Every year, thousands of computers, monitors (especially CRTs), and other ancient electronics that otherwise are in working order or perfectly fixable are tossed out in landfills and given to shady recycling programs in the name of "upgrade". People whine and complain about this crap being in their house, and they don't necessarily care, but more and more these places are starting to REFUSE this stuff because it's hard to get rid of....so I, CreepingNet, have devised a solution to the worlds E-waste problem...

Don't throw it out - give it to lunatics like me who like to work on this ancient stuff. We'll take it off your hands for free! Hassle free. And chances are, if we don't want it, someone else we know will.

Now, am I saying hand your old laptop to just anyone willing to take it? No, that's insecure, hand it to people like me, who have ETHICS behind it. Yes, did you not know CreepingNet, 8-bit Guy, LGR, Adrian's Digital Basement, Phil's Computer Lab, we have a code of ethics we follow regarding your data and old software. Sure, we will archive the SOFTWARe - but all of us are skilled enough at computers to remove your old user data. Case in point, I took in a used AAC System from a Louisiana State Hospital in 2019 - which included an NEC Versa M/75 laptop computer and a Words+ Commpac System 2000 AAC unit (same sort of thing Stephen Hawking used to talk). I preserved the old copies of TalkingScreen, MagicKeys, and AudioScan, but removed the patient data from those programs, and this allowed me to keep using them while following HIPPA Regulations - which oddly enough, I'm NOT required to follow, but do because I'm a good guy. Basically, if we get ahold of it, any legacy software that's not collected, will be backed up, and any user data/profiles/savegames deleted. Then the hard disk will be formatted, a fresh O/S installed, and the machine possibly also repaired and upgraded.

The best way to keep old computers out of landfills and thusly our soil, groundwater, and other ecological resources, is to just not throw them away to begin with.

Personal computers contain lead, cadmium, mercury, and all sorts of harsh chemicals. The batteries contain Lithium, Mercery, Cadmium, Nickel, and other heavy metals. They tell you to properly dispose of this stuff, so dispose of it properly, b ut the best way is to give it a second lease on life. With collectors, gamers, and hobbyists.

Cathode Ray Tubes - you know, the "Bubble Monitors" or "Big Old TVs/Monitors" are even wrose for the environement, and a safety hazard to disposal units. Do you know there are thousands of pounds of atmospheric pressure trying to crush a cathode ray tube TV or Monitor? And when it "implodes" it can send a barriage of shrapnel (flying glass mostly) like a land mine? So why kill off all the last remaining CRTs on the planet? Why not keep em' alive. After all, Cathode Ray Tubes have some distinct advantages in retrogaming over LCD panels and Liquid Plasma Monitors - such as the delays brought about via Digital Signal Processing, which makes playing old videogames a pain in the ass...you press B, mario does not jump right away, but about 3-5ms later. You might not see it, but you sure can feel the lackluster response.

And all of this stuff is collectible to some extent. CRT Televisions are hugely popular right now, and some are commanding prices on the second hand market in excess of $100. Why pay some shady weirdo in town $45 to scrap your old TV, when you can MAKE $45 even with the cheapest old BPC (Black Plastic Crap) Set from the 1990's or 2000's so someone can enjoy their Nintendo games in their full glory as intended? Even some nerds want that little 5" Coby B&W TV you bought in 2005 from the Bodega down the street.

Old Computers? Right now, anything 8088-Pentium 4 is gaining in price. Ancient stuff like the Tandy 1000 series, IBM PC/XT/AT/PS2, Compaq Deskpro/Portable, and IBM ThinkPad laptops are some of the most sought after vintage IBM Compatibles. Some people collect "classic Macs" too - like the original 1984 Macintosh, the Fat Mac 512K, the Mac SE (I made over $300 on E-bay selling my Mac SE FDHD from 1989). Even a fairly recent Core i-series machine is valuable to someone who wants to run Linux or needs a Plex Media Server or some kind of cheap machine for their kids to Play FNaF on. If you have something from the 70's, it's probably a goldmine, if you have something from 2001, it might not give you a lot of money, but you'll earn something from it - a penny earned is a penny earned.

Same thing applies to other old electronics too. VCRS? Betamax? LaserDisc? You don't even know. I own all three myself, and there's LOTS of people in the world today who would love to have a Betamax, or a Laserdisc, or an old VCR to play their old VHS tapes on. Some people want DVD Players on their old CRT TVs to watch Austin Powers like it's 1998. Vinyl has been HUGE for so long they are even pressing new records and making new (albeit mostly shitty) Turntables. Don't believe me? Go watch radiotvphononut on YouTube, or give VWestlife a look. Even weird stuff like Set Top Boxes or hardware censoring devices are fun for guys like me or LGR to make a Oddware episode about.

I mean, at worst, some guys like me also take these things apart when they are broken and scavenge the parts we can use and properly recycle the rest. I build guitars and pedals as well and sometimes I do source parts from old VCRs, Tape Decks, Stereos, Radios, Video Game Systems Computers. Do you know some of the parts for my fuzzes and synthesizers are the same chips found on a regular PC motherboard from the 1980's-2000's? CD4069 chips can be found as a part of a PC's BIOS/CMOS system (they are CMOS chips BTW). Just because it's dead does not mean it can't be an organ donor. Think of it, the same thing that used to play your Jimi Hendrix VHS is now PLAYING Hendrix at the local pub tonight as the part of some guy's budget Pedalboard. You can use broken cassette players to make our own Echoplex or Roland RE301 style Chorus Echo unit, or even just use the motors to make an optical effects device. There's a lot that can be done with old parts. The degaussing coils of old CRT screens can be made into Degaussing coils for degaussing and saving old Televisions without one built-in just by attaching a momentary puch button rated for 200v and a power cord or so I'm told (that's how TV shops did it back in the day). Even if the TV is dead, if the Tube is still good, it coudl give life to another TV of the same size with the same neck pinout....if you're skilled enough.