Here is a couple of things I have learned about getting the military to donate computers for educational use. Allot of the times a custodian will want to remove the hard drives before giving out machines. I can't say this isn't the fastest and safest thing to do, but there are other ways. If the drive has always been unclassified than the military has approved software that will write 0's to the drive "seven" times. This is the DOD standard if you want to officially call a drive "clean". According to Hickam's base ADPE custodian, the drives can be given with the PC's once this is done. If you ask me, once you get someone at that level to say OK, record all the serial numbers, fill out the paper work, get the right signatures, and push the machines out the door. Unfortunately some people would rather yank out the drives, or let a machine sit in a store room before they go through that trouble. Hickam doesn't seem to have that problem so we have lucked out so far. This one custodian who is on the ball, will end up providing 30+ machines for us to place in various public and private schools in Hawaii. I think that is pretty cool. Of course im not going to brag on the Air Force to much, until the machines are signed for and off the base. Maybe tomorrow. ^_^
Cody Taylor Northrop Grumman,Information Technology, PACAF ETS Hickam AFB, Honolulu, HI 808-449-4102