A new program is starting in Uganda to refurbish and resell old computers the first world no longer wants, funded by Microsoft and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. From Ars Technica:

The center will have the capacity to handle 10,000 computers a year, and the machines that are salvageable will be resold for the local equivalent of $175, about a third of the cost of new computers there. When a computer is deemed past the point of rescue, the centers are capable of recycling the components. RAM chips will be reused, metal and other valuable components recycled, and toxic substances handled safely.

Neat, this sounds like a good alternative and supplement to programs like the OLPC. There is a lot of toxic waste out there, but a lot of computers that we get rid of because they’re no longer good enough for our datacenters can still be useful to others, especially in the third world.