Bill wrote
Weatherlawyer wrote

Here is a recycling charity that I know is very good for what they
attempt:
http://www.terc.org.uk/

To try to wind up this thread, here's where we are after having a brief
discussion about the actual need.

It's for a school that needs temporary computer provision. He is hoping to
connect 25 machines wirelessly. I have expressed grave doubts about doing
this with just one router or access point.

Our high schools do it like that fine, with netbooks.

The school has MS Office licences so he doesn't need to buy machines with
that installed. He doesn't know which version they are on.

He is not sure whether the school can install the OS, but getting machines
with XP should be no problem.

He wants large laptops to get decent keyboards and all-in-one units,
ideally that can be run on battery for about 2 to 3 hours per day, as the
room only has standard desks without power. He was hoping to be able to
have all machines put away on charge overnight. I have expressed doubts
about the battery life and battery usability on old machines.

Yeah, can't see that being very viable.

You can get replacement double capacity batterys for some of
them reasonably cheaply, I do that with the one I use when bottling
the beer and get much more than 2-3 hours a day on battery.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions of dealers and charity suppliers here
(the school is a registered charity). I will have a preliminary ring
around tomorrow to see if any have any suggestions or offers.

I, and he, certainly don't have the time or inclination to set anything up
with Linux for this. He just wants something that will work with no fuss.
He says they have a good IT technician to help setting it up and who will
sort out security issues.