Re: Disposing of new monitors

[Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM>]

Patty Ewy writes:

>A while back my coworker/colleague/cohort posted a message to this group
>about justifying the cost of 17- or even 21-inch monitors for our tech writing
>group.

>The higher-ups seem willing to listen to our pleas for the equipment that
>would make us more efficient (!) but as part of our overall plan to get
>the new monitors, we are supposed to come up with a plan to use up/dispose
>of the existing 15-inch Macintosh monitors we use now.

The following policy is always worth considering:

"Get rid of obsolete equipment so that no one has the opportunity of
wasting company time on it."

If you believe that small monitors introduce a loss of productivity that
is more significant than their cost savings, then you should not allow
them to remain inside your company.

Attempting to make Mac monitors work with PCs adds insult to injury,
as you add the time spent figuring out how to make them work together
on top of the already injurious productivity loss.  You lose either
way:  if the solution works, the users are stuck with 15" monitors.
If the solution doesn't work, you're out the time and money.

Old junk is a productivity sink.  It occupies space that could be used
by better stuff, it occupies time that could be spent on better things,
and its very existence slows people down in adopting something better.

Thus, your top priority should be to get the monitors out of the company
altogether.  Ask Purchasing what the procedure is to dispose of surplus
equipment.  If they don't have any ideas, try a couple of brokers in
COMPUTER SHOPPER, or give the monitors to a school.  If all else fails,
stack them in the lunchroom and put signs that say "FREE" on them.

Oh, and technical writing is a "millions of windows open at once" activity.
21" monitors are barely adequate.  17" monitors are for okay for casual
use.  15" monitors are holdovers from pre-GUI days.

        -- Robert
--
Robert Plamondon, President/Managing Editor, High-Tech Technical Writing, Inc.
36475 Norton Creek Road * Blodgett * Oregon * 97326
robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (541) 453-5841 * Fax: (541) 453-4139

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