommend that users Do NOT use the “System -> Update Manager. Updates to the Mint system run the risk of messing up the computer and making it unusable. If the system tells the user there is an update available, we recommend they ignore the message and contact us.
Questions
If you have questions, or need help, don’t hesitate to contact me:
Roger Warburton cpr4cpus@gmail.com