A powerbook regrets thread.

[Rob587]

I always see threads about people asking weather or not to buy things, and people that have the item respond with how great it is. Most of the time people are going to be biased if they have the item in question, so I thought id ask to hear from the people with any regrets about what they have.

the topic is the 15" powerbok vs the 17" powerbook as a desktop replacement for college.

[BakedBeans]

i only have 1 regret about my powerbook,
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selling it


seriously, the 15inch imo is the best buy, amazing screen and still totally portable, fast also - i suppose it costing so much (regardless of its excellent sell on value and undoubted value)

[PlaceofDis]

my only regret with my 12" powerbook is that i didnt go for the 15" at the time, i would have benefited from it for sure, but a 17" would be way too big for me, and i think its not as portable as most would like it to be

[WinterMute]

The 17" is a portable desktop almost, the new models are snappier, but my old 1Ghz is still rumbling along, it gets carted across London almost every day.

In a good bag (I use a Brenthaven rucksack) it's no bother at all, but I wouldn't want to be a small person with one, it certainly has a weight penalty.

It's a great machine, and I'll replace it when the G4 hits 2Ghz or goes dual-core, or when Apple invents a micro-wormhole generator to siphon all the G5's heat straight into space and the G5 PowerBook finally arrives.

I'll be gutted if they don't continue with the 17" format, it's a beauty.

[fistful]

In my haste and excitement when ordering my powerbook I forgot to bto the illuminated keyboard. still kind of irks me a bit when others mention it and how much they enjoy it. :o

If I had to do it again I probably would have gotten the better system with the faster processor, larger/faster HD and the 128mb video card minus the superdrive. otherwise I'm perfectly happy with my machine.

[raptorhigh]

I use my 15 inch tibook as a desktop and love it. I do run dual monitor, but could easily use it with just the built-in screen. I have no regrets with it, although I'm probably going to be upgrading to a newer 15 soon.

Although I think the next big regret for many will be the "Damn, should have gotten the 128 Mb video card". I'm going to upgrade to it specifically for the anticipation of Tiger.

[plinden]

I always see threads about people asking weather or not to buy things, and people that have the item respond with how great it is. Most of the time people are going to be biased if they have the item in question, so I thought id ask to hear from the people with any regrets about what they have.

the topic is the 15" powerbok vs the 17" powerbook as a desktop replacement for college.

That I don't have one ...

[Daedalus]

I bought a 12" powerbook last summer, and regretted it. I sold it a few months later to someone who would use it more.

First off, this isn't a powerbook bash, though. It was a great piece of hardware. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I just bought the wrong system for my needs. I should have known better. I can't stand working at low resolutions like 1024x768 (I'm spoiled by working on large monitors), and I didn't really need portability. I should have bought a Powermac or an iMac. But I got sucked in by the beauty of the powerbook, and let desire override logic.

So now I'm trying again. I've got a Mini on order. It'll let me use the 20" LCD I already have, and it's tiny and quiet, which is exactly what I've been looking for. This time I think I got it right.

[TDM21]

My only regret is that I don't have the money to buy an external monitor for my 12" PB. I feel like you can do more on a pc with the same resolution. Of course I have used a pc for 4 years before switching back to Mac (went from os 7.5 to 10.3). I really want a 17" or bigger LCD monitor, but my poor budget won't allow it.

[Cuckoo]

I do have a serious regret. Im the proud owner of a 15" 1.25ghz PB, with 512mb RAM. Often i think owning a 12" with a 20" display would be better. Use it with a BT mouse and kb at home (with the display) and 12" for more portability.

If only the 12" was a bit more powerful.....

[mgargan1]

if you have the money... get the 17". I'll tell you why, as this will be your primary pc, you will want the most screen real-estate you can. Plus, the 17" comes with all the goodies already packaged in... if you want the top of the line, it's $200 more than the 15". Which is worth it in the long run. You're not (you might think you might) take your laptop everywhere you go. However, when you do take your laptop with you, it's not too too bad. I had the 17" powerbook, but it got robbed when my house was robbed. I have the 12" now, and I work at an apple reseller... so I see the 15" every day. Trust me, if you don't mind spending a little more... get the 17". This has to last you 4+ years... get the best you can afford. It's not bad at all to carry around once in a while. Plus the 17" can handle 5.1 surround sound, which the 15" can not.

