NB: Make sure that you delete *all* personal data before donating your old hardware; in fact, it's probably best to reformat hard-drive and reinstall software to be on the safe side.
There have been instances of shipments of old computers being donated, and their hard-drives examined to recover personal data -- such as bank details from online banking, credit card details from online shopping transactions -- in order to commit fraud.
It's a very worthwhile and commendable thing to do, providing that it's a useful piece of kit, and providing that you take security precautions regarding stored data before donating.
It really isn't worthwhile donating really very old equipment though, because modern software won't be able to run on it, and they will just have to dispose of the equipment in whichever country it ends up in. This *can* cause a problem in the recipient countries, because the computers contain components with harmful chemicals, and it can lead to toxic pollution problems relating to their disposal.
Don't just fob people off with useless rubbish. Rule of thumb: if you wouldn't pass it on to, say, a younger member of your family for use with their studies, or to a friend who can't afford to replace a computer, then it's unlikely to be of any use to anyone in a developing country either.
NB: Make sure that you delete *all* personal data before donating your old hardware; in fact, it's probably best to reformat hard-drive and reinstall software to be on the safe side.
There have been instances of shipments of old computers being donated, and their hard-drives examined to recover personal data -- such as bank details from online banking, credit card details from online shopping transactions -- in order to commit fraud.
It's a very worthwhile and commendable thing to do, providing that it's a useful piece of kit, and providing that you take security precautions regarding stored data before donating.
It really isn't worthwhile donating really very old equipment though, because modern software won't be able to run on it, and they will just have to dispose of the equipment in whichever country it ends up in. This *can* cause a problem in the recipient countries, because the computers contain components with harmful chemicals, and it can lead to toxic pollution problems relating to their disposal.
Don't just fob people off with useless rubbish. Rule of thumb: if you wouldn't pass it on to, say, a younger member of your family for use with their studies, or to a friend who can't afford to replace a computer, then it's unlikely to be of any use to anyone in a developing country either.