CUCPS collects computer equipment (including hardware, software and documentation) that would otherwise be thrown out, and gives it away to members who are interested in it. In the future we hope also to be able to keep a collection of computer equipment for the general use of members. We currently have a small library of documentation available for members' use.
CUCPS welcomes donations of old computer equipment likely to be of interest to our members. As noted above, equipment is usually passed on to interested members rather than kept by CUCPS; we can sometimes help you by collecting your old equipment and finding homes for it ourselves, though if it is bulky or unclear whether members will be interested, it may be more suitable for us to pass your offer of equipment on to our members who can then contact you directly. Documentation that is not too obscure and specialised may be accepted for the CUCPS library.
If you want help from CUCPS in finding homes for your old computer equipment, rather than simply putting it in a skip, please contact the committee at soc-cucps-committee@lists.cam.ac.uk.
Modern PC clones (386 and up) or modern Macs are likely to be considered too modern for the society, but you can probably find homes for them elsewhere; see the University Waste Handbook or try posting to the local newsgroups ucam.adverts.giveaway or ucam.adverts.forsale.computer.
CUCPS gives most of the old computer equipment it receives away to members (you can join when collecting equipment; the cost is £2.50 for life membership). Offers appear on our mailing lists soc-cucps and soc-cucps-int; if you're not a member but are interested in receiving this information, contact soc-cucps-int-request@lists.cam.ac.uk. (This address is for both subscription and unsubscription requests for the mailing list, and requests are handled manually; so please state in your message whether you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe.)
Note that old computer equipment has generally been disposed of by its previous owner for a reason (such as it having been too old and slow, or considered obsolete). In general you will probably be taking such equipment because it is interesting, or you want to play with it, or out of nostalgia, more than because it will be useful (though we do sometimes have equipment that may still be found useful, such as serial terminals and X terminals). Do not generally expect to be able to run a modern operating system on a ten year old computer (though, in some cases, it may well be able to run NetBSD, say, albeit slowly)! Please see our disclaimer which applies to all equipment offered by CUCPS to its members.
A list of equipment (to be collected from the William Gates Building) that CUCPS wishes to give to members is available.
We do not currently have computer hardware kept by CUCPS for general use by members. We do, however, have a small library of documentation available for use by members on request.
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