[Eevee]

My only one regret is:

a) it's not a G5 (Oh, it's not out yet...sorry)
b) got the rev C. The new rev D can drive the apple 30 " HD display, and mine can't.

The 15" is a great machine.

[Chip NoVaMac]

My regret is that Apple keeps upgrading them :D

[virividox]

my only regret is i wish i needed to go to college now and not 2 years ago cuz then my laptop would be so much better haha

[Otto Rehhagel]

I bought a 12" powerbook last summer, and regretted it. I sold it a few months later to someone who would use it more.

First off, this isn't a powerbook bash, though. It was a great piece of hardware. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I just bought the wrong system for my needs. I should have known better. I can't stand working at low resolutions like 1024x768 (I'm spoiled by working on large monitors), and I didn't really need portability. I should have bought a Powermac or an iMac. But I got sucked in by the beauty of the powerbook, and let desire override logic.

So now I'm trying again. I've got a Mini on order. It'll let me use the 20" LCD I already have, and it's tiny and quiet, which is exactly what I've been looking for. This time I think I got it right.

Won't your 20" LCD work with your 12" powerbook? Assuming you are going to keep your powerbook, you won't have to regret anything, just plug your 20" LCD into the pb and you have a pretty good setup.

I regret selling my 17" powerbook. It was the perfect desktop replacement and made an excellent portable DVD player, but in the end, I needed the money.

[AnewMac]

The 17" is a portable desktop almost, the new models are snappier, but my old 1Ghz is still rumbling along, it gets carted across London almost every day.

I'll be gutted if they don't continue with the 17" format, it's a beauty.


My sentiments exactly. How old is my 1 Ghz 17"? :confused: It still does everything I ask of it, never a problem. Absolutely stunning, it is a little heavy, but we are talking desptop replacements, right?

[Santaduck]

So: most of these "regrets" are regrets that you didn't get an even better powerbook at the time...

I was curious too, because I always found PB keyboards to be conspicuously undersized and cramped in feel. Do PB owners feel that way too, or do you get used to it?

[Otto Rehhagel]

I was curious too, because I always found PB keyboards to be conspicuously undersized and cramped in feel. Do PB owners feel that way too, or do you get used to it?

I actually love the powerbook keyboard, but also wanted an iCurve, so I couldn't use it so I bought the apple blutooth keyboard. But after using it for a while, I longed for the powerbook keyboard. The keys give good feedback, they don't hurt the fingers after long hours of typing. Anyone else agree?

[dorqiekat]

I have loads, :rolleyes:

not buying an iBook when first starting college (got a sony vaio instead)

saving up every penny to buy a 1G 12" PB from a reseller a year later (since starting college)

dropping it on campus couple weeks later!!!!!!! (got a big ding)

Not locking my window the night my apartment was broken into, having my precious PB stolen ( a couple weeks after fixing the ding)

not having the patience to buy a replacement PB...... having Apple update. :(

allowing my dad to give the iPod to my brother from the "cram and jam" rebate. :mad:

[mcgarry]

So: most of these "regrets" are regrets that you didn't get an even better powerbook at the time...

I was curious too, because I always found PB keyboards to be conspicuously undersized and cramped in feel. Do PB owners feel that way too, or do you get used to it?

It's all personal taste, but I like my PB keyboard better than any other I have ever used, laptop or desktop. Like Otto said, it's too bad it can't be used (too much) when it's in an iCurve.

Also like Otto, I was thinking of getting a new $30 Apple keyboard (A1048) to best mimic the feel (i'd go USB for the extra ports)-- right now I use an Apple USB Keyboard (M2452), and it feels like such a big step down from the PB. (anyone have any better ideas?) Plus, my current keyboard seriously triples my amount of typos ... probably just a personal thing.

