IT Goes D.I.Y.

When Glendale Community College’s contract with its computer vendor expired, campus officials made an unorthodox decision: Instead of entertaining offers from computer retailers, they figured they could build their own machines from scratch.

So far, the officials say, that strategy has paid off. Campus technicians have assembled almost 800 machines from parts, and they say they’ve saved about $200,000 on computing costs in the process. And some faculty and staff members say it has been easier to get computers tailored to meet specific needs since the college started building the machines in house. (The Arizona Republic)