THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 11, 1995 TAG: 9509090206
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: DOUBLECLICK
SOURCE: Richard Grimes and Roger Grimes
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Doubleclick authors Richard and Roger Grimes of Virginia Beach happen to be twin brothers and computer authorities. Their discourse on life in the computer lane appears every other week in Hampton Roads Business Weekly.
Richard: Warning! Everyone expecting our usual hijinks will have to wait. We're writing a serious column this week, and Doubleclick is never serious. . though, is devoted to an idea without money. That's why we're being serious.
Roger: We've being trying to peddle this idea for a few years without success. Either we've got the wrong concept or we've been talking to the wrong people. We're hoping the latter is true and that's why we're appealing to everyone in this special column. You be the judge. Is this a good idea or just weird columnists gone bad?
Richard: Here's the idea. Every business has tons of old PCs wasting away. They're either withering away on someone's desktop awaiting replacement, or gathering dust in some storage closet. Company management doesn't want 'em, the tech people don't want them, and the users sure don't want them.
Roger: We know people who want them - charities, schools, churches, and 1,000 not-for-profit organizations. They need PCs, but don't have the money to buy them.
Richard: We want to bring these business and non-profit organizations together.
Roger: That's why Doubleclick is suggesting that, as a community, we form The Hampton Roads PC Revitalization Program.
Richard: Or the HRPCRP, because every computer idea needs a confusing acronym.
Roger: The idea is simple even if the name isn't.
Richard: This program would accept any and all donations of old, outmoded PCs of all speeds-386's, 286's, or even God forbid . . . XT's. I could even give Roger my old Timex-Sinclair computer from the early 1980's.
Roger: Actually, I'd prefer if you kept that computer.
Richard: In return the company or business would receive a donation statement of fair market value that could be applied toward taxes . . . along with a HRPCRP Certificate of Appreciation (includes imitation gold seal and everything). It almost sounds too good to be true. By the way, Roger, is this legal? Not that it matters.
Roger: I'm a CPA. . . I've checked. It's legal.
Richard: Details, details. Next, volunteers from the community, local PC businesses, and local technical schools would pitch in to clean up the PCs, install software, and hand them out to charities, schools, organizations, and churches.
Roger: I've already checked with most of the major software corporations. We can take old donated software and abandoned software from upgrades (like Lotus 1-2-3 1.1a and WordPerfect 4.2) and install them on the PCs. The PCs could also included the latest in public domain and shareware products.
Richard: When the charities come to pick up the PCs, we'll hand out free training pamphlets on how to run the PCs and the software on them. An HRPCRP pamphlet will list all the companies that donated time, materials, and services, to make this happen. The companies get a tax write-off, the organizations get a free PC, and the service volunteers get free experience and a feeling of satisfaction
Roger: What do we need to get this project rolling? First, we need people that share the same vision for Hampton Roads. We need businesses behind us, and we need a few other things.
Richard: He's serious. He even drew up a 3-year business plan. We need a company to donate some office space to store and build the PCs. We need the donation of repair tools, two old laser printers, paper supplies, electricity, lighting, heating and cooling (could be space heaters).
Roger: More importantly, we need people to get excited about this project. Businesses would drop off the PCs and get a quote sheet. Volunteers would staff it and gain experience. The selected organizations would pick the finished PCs up. Everyone could help out by publicizing the program.
Businesses, technical schools, Chamber of Commerce, Hampton Roads. What do you think? We want to know. E-mail us at the Internet addresses below or write us care of: Business Weekly, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510.
Roger A. Grimes at groger(AT)infi.net Richard A. Grimes at rgrimes(AT)infi.net by CNB