[Ryan1524]

nope, no regrets about purchasing it. couldn't ask for a more perfect notebook.

however, my hinge is getting tight lately, and makes a cracking sound every now and then when i move it. i know it's getting tight cause a friend has a 17" and his hinge defies gravity. :p

[whw5]

My only regret is that i'm getting a free ibook next year through my school. So now I'm gonna sell this puppy and take my loses. By the time I recover the money I'm gonna lose, I'll by myself a nice G5 imac. BTW can you sell your extended warrenty back to apple if one year isn't up?

[stcanard]

I was curious too, because I always found PB keyboards to be conspicuously undersized and cramped in feel. Do PB owners feel that way too, or do you get used to it?

Are you talking about the 12"? I've never found my 15" keyboard to be undersized, and just checked -- aside from the missing numeric keypad, it's the same size as the HP keyboard on my work desktop.

My only regret is that when I bought it I stayed with the default 2x256 memory configuration instead of paying the $50 to go to a single 512, because when I added my 1GB I've had to waste 256MB.

Other than that, no regrets, and as a Rev A Aluminum PB owner, I have not yet seen a PB upgrade that's made me wish I had waited before buying.

[Daedalus]

Won't your 20" LCD work with your 12" powerbook? Assuming you are going to keep your powerbook, you won't have to regret anything, just plug your 20" LCD into the pb and you have a pretty good setup.


It certainly could have worked that way. But the LCD was hooked up to my linux machine at the time, and I usually found myself just using Linux (I'm a linux fan too), rather than unpacking the Powerbook, hooking up all the cables, etc.

The Powerbook was fine. My usage just is better suited to a nice desktop system at work, and a nice desktop system at home where I can just log in and go... since I essentially never work anywhere but those two locations. And the money I spent would have bought me a much more powerful desktop (iMac or Powermac), instead of paying for portability I really didn't need.

The Powerbook was gorgeous, and the envy of my co-workers. :)

[darkwing]

I always see threads about people asking weather or not to buy things, and people that have the item respond with how great it is. Most of the time people are going to be biased if they have the item in question, so I thought id ask to hear from the people with any regrets about what they have.

the topic is the 15" powerbok vs the 17" powerbook as a desktop replacement for college.

My only regret is that my rev C 17" powerbook is slow in many tasks compared to a new Dothan machine.

Steven

[Michael8510]

...Plus the 17" can handle 5.1 surround sound, which the 15" can not.

What do you mean by this?


From apple.com:
"Built-in stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker (12-inch and 15-inch models)
Two built-in stereo speakers (17-inch model) "

[tpjunkie]

What do you mean by this?


From apple.com:
"Built-in stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker (12-inch and 15-inch models)
Two built-in stereo speakers (17-inch model) "

It's got an optical audio output jack, which the other models do not have.

My regrets about my powerbook? Well, seeing as its an old school revision C Tibook (yep, thats a full Ghz slower than the current top of the line 15 incher) my only real complaint is that I had to buy it when i did, when i needed it for college, because the line was updated four months later in november. Other than that, i've got nothing bad to say, its a solid little machine and I expect it to last past graduation next year.

[GeorgeTheMonkey]

I just picked my 17" PowerBook up today. My only regret? I didn't get it sooner. :p

Alright, I admit it -- the three hours and 19 odd minutes I've had the thing isn't enough to really provide an honest opinion. But first impressions... wow, she's a smoking machine! :D

[bug]

I've had my 17 for about a week now and I love it. My only regret is not bringing it to work today and being forced to code on this PC :) I don't really find it to be too big. I have a 12 inch iBook as well and it is definitely very portable, but I somewhat feel once you've crossed the line to a 15, then a 17 isn't much worse. I've never owned the 15 though, so I won't argue this point, its just my opinion :) YMMV

Get lots of ram and a good bag if you are taking it around. I got a Booq Vyper XL and quite like it, but your needs might differ.

[rkphoto]

my only regret is i wish i needed to go to college now and not 2 years ago cuz then my laptop would be so much better haha

My only regret is that I wish I went to college after laptops were invented not 18 years ago when I had to type a ten page paper into memory on a Smith Corona that had a screen that allowed you to see about half a sentence.

[mleok]

I bought a 12" powerbook last summer, and regretted it. I sold it a few months later to someone who would use it more.

