We take peoples old laptops and get them ready for new homes at the Makery.
To do that we need to wipe the hard drives and put on a new operating systems. The easiest way to do that is to put a linux operating system on instead of windows. It also avoids the ongoing problem of laptops being slow and getting viruses.
Lower RAM laptops
Some of the computer we have a quite up to date in terms of their specifications but are lower on RAM than what would be required to run a modern version of Windows.
We sometimes get bulk donations from companies or schools which we then fix up to pass on to our members or other people that need them.
Working with a lower amount of RAM in your computer may be something you are used. There are several tips we can give you to avoid frustration. The main tips are to work using the applications on your computer rather than online services and avoid opening up too many internet browser tabs.
Craptops
A lot of the laptops we have are older ones that still work but are not very fast. For this reason they are jokingly called craptops and marked with a poo emoji sticker.
Stickers put on Laptops / Craptops at the Makery
Other information #
Donations are welcome for laptops especially you were going to spend more somewhere else. But do take it away and use it first and come back to tell us how you are getting on with it.
The computer are running some kind of Ubuntu instead of windows. If you need specialist software this might not work for you. They have the following software on them.
- Chrome and Firefox web browsers for the Web
- VLC video and audio player
- Krita for photo editing and image making.
- Libre office for office documents, Word and Spreadsheets etc.
Operating Systems we install. #
We install different versions of linux. Depending on the ability RAM / CPU of the computers and what they are used for.
- Linux Mid – high to mid specification
- Lubuntu – lower specification