Refurbished PCS a good bet for schools

Q: I’m the president of the PTA at my daughter’s school, Santa Cruz High, and I’m looking for good, reliable computers for classroom use. When we asked teachers what supplies they need, we received a deluge of feedback about old, slow and broken computers. The teachers I’ve talked to say that they’d be thrilled with PCs, and laptops are generally preferable, but desktops would also be gratefully accepted. I thought we might be able to negotiate a good price, and simplify IT issues, if we buy a bunch of the same computers. We don’t have a lot of money. Like other schools, we have to go out and beg our parents to kick in for basic classroom supplies. Got

any suggestions for us? A: Having computers and the Internet in schools can give disadvantaged students the ability to do research and write papers, and of course computers are essential for computer science. But teaching basic computer skills is at this point a waste of time. Software has all but disappeared, leaving the Internet as the main reason to have a computer, and anyone with functioning fingers can quickly become proficient at searching the Web. Moreover, the Internet has actually undermined traditional education by making it possible to access information in seconds. What’s the incentive to learn stuff like history when you can find facts with Google voice search on your phone while you’re waiting for your Big Mac?

OK, I’m finished ranting. I’d recommend desktop PCs for classrooms and computer labs, because they’re cheaper than laptops, and laptops can run off. You can check with local computer recyclers to see what they can give you, but your best bet probably is to buy refurbished PCs from Walmart.com. You can get perfectly good refurbished Dell and HP desktops for just over $200 apiece, and refurbished monitors for a little over $100.

And don’t forget that you’ll also need Wi-Fi for Internet access in the classrooms where the computers will be set up. Q: I just bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 and I’d like to transfer my iTunes library to it. What’s the easiest way to do that? A: Apple has not made iTunes available for Android phones and tablets like yours (gee, I wonder why?), but you know what they say — there’s an app for everything. In fact, there are several for this task. Two of the most popular are DoubleTwist and iSyncr, both of which let you copy iTunes music to your Android device from your PC. Another option is Google Play Music, but that uploads music to the cloud, so you would need a Wi-Fi or your data connection to listen to it. Q: I have AT&T DSL Internet service and want to install a wireless network so I can get a tablet (and not use public wireless). I’d prefer to install my own router rather than use one from AT&T, but AT&T’s online information about using a thirdparty router sounds cautionary, as if it won’t work and AT&T won’t help. What do you suggest? A: I couldn’t find anything on AT&T’s website discouraging DSL customers from using their own routers. In fact, the company offers online help for installing a router not supplied by AT&T, as well as links to third-party router support.

In any case, any router should work with your DSL. The router doesn’t process the incoming signal — it just makes it available to wireless devices within its range. Your only concern is to get a router appropriate to your needs. If, as you say, you’ll only be using it for Internet access on a tablet, a basic Wireless-N router should do the job. One of those can be had for less than $50. Q: I need a good word processor for my new Windows 8 computer. Microsoft is offering Office 365 — the online version of Microsoft Office — for $100 per year, or I could buy the Home & Student version of the Office software for $139. But I don’t need the other programs in the suite (Excel and PowerPoint). Are there any cheap or inexpensive alternatives to Word that can edit and save documents in Word format? A: Indeed there are. The best and most popular is OpenOffice Writer, part of the free OpenOffice suite from Openoffice.org. You would have to download and install the entire suite, but hey, it’s free. Another free suite that includes a word processor is LibreOffice (Libreoffice.org). If you really don’t want other programs besides a word processor, I’d go with AbiWord, a venerable program (also free) from Abisource.com.