4 ms·

Lenovo has been doing this in Spain for quite a bit, and you can even buy them without any preinstalled OS at all for a lower price still. But at least here th

• throwaway48476 1y ago
  Linux is free and proves the hardware isn't defective when you press the power button.
  • theandrewbailey 1y ago
    I work at an e-waste recycling company, where we use Linux in precisely this way. I take corporate decommisioned laptops, wipe them, install Linux, run fastfetch, take pictures, and post on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/str/evolutionecycling https://www.ebay.com/str/evolutionecycling
    • jxjnskkzxxhx 1y ago
      How do you get your hands on the hardware?
      • theandrewbailey 1y ago
        Most of it comes from businesses decommissioning their IT assets, but we also accept people walking in to drop things off. Most of that is "certified", meaning that we go through everything they dropped off, remove the drives, scan serial numbers, and ensure data on the drives are destroyed (either by physically destroying the drives, or overwriting them[0]). Laptops with sufficiently high specs are stacked on pallets in the warehouse area I work in, where it becomes a sort of free-for-all with my 3 co-workers there. Most of what we have is 5 to 10 years old, but sometimes there's the occasional retro piece, or electronic equipment that isn't a computer, like radars, lidars, or A/V stuff. I've been excited to pull out a laptop with a recent 14th gen (or so) Intel Core CPU, only to be let down when I discover it has a broken screen or is unbootable. [0] https://wipeos.com/ https://wipeos.com/