First off, this isn't a powerbook bash, though. It was a great piece of hardware. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I just bought the wrong system for my needs. I should have known better. I can't stand working at low resolutions like 1024x768 (I'm spoiled by working on large monitors), and I didn't really need portability. I should have bought a Powermac or an iMac. But I got sucked in by the beauty of the powerbook, and let desire override logic.

So now I'm trying again. I've got a Mini on order. It'll let me use the 20" LCD I already have, and it's tiny and quiet, which is exactly what I've been looking for. This time I think I got it right.

I was just wondering why you didn't simply use the PB 12" with your external 20" LCD? The ability to drive a large external display was my reason for moving from a 12" iBook to a 12" PB.

[YS2003]

My regret is none so far. But, I cannot decide which PB I am going to use to log on this site (I have thre PBs already as my sig suggests). My new 12" PB will come with me for my business trip (by car). I am not going to take it with me over a plane ride because I don't want it go through the Xray machine and dirty TSA baskets at the screening process.

[HiRez]

I have an 15" 800 MHz G4 TiBook that's nearly four years old. I have a dual 2.0 GHz G5 PowerMac, but I end up using the TiBook about 80% of the time, it's just too convenient. I've hauled it all over the world and it's come through like a champ. The performance with Panther and 768 MB of RAM is still great, it doesn't feel like an old machine at all, and the screen still looks great (I treat it well and keep it calibrated). I use all kinds of stuff on it including Cinema4D, Photoshop, After Effects, InDesign, Xcode, Cubase, and Final Cut Pro. If you're doing heavy duty 3D rendering, using Motion, or you want to play the latest games at high framerates, the PowerBook might not be for you, but for anything else, it's great. It's my 3rd PowerBook (2400c, Pismo, and TiBook) and they have all been excellent, well-crafted machines that I regretted parting with.

[jessica.]

I thought that I would get home and open this 15" and be so sad that I did not spring for the 17". Turns out if I had sprung for the 17" I'd be sad. I want something I can carry around. The 17" just seems too long.

[brap]

Yeah, should have kept my G4-800 12" iBook.

The reason is fiscal, nothing else. This 12" rev. c is a wonderful machine, and will last me until it literally falls to pieces.

[Dagless]

i only have a 12" but this probably applies to all PowerBooks...

i place it down on a completely flat surface, push on a corner... and it rocks. ive only had it a month or so at the most but its warping already -_-

[CaptainCaveMann]

I do have a serious regret. Im the proud owner of a 15" 1.25ghz PB, with 512mb RAM. Often i think owning a 12" with a 20" display would be better. Use it with a BT mouse and kb at home (with the display) and 12" for more portability.

If only the 12" was a bit more powerful.....The new 12 inch powerbooks are much faster than your current 15. ;)

[Kirbdog]

I have been using my 12" Powerbook as my primary computer for over a month now. I sold my PC with 17" monitor a week after I got the Apple and have not missed it at all. I would have liked the 15" but it was just out of my price range. The 12" was still a stretch for my student budget, but no regrets with my desision. I would like to eventually get a 20" monitor and a BT keyboard, but I would probably be farther ahead if I sold this machine and got a 17" PB at that point. Expose makes working with the small screen very livable. As an agronomy student the powerbook is total overkill for my school needs, but I expect to get at least 3 yrs usage out of it. I do 90% of my word processing with Pages and use Excel daily, and it is nice to have all my photos and music so easily accessible. This may sound odd but I do not use it in classroom because I rather read my handwriten notes to study from rather than studing off the computer screen. I do put all my class notes into PDF after I finish each class though.

[BoredinEdmonton]

All this talk and I'm getting ants in my pants....

My only regret about my PB is that I won't get it until late next week!! (I just ordered it)

[CaptainCaveMann]

Well im still pondering if i should upgrade from my 12 inch ibook to the new 12 inch pb.

[BrianKonarsMac]

Are you talking about the 12"? I've never found my 15" keyboard to be undersized, and just checked -- aside from the missing numeric keypad, it's the same size as the HP keyboard on my work desktop.

My only regret is that when I bought it I stayed with the default 2x256 memory configuration instead of paying the $50 to go to a single 512, because when I added my 1GB I've had to waste 256MB.

