Quote Originally Posted by theorie View Post
one reason why living in manhattan is awesome:

it's really easy to come across free computer hardware just sitting on the street.

i don't know why, but people throw out perfectly good computer hardware all the time! full desktops, monitors, server equipment, etc.

today while biking home i saw an awesome 19" rack server cabinet just sitting on the curb. it's about 5' tall and in good shape, except it's missing one of the side panels (no big deal).

i didn't have any way to get it home today, but on saturday i have rented a truck (moving from nyc to brooklyn) so i'll be able to pick it up...if it's still there. i locked it to a light pole using my massive kryptonite bike lock, and left a sign on it asking nyc sanitation that i would be picking it up, so i think it should still be there by saturday.

this thing will be perfect for storing all my computer stuff. i plan on using it to house my modem/router/switch, freenas server tower, an additional workstation tower, plus a rack-mounted untangle firewall. i guess i'll make new side panels for it, and perhaps some sort of mesh or glass door for the front. either way, this saves me about $150 - $300 that i would have spent on a similar used cabinet (shipping is a !*@#$% on these things).

well, fingers crossed that it's still there!

When I lived in Milwaukee we found all kinds of goodies like that. Of course I'm sure not as kick ass as Manhattan. One time we found a tower walking home from the bar that had a bad video card on it, so I dug up my old ti 4200 and stuck in there, and dude had a s--t ton of itunes tracks and all kinds of stuff I wouldn't want others to see... Honestly, I formatted it on the spot and my friends are still using to this day. It's crazy what people throw away.