Geek’s paradise in Portland

About a year ago while fixing my bike at Our Community Bikes (OCB for short), it dawned on me just how much OCB does for the community. They provide a place to recycle bikes, hang out, and learn from friendly staff how to fix your own bike, all on a very affordable, non-profit basis. Being a professional computer geek myself, I wished out loud that a similar organization existed to recycle and educate people about computers. Imagine my excitement when a few months later (at Critical Mass) an acquaintance pointed me towards exactly such an organization called FreeGeek, located in Portland, Oregon.

If you dig the community values behind OCB, you’ll love FreeGeek. As OCB is to bikes, FreeGeek is to computers, but on a much bigger scale. In June I went on a road trip to Portland with two friends to experience this geek Mecca. Since we’re all into participatory culture, we decided to volunteer at FreeGeek to get a feel for how the operation works. As a bonus, we snagged the tail end of Pedalpalooza, Portland’s month-long bike festival – and had the pleasure of running into several Vancouver bike scenesters, including Amy, the editor of MOMENTUM.

Putting in 24 volunteer hours at FreeGeek earns you a fully tested, decently powerful computer (called a Freekbox), including monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers. Amazing, but true! FreeGeek’s volunteer program is wildly popular because of this.

There were about 25 participants actively working at FreeGeek the day we visited. A trunk load of computer equipment would show up in their receiving department about every 10 minutes, which we steadily sorted into various piles and boxes. From there, “Linux-worthy” computers would begin their metamorphosis into a Freekbox, after a thorough process of sorting, tracking, categorizing, testing, and building. Volunteers are progressively trained in how to tackle each of these responsibilities. Each volunteer’s geek credibility blasts into the stratosphere as they begin wielding obscure vocabulary like “ATX,” “distro,” “PC133,” “Gnome,” “UDMA,” “Ubuntu,” and “jumper.”

I am FreeGeek volunteer number 35,828, myself. The number tells you just how many FreeGeek volunteers have gone before me, and how many computers they have turned around from becoming highly toxic junk. These people are environmental heroes!

Pre-installed with every Freekbox is all the software you’ll probably ever need, as well as classroom training and phone support. Whoa! How can all that software be included without piracy, you ask? The answer is that they install the most popular and user-friendly version of Linux (and a full compliment of other free, high quality, open source software), which is the epitome of community values in the world of software.

If you don’t have the time to volunteer 24 hours, you can buy a Freekbox or spare parts in their store for dirt cheap. I bought a 1 GHz Athlon on an Asus motherboard for an eye-popping $20. I bought a Freekbox (minus monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers) for my roommate for an astounding $30.

How is this all possible? FreeGeek is a registered non-profit organization that accepts a staggering volume of old and obsolete computers as donations. They issue tax receipts for these donations, making the act of donating computers attractive for corporations, schools, and government offices, which replace all their computers every few years. FreeGeek then either completely breaks down the computers and recycles them responsibly, or refurbishes them, putting most back into the hands of the volunteers who participate there. About half of all computers that show up at their receiving department get recycled, the other half refurbished.

FreeGeek is not new. It has been in operation for five years, and is a well-known cultural institution of Portland’s hip and historic Hawthorne district, which has a community-conscious feel like East Vancouver (minus the drugs and crime). Portland is home to the first and original FreeGeek location, but the concept is also spreading, with five branches in other major U.S. cities. FreeGeek holds “geek proms” and other fun community events regularly, sometimes sponsored by local companies and breweries.

Unfortunately, there is not yet a FreeGeek in Canada. Currently it is virtually impossible to responsibly recycle a computer in Vancouver, and this needs to change. But Vancouver could very likely have a FreeGeek of its own within three years. Why? The FreeGeek example offers a solution to the problem of how to recycle our obsolete, highly toxic computers, while involving and benefiting the community. FreeGeek’s business model is sound and proven – not an idealistic fantasy. I salute those future souls who will undoubtedly found FreeGeek Vancouver.

As an increasing number of Vancouverites discover and fall in love with bike-friendly Portland, FreeGeek is a must-see. Just remember to save some space, if you can, for bringing back $100 Freekboxes for your cash-strapped and computer-deserving friends!

A typical freekbox includes:

• Pentium III 800 - 966mHz CPU
• 256 MB RAM
• 11-19 GB hard drive
• 17-inch monitor
• keyboard
• mouse
• speakers
• soundcard
• network card
• 56 K modem
• Ubuntu Linux pre-installed and tested
• Lots of other excellent free software pre-installed, so you can edit MS Word files,
  surf the web, etc.

http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Freekbox

Freegeek is rad on so many levels:

• participatory culture
• ecologically minded
• grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial, friendly computing, devoid of hassles like viruses, spyware, ads, upgrade costs, and planned obsolescence.
• community empowering
• an eclectic gallery of post-modern techno art (some bike art, too!)
• a real-world intersection of community values and computers
• an atmosphere of casual anarchy, yet goals are accomplished with impressive efficiency and focus
• a non-elitist, free school that helps anybody and everybody deeply understand and get the most out of their computer for as long as possible

About the Authors

Dustin Harriman is a Vipassana meditator, regular bike commuter, and has been an avid Linux hobbyist for ten years, with five years professional experience as a Unix Systems Administrator. [more...]

Find out more about Sean Hill

Published in Momentum No. 24

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