Other than that, no regrets, and as a Rev A Aluminum PB owner, I have not yet seen a PB upgrade that's made me wish I had waited before buying.your 15" power books keyboard is the same one in a 12" (sans pointless keyboard lighting, aside from cool factor, it's not bright enough to be practical).

[jknight8907]

your 15" power books keyboard is the same one in a 12" (sans pointless keyboard lighting, aside from cool factor, it's not bright enough to be practical).

And the 17" has the same keyboard as the 12 and 15"ers...

[PeterD42]

i only have a 12" but this probably applies to all PowerBooks...

i place it down on a completely flat surface, push on a corner... and it rocks. ive only had it a month or so at the most but its warping already -_-

Just tried this on mine (15" PB - 8 months old) - it is rock steady.

My regret is not getting more memory - have standard 2x256 - will probably increase in the next few months - then I will hopefully seem to have a new machine :)

[snowfall]

YS2003
Al 12" PB 1.50 mhz/80 GB/512 MB Ram/Superdrive
Al 15" PB 1.25 mhz/80 GB/1.5 GB Ram/Superdrive
Ti 15" PB 550 mhz/20 GB/1 GB Ram/Combo drive
HP Pavilion ZT1180 1.18 mhz Pentium3/40 GB/512 MB Ram/Combo drive/XP Home
Compaq Presario 1800T/850 mhz Pentium 3/20 GB/386 MB Ram/XP Pro
Dell Latitude X200/933 mhz Pentium3/30 GB/632 MB Ram/XP Pro

YS, I can never figure out how to get rid of my old desktop PCs either. Somehow doing the old "university dumpster driveby" doesn't seem socially responsible . . . ;)

My only regret is that I have not yet owned a Powerbook, I've been admiring them ever since the old 1xx series. Yet even when I worked at Apple (in the mid-late 90's) I could never justify owning a Mac, not for the kind of work I did at the time.

Of course, Apple's come a heck of a long way since then and my PB regret should be gone shortly! Though I admit it would be nice to have those discounts again!

p.s. I did have one of the original NeXT boxes though, so kind of an early OS X machine . . .

[chaosbunny]

Never regreted buying my 12" PB 2 years ago. It's still a quite powerful machine. Just recently it surprised me by not getting slower at all when I burned a DVD, listened to music, had InDesign and Illustrator opened and was writing a mail. Hower, sadly, I'll be replacing my beloved baby now. Had it connected to an external monitor at home for the design work and only did demonstrations and little changes in front of my clients. I'm doing more and more freelance work at agencies now and after 3-4 hours design duty on the 12" screen my eyes hurt. Will give it to my father though, who is looking forward having his first mac, it'll stay in the family, yeah! :p
Ordered a 15" 1,67 Ghz. I'm curious which model I will prefer after using the 15" for 2 years. While my eyes will be grateful for the bigger screen, there were many occasions (at a café, train, airplane, car, a crowded advertising agency table full of papers and ashtrays,...) where I was looking at my 12" and thought, I'm sooo glad you are not bigger...

[stcanard]

your 15" power books keyboard is the same one in a 12" (sans pointless keyboard lighting, aside from cool factor, it's not bright enough to be practical).

Well that's what I thought, which is why I'm confused by the statement that the keyboard is too cramped ... after all it is the same size as they keyboards you get on a desktop!

[Counterfit]

I regret not grounding myself before plugging my iPod in :(

[xyian]

My only real regret is not springing for a 12" Powerbook when I bought my iBook. I am thinking of it more and more these days and even though after trade in it will cost me a grand I will be able to drive my 20" LCD without hacking or hogging the VRAM.
Also, the PBs have doubled in speed since I bought my iBook so maybe it will be worth the wait!

[Chip NoVaMac]

Never regreted buying my 12" PB 2 years ago. It's still a quite powerful machine. Just recently it surprised me by not getting slower at all when I burned a DVD, listened to music, had InDesign and Illustrator opened and was writing a mail. Hower, sadly, I'll be replacing my beloved baby now.

Oh, the power of OS X! On the Windows side, the DVD burning programs "suggested" shutting down all other programs.


