of Lane County, Oregon

Mission - Computers for Fixed Income Seniors, SSI recipients or those with limited incomes

The goal of this program is to supply Seniors on a fixed income or limited means the experience of owning and using a computer, the Internet, and E-mail at a low cost.

Requirements

Each Senior computer recipient would need to have the following:

• A desk or suitable place for the computer close to a power plug and telephone jack.

• A surge protector strip with at least 6 outlets.
• A active telephone connection and extension line in the area where the computer will be located. A telephone may also be plugged into the computer modem.
• A major credit card or a debit card with a Visa or MasterCard logo for the monthly internet access fee.

  • A monthly fee of $9.95 is charged by the Internet Service Provider for internet access.

  • A one time $25 charge will be levied for computer set-up, and basic instruction

Your Computer

The computer supplied is a Dell OptiPlex Desktop model with Windows 2000 Professional operating system, Celeron 533+ MHz. processor, 256 Mb of memory, 6 GB min. hard drive, monitor, modem, keyboard and mouse (Some do not have a CD-Rom Drive). Printers can be purchased at local discount stores in the $35-$40 range or at NextStep Recycling. Printer installation is at no cost if present at time of computer set-up. Immediate hardware failure (up to 10 days) will be repaired at no cost (Eugene area or if dropped off for repair) . These computers have been tested and are in good working order when delivered. Remember, these units are used but in good condition and should last for years, however, things sometimes fail for no apparent reason.

The basic computer systems have been donated by Scared Heart Hospital and/or NextStep Recycling and was upgraded and programmed by a volunteer computer technician. Each computer system takes about 4-5 hours of work to upgrade and program and test.

Internet Service Provider - http://www.isp.com/?seniors (available to anyone with phone service)

· 56k V.90 & V.92 unlimited access (24/7) .
· Up to five (10) Free email addresses (i.e. user@isp.com)
· Free spam & virus protection with each email account.
· Free 24x7 toll free technical support
· 10 MB of personal web space.
· With call waiting, incoming calls can be answered while still online.
· Monthly access fee is $9.95 and is only paid via a Major Credit Card or Debit Card w/Visa or MasterCard Logo.

Computer Programs

Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Data Base, Email program, Internet Browser

AVG Anti-Virus – Checks/Repairs computer viruses

Atomic Clock
This program will reference an atomic clock server to get the current time with the greatest accuracy available and update your PC's information. It can even be set to automatically check the time once a day to keep your PC's time accurate forever.

Picasa - Picture software
Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organized.
Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips. And Picasa makes it a snap to share your pictures - you can email, print photos home, instantly share via Hello™

Belarc Advisor - Computer Information
The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server

Computer Utilities - Computer Maintenance
Computer Utilities maximizes your computer's performance. It finds and repairs disk problems at the click of a button, and can alert you to potential problems before they cause trouble. It also improves hard drive performance by defragmenting and organizing files more efficiently.

AVG Anti-Spyware
Most people are familiar with freeware, shareware, cookies, media players, interactive content, and file sharing. What they may not realize is that some of the aforementioned may contain code or components that allow the developers of these applications and tools to actually collect and disseminate information about those using them. They can track your surfing habits, abuse your Internet connection by sending this data to a third party, profile your shopping preferences, hijack your browser start page or pages, alter important system files, and can do this without your knowledge or permission. The security and privacy implications of these exploits should be quite obvious and undesirable on any system or network!

These applications that will provide you with the means to keep your computer or network free of these compromising and intrusive threats to your privacy.

*Delivery, Set-up and Basic Instruction Fees

On-Site Technical Support / Repairs

Computer Tips

Drop off Technical Support (Technicians Eugene work place) will be charged a $20 minimum with a maximum of $50 in labor.   No charge for used computer parts supplied by NextStep Recycling.