ReBOOT Quebec and Kirkland’s Omniflash Distribution Inc. have come together to donate a server to the Computer Science chapter of the Concordia branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE/CS) for student use.
According to Alex Fong, IEEE/CS senior system administrator, this is a generous contribution to Concordia as the value of these servers, brand new, is more than $100,000. On the used market the value is between $5,000 and $10,000. The server is roughly six to seven years old and was donated to reBOOT by multinational high-tech conglomerate Honeywell.
Fong noted the reason why the server would cost so much is because it “draws more power than a refrigerator [and] is usually custom-made.” He hopes the server will be available to all student societies at Concordia.
ReBOOT Quebec is part of Toronto-based reBoot Canada, a non-profit organization that responds to the needs of charities and organizations that do not have the access or the know-how to deal with today’s technology. The organization has won several awards for its work at restoring old computers to working condition and donating them to non-profit organizations or charities that cannot afford these items brand new.
According to Scott Glass, executive director for reBOOT Quebec, student groups in general are able to apply for donations, so long as they are non-profit and recognized by the federal government. Donated computers come complete with keyboard, mouse, monitor and are fully licensed with Windows 98 and Office 2000 Premium. The only thing reBOOT asks in return is that students pay the nominal administration fee of $100 per system.
ReBOOT also offers one-day courses in French or English, where students disassemble computers, are taught what each piece does, and then reassemble the computers. The point of the project, according to reBoot’s Web site, is to help dispel individual’s fears of computers. At the end of the day, students are allowed to keep the computer they have been working on. Courses are usually custom-made, with frequency depending on demand.
For more information go to www.rebootquebec.org or call (514) 822-1001.
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