Computers have become so common that they are often thrown away, yet many charitable organizations, the disabled, and the poor are very lacking in computer resources. The shortage is not one of machines but of skilled persons to maintain them. Here at Applefritter, we have many skilled people. We also frequently have computers and equipment in such quantities that we're forced to throw them away.
Applefritter has over 4000 registered users spanning the globe, the vast majority of which possess a high level of technical proficiency. What I propose is a database of potential volunteers, of all ages, willing to lend their technical expertise to those in need - people who will replace a dead hard drive or configure a computer for internet access or figure out why Appleworks stopped working. Each volunteer will provide his address and list his expertise. Those representing charities will then be able to search potential volunteers by both location and expertise and request assistance.
Likewise, instead of throwing computers out, they could be listed along with location in a database of potential donations.
The premise here is that we at Applefritter have a surplus of expertise and equipment. Particularly among our younger members, I believe we have a lot of very intelligent and knowledgeable people with the time to contribute to a project such as this.
What we need first is to develop the back end. I'm looking for a programmer willing to write a Drupal module (in PHP) that will implement this. This will basically be an improvement upon the current profile module, particularly with searching ability enhanced. I'm interested in hearing from all who are willing to help. This is a serious project for a serious purpose. Also, if anybody needs a internship for school or needs some experience, we could potentially work that out.