Intro To MacBuild
Once upon a time the Macintosh computers we see here were the coolest machines on the market. Probably at least 5 years ago, to be exact. Now that they are here we have to decide what lies in their fates. For some of these computers their days of being cool are long gone and now nobody wants them. For these computers, the best thing we can do is recycle them responsibly. Other kinds of Mac computers have a more complex destiny -- many of the ones we receive are broken or come from a family with serious issues -- and we must find the ones that still work and save them from the heap. The broken ones will have some parts removed and then we will lay them to rest with the rest of the recycling. The last kind of computers we see are just aging out of their coolness now. These are the computers that everyone in the building sees and covets. We must use the utmost care with these ones because they are the ones that will keep you MacBuild Instructor employed.
When attempting to identify recyclers and keepers, you must ask yourself one very important question: Which company made its processor? If your computer has a PowerPC processor, it's fate has been sealed by Apple. Intel computers have a little more to give in the way of usability in the real world, and so have a higher chance of avoiding recycle. Most of the computers we auto-recycle are from the PowerPC (PPC) family while the computers that we try to save are Intels. This is because, as a company, Apple has made the decision to strategically stop supporting computers after a certain amount of time and PPC-based computers have hit that time. When Apple switched from the PPC to the Intel processor they stopped making new operating systems that support PPCs.
What does this have to do with us if we install Linux on everything? Well, when we sell any Mac computer, there is a high likelihood that the person choosing that machine has done so only because they have the ability to use a Mac operating system (something that cannot be done with a PC). If they cannot install the latest and greatest operating system, they are unlikely to buy the Macintosh at all.
If nobody wants Macintosh computer that doesn't support the newest operating system what are we doing building any PPCs (or older Intel computers for that matter)? Another good question. We build older computers because they still work. Free Geek's mission is to reuse computers and make them accessible to those who would not otherwise be able to buy/use them. MANY people, not ALL people want to install a flashy, new operating system on their Mac when they get it home. There are also some people, like many of our MacBuild Volunteers, who genuinely love the older Mac operating systems and will buy an older computer and install an old version of OSX. Still more of our customers will happily use the operating system we have installed on their new Macintosh and benefit from Free Geek's tech support as well as all the other perks of using free open source software.