[NPMUG] Goodwill CRC update, June 5, 2009

[Robert A. Donaldson]

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Charlie Hutchens, John Hamill and Tucker Trainor for  
joining me at the Goodwill Computer Recycling Center today.

I am mortified to report that I can't read our database correctly with  
my general-purpose trifocal glasses. My bulletin earlier today  
announcing our 2,000 refurbished Mac was premature. We hit 1,900, not  
2,000, this morning.

We had a pretty productive day, even with imaging with just two  
external FireWire drives. 22 more refurbished Macs have been added to  
our database, for a new all-time total of 1,917. Nine additional Macs  
were de-manufactured for recycling.

12 of the Macs today were the OS 9.2.2 tray-load CD models, so the  
Goodwill ComputerWorks store now has an adequate stock of this model  
for the foreseeable future. We also produced a Leopard-capable 1.25  
ghz G4 eMac, which is now in the store for sale.

Our 2,000th Mac is in sight, and we'll probably get there within four  
weeks at our current production rate. Now we have time to order a cake  
and get an extra set of computer glasses to keep at the CRC...

We'll have another workday next Friday, June 12.

As a gentle reminder, please note Goodwill has finally re-instituted
the security procedures they were using in the Lawrenceville facility
before the CRC moved to the South Side. Security cameras have been
activated, and the metal detector at the exit has been switched on and
staffed.

Entry is only from the South 26th St. entrance. We cannot enter the
ComputerWorks Store and go through the back door as we used to.

We are asked to stop at the reception desk at the main lobby to sign
in to get a volunteer badge, then sign in to the log book at the CRC
entrance at the metal detector. The log book now has a separate tab
section just for our members to sign in and out.

We followed these procedures when we were in the Lawrenceville
building, and it's taken Goodwill some time to re-install all the
devices to cover the area with video surveillance.

These measures are to make sure data on disk drives does not get out
of the building before the drives can be securely erased or destroyed.
Goodwill is serious about this, as everyone should be. Any incident of
data from the drives they are entrusted to wipe or destroy getting out
would destroy the credibility of their operation, and lead to people
sending computers elsewhere for recycling.

So please, check in. It takes two minutes, and we're not in any hurry.

Hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson
radonaldson at mac.com
(H) 412-922-3303
(M) 412-477-9188