Super-cheap ex-Olympic Servers and Touch screens for UK schools and NfP computer clubs

I wanted to spread the word to all of you not in my email list who may benefit from knowing about this great Olympic fire sale! I was pointed to this on twitter by the wonderful Richard Stirling and then received an email this morning about it, so here copied below is a copy of that missive. I can confirm that this is also open to NfPs computing clubs in the UK that are about teaching young people programming, so do still apply if you need them. To get the forms and flyers you need to email Chris Labrey chris dot labrey at econocom dot com – sorry but they are not allowed to publish the forms online, sponsor deals and all that malarkey.

Below is copy/paste of email, first person is Chris Labrey not me 🙂

STOP PRESS – I am extending our 25% off IST1 servers promotion into October
This means you can buy a rack mounted server for only £272. The Games paid £2,800 for each server.
Some of these servers are unused and still in sealed boxes.
Make sure you quote Econocom12 on your server order form.

Econocom is Europe’s largest independent provider of ICT finance and associated services
We are managing the re-assignment of the Acer ICT fleet from the Olympic Games.
This consists of some 10,000 PCs, 2,000 laptops, 1,000 servers and 1,800 touchscreens (ELO 1515L).
I understand the touchscreens are very applicable to SEN education.

The price of these touchscreens in October is £110 (please Econ4 on your order form)

As part of our Olympic Legacy commitment, our objective is to distribute this equipment as wide as possible into schools in Great Britain.
To date, over 400 schools have preordered equipment from the Games.

The laptops and the PCs have already been assigned but there are around 200 servers and 400 touchscreens available.
We are also expecting more equipment to be released by the Games including, interactive smartboards, HD projectors and HD cameras.
I will tweet when this is available. <- not from Emma, his twitter account is @ChrisLabrey

All equipment is good specification and will be lightly used.

For those that miss out on the Olympic PCs, we are creating a waiting list which currently stands at 4,000 PCs.
If we get any cancellations, these will go to the schools on the waiting list, those remaining have the option to lease new PCs at subsidised prices.

I attach information regarding this offer to this email. This is a leasing offer by Econocom.
At Econocom, we take pride is providing fully transparent financing for schools with clear documentation and known costs.
Over 400 schools and 40 colleges have leased with Econocom for many years.
All the Acer ICT at the Games was financed by Econocom, as is most ICT at the BBC.

Econocom is also able to provide maintenance on the servers at a competitive price should you need it.

Most units will be ready for distribution from the middle of October on a first come, first served basis. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @chrislabrey for regular updates on the programme.
Nearly half the PCs and touchscreens have already been returned and are being shipped to schools as we speak. The servers will be available later because they are backing up the Games.

Please note that LOCOG reserve the right to not return all the equipment. However we are anticipating a 95% return rate.