PC Plus - update

We're delighted to announce that the first PCs have now been refurbished and distributed within the Cambridge Estates.

We have received many applications for free PCs.

Refurbished PCs will be available from either the Community Shop on Wednesday afternoons. Refurbished PCs under the PC Plus Programme will ONLY be available by appointment.

Freecycle

Freecycle Kingston may also have PCs available from time to time. (Freecycle is a national network of groups, aiming to keep unwanted goods out of landfill.) You will need to join a mailing list to use Freecycle.

Ubuntu - Open Source operating system 

The first PCs available will run on Ubuntu (Desktop Edition) v7.04, an Open Source operating system. The system offers a very familiar environment (i.e. to those more used to a Windows system) and provides all the usual features.

With Ubuntu you can surf the web, read email, create documents and spreadsheets, edit images and much more. OpenOffice contains a user interface and feature set that is similar to other office suites, and includes the all the key desktop applications you need, including:

  • Word processor - for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.
  • Spreadsheet - a tool to calculate, analyse, and present your data in numerical reports or charts.
  • Presentation - an easy, and powerful tool for creating effective multimedia presentations.
Microsoft XP operating system

We have applied to join the Microsoft Authorised Reseller (MAR) prgramme. If accepted, we will be able to install Microsoft's XP operating system on some of our refurbished PCs. (In some cases, we will also be able to install Office XP Standard.)

How to choose?

We strongly recommend the Ubuntu operating system. (As a charity, we strongly support the philosophy and goals of the Open Source movement, and we're happy to promote the benefits of software that is available to the general public with relaxed or non-existent intellectual property restrictions. See Wikipedia's entry on Open Source for more information.)

PCs with Ubuntu will be available very much sooner and will be completely FREE to eligible recipients.

PCs with Microsoft will not be available until later in the year. Recipients will have to make a donation to Community Connected to cover the administrative costs levied on us by Microsoft (even though the MAR programme is specifically aimed at charity and other non-profits schemes!)

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