About the program
As part of our professional responsibility to provide an outreach service to the larger community, we think that in extending the life of these older computers and giving them to people who otherwise would not be engaged with any form of computing, we will encourage the use of new technologies. This scheme makes it possible for people to get involved in computing at low cost and no risk to themselves. In this way they may well, sometime in the future, take steps towards their own purchase of newer computers and software.
The scheme will take selected working machines of Core Duo or above and recondition them adding appropriately licenced or freely available open source operating systems software and application programs for word processing, spreadsheets and games.
If a recipient has specific software or hardware needs and we can meet them we will.
In 2004 the ACS PC Recycling Group became a Community Microsoft Authorised Refurbisher (CMARS). From 1 July 2010 this program has changed and we are now known as a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher (MRR), which allows us to provide a Microsoft Windows operating system to computers for eligible recipients.
The ACS PC Recycling Group can also provide computers to those who would not qualify under the (MRR) program. We have a limited number of Windows XP licences or will use free software such as one of the linux distributions. We favour, support and promote Ubuntu.
Between 2004 and 2007 we, together with the Salvation Army's Employment Plus Community work programs, started the Work for the Dole program which meant that we were able to handle and refurbish many more computers to put back into the community. This program was expanded to include Uniting Care Wesley Port Adelaide who we worked with to provide training to unemployed people in the North Eastern area of metropolitan Adelaide.
Between 2007 and 2009 the ACS PC Recycling Group operated from premises at Glandore. It shut its workshop doors at Christmas 2009 due to a change in the market with demand for second hand desktop computers reaching an all-time low. It maintained a limited clinic service until August 2010 when it commenced operating from its own premises co-located with the SA Branch at Kent Town on Tuesdays.