In larger corporations, PCs (otherwise known as "end user desktops") all have this stickers and/or metal badges with an numerical or alphanumerical sequence on it. This is called the asset tag.

When a corporation decides to get rid of computers as per the end-of-life cycle (anywhere between 3 to 5 years usually when the warranties finally run out), what’s supposed to happen to those tagged computers boxes is one of the following:

They are either sent "whole" or with wiped drives or gutted/stripped to…

1. The computer recycling center.
2. Destruction (literally).

But even in the largest companies this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes a computer box or two will "fall thru the cracks" so to speak. You may know a friend that works in a large company that can get his hands on a computer for you.

Most people would say "Cool! Free computer! Yes, I’ll take it!"

Trust me, you don’t want it for several good reasons:

First, the license of Windows you get on it will be 100% illegal to use and operate because you don’t own the license.

Second, the box is almost guaranteed to be slow and obsolete.

Third, it’s most likely true that any upgrades you add to it (hard drive, more RAM, etc.) won’t do a darn thing to improve the performance at all.

Fourth, it’s most likely true that box has been banged around quite a bit. It’s probably been moved from cubicle to cubicle, office to office, building to building.

Fifth, it’s probably riddled with dust on the inside. In many office environments the box is kept on the floor - right next to a space heater that throws a bunch of dirt, debris and crap right into the power supply and inside the case.

Sixth - and the most important reason - the box you get was most likely on the chopping block to get sent to recycling or destruction. That means the company who had it already deemed it useless to them.

Is this the kind of computer you want?

Absolutely not. You’re just asking for problems if you take one.

Granted, there are some instances where getting a box like this turns out to be a good deal (it was free after all) and may provide a few years of use. But the end result is that you still get an old crappy PC box - and it will always be an old crappy PC box.

Stay away from these.

This series is dedicated to specific e-mail providers on the internet. In this installment, the service provider concentrated on will be Google’s Gmail.

Gmail, launched in March 2004, has grown to be one of the most-used free e-mail services on the internet. While it doesn’t have a large of a userbase as Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

This series is dedicated to specific e-mail providers on the internet. In this installment, the service provider concentrated on will be Google’s Gmail.

Gmail, launched in March 2004, has grown to be one of the most-used free e-mail services on the internet. While it doesn’t have a large of a userbase as Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

This series is dedicated to specific e-mail providers on the internet. In this installment, the service provider concentrated on will be Google’s Gmail.

Gmail, launched in March 2004, has grown to be one of the most-used free e-mail services on the internet. While it doesn’t have a large of a userbase as Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

This series is dedicated to specific e-mail providers on the internet. In this installment, the service provider concentrated on will be Google’s Gmail.

Gmail, launched in March 2004, has grown to be one of the most-used free e-mail services on the internet. While it doesn’t have a large of a userbase as Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

This series is dedicated to specific e-mail providers on the internet. In this installment, the service provider concentrated on will be Google’s Gmail.

Gmail, launched in March 2004, has grown to be one of the most-used free e-mail services on the internet. While it doesn’t have a large of a userbase as Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

This series is dedicated to specific e-mail providers on the internet. In this installment, the service provider concentrated on will be Yahoo! Mail.

Yahoo! Mail is one of the oldest free e-mail providers on the internet. It was originally launched on October 8 1997, and to date has one of the largest userbases in the world.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

This series is dedicated to specific e-mail providers on the internet. In this installment, the service provider concentrated on will be Yahoo! Mail.

Yahoo! Mail is one of the oldest free e-mail providers on the internet. It was originally launched on October 8 1997, and to date has one of the largest userbases in the world.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

This series is dedicated to specific e-mail providers on the internet. In this installment, the service provider concentrated on will be Yahoo! Mail.

Yahoo! Mail is one of the oldest free e-mail providers on the internet. It was originally launched on October 8 1997, and to date has one of the largest userbases in the world.

Getting Started With Your Seal

On the signup page there is something unique to Yahoo! Mail; the ability to create a sign-in “seal” (see right side):

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

Unfortunately when you ask just about any diehard Linux user why using Linux is so reliable, the response is usually “It just is.” Obviously this is a very poor answer because it doesn’t explain anything.

This article is going to explain in a basic sense why Linux has the rock-solid reputation that it does and what makes it less prone to crashes compared to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Continued