[frgeek-michiana] Warehouse Report - 7/29/2008
- From: Tom Brown <tbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: FreeGeek Michiana <frgeek-michiana@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:45:19 -0400
:: Compaq Evo Laptops
Mike, Amy and I did a little more research. The consensus is to
recompile the kernel so that it will contain or look for a more complete
and accurate DSDT than provided in the BIOS. Amy took one of the laptops
home to experiment. Mike and I already have one.
We judged that compiling the kernel on the laptops is not a good idea:
the intense activity might overheat and damage the hardware. Amy and I
noted that the lower frame on the display is very hot as it is and may
already cause problems for the LCD.
:: Hard Drive Data Security
We have a lot of old hard drives that can be recycled for the aluminum
in them. The problem is securing the data on the drives from krackers.
A week or two ago, Kevin, Mike, Forrest and I discussed various methods
of ensuring the drives cannot be used again. Forrest brought a drill, a
box of self-tapping metal screws and a bit to the warehouse and
demonstrated how we can use the screws ($5 per box of 100) to skewer the
drive platters. Although inexpensive, the process of driving the screws
through the drive cases takes a fast drill and physical strength.
Forrest took sample drives to a drill press in the back of the shop and
neatly and quickly drilled a half-inch hole through each. Clearly, the
drill press is the best method available to us to secure the drives --
it takes virtually no strength and, if the drive is fastened to the
drill press with a clamp, is safe and fast. Still, the drill press
requires concentration to avoid serious injuries.
This Thursday or next week, I will assign a crew to start separating the
scrap hard drives from the scrap floppy and CD drives. Then we will
drill holes in all the hard drives and recycle the hard drives for their
aluminum content and the other scrap drives for the steel content.
Mike, Forrest are debating removing the circuit boards from the drives
before drilling. There appear to be 3-4 different types of screws
holding most controller boards to the drive bodies. We will need
sufficient bits and power hand drills to make the process of removal
efficient and worth the labor...and then it might not be worthwhile.
:: Data Center ATX Boxes and Colo
The owner of the local data center which purchases ATX boxes from FGM
visited Tuesday to pay for the last buy. He said he will make sure his
employees have cash in hand to pay for future purchases when they pick
up the boxes. He hates the delay between purchase and payment.
The owner also said the data center is outgrowing their current space
and have stopped marketing their services. He is negotiating merging
their center with another center in a larger facility so both companies
can expand services. In the meantime, our data center buddies are
rapidly running out of space and may not be physically able to colo a
server for us until they have secured and moved to a new facility.
Our data center friends are attempting to attract data centers in
Chicago to relocate to South Bend where rents are cheaper and warehouse
space is readily available. Energy costs might be lower as well.
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