Had it connected to an external monitor at home for the design work and only did demonstrations and little changes in front of my clients. I'm doing more and more freelance work at agencies now and after 3-4 hours design duty on the 12" screen my eyes hurt. Will give it to my father though, who is looking forward having his first mac, it'll stay in the family, yeah! :p

That is one of the better reasoned responses on going to a bigger screen.

I have a 12" PB that I used for DTP for my employer. I had it connected at times to a 17" CRT that I had around, but it just made it easier to read sort of. I have now found that LCD screens rock for "older" eyes. Add to that that I went with a 20" LCD, and wonder what kept me from this before.

Ordered a 15" 1,67 Ghz. I'm curious which model I will prefer after using the 15" for 2 years. While my eyes will be grateful for the bigger screen, there were many occasions (at a café, train, airplane, car, a crowded advertising agency table full of papers and ashtrays,...) where I was looking at my 12" and thought, I'm sooo glad you are not bigger...

The 12" screen is a perfect general size IMO. The 10" Sony's and such are too small. The 15" units just too big.

Too bad no one yet offers a "cheap" and "small" and "portable" 15" LCD display for meetings and such. Or even a projector that was more affordable and portable (not the bricks that we have today).

[Chip NoVaMac]

Well that's what I thought, which is why I'm confused by the statement that the keyboard is too cramped ... after all it is the same size as they keyboards you get on a desktop!

I think it is a case of not having space on either side of the keyboard. The design on the 12" PB "forces" the user to "think" that the keyboard is "smaller".

[Dalriada]

My only regret... to relive that magic moment when you receive/cut the seal on Apple's blackbox and meet your new PB for the first time.... Meantime busy enjoying a rock solid machine without any hics at all (I'm still amazed at how much hipe is flying around on Rev D problems, maybe I've just been lucky) Anycase I'm so glad I went for the 15", it's the perfect compromise (desktop or sofa or garden proof) in my humble opinion.

- Dal

[psycho bob]

Perhaps this is taken as read and I'm pointing out the obvious but I haven't read it anywhere except on apple's site. As well as featuring an optical out built into the headphone jack there is also a matching optical built into the audio input socket. This makes for a very neat and practical setup.
I sold my Rev A 17in last week and am now debating which machine to buy to replace it either a 17in or a top 15in minus the Superdrive. The cost saving is around £200 but it is more the size issue as I'm a photographer and travel around a lot. I never found the 17 to be overly large but simple things become inpractical compared to smaller machines like finding somewhere to put it down in a busy room. It has to be said though once you've used the 17 it is hard to go to a smaller machine and this has nothing to do with showing it off, they are just so great to work and edit with.
My head says get the 15 while my heart is telling me to get another 17. I'm going to wait until the beginning of April in the hope apple releases Tiger, if they don't I'll buy then anyway.

[raptorhigh]

My only regret was waiting this long to throw my TiBook on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14909&item=5762027397&rd=1) and upgrade to a new one.

[shortyjj]

I was sort of apprehensive about going from the 14" ibook to the 12" PB (in terms of screen size,) but it's never been an issue, and now even my gfriend's 12" ibook seems clunky in comparison.

[Azurael]

My only regret is that my nearly-two-year-old old rev.A 12" died a few days ago :(

It was a great machine (in fact probably the best computer I've had to date), and now the only mac I have is a beheaded 15" TiBook 550 (hinges went yonks ago and I never bothered fixing it) sharing a KVM with my desktop PCs... Sadly, I can't afford to replace it either. I'd save to buy a 1.4GHz Mac Mini to replace the TiBook-desktop, but I don't see the point buying anything without a Core Video compatible graphics chip... The only portables I have now are x86 machines :(

The saddest thing of all is how much Macs hold their retail value. If I sold all the PC kit I have (top of the line P4s, Athlon64s, Geforce 6800Ultra, etc) I probably wouldn't have enough money to buy an old MDD G4, and replacement logic boards for rev.A 12-inchers are like gold-dust on eBay.

[maxvamp]

Am I hearing correctly.........

Everyone here that has owned a 17" has not regreted the decision?

Max.

[Chrispy]

My only regret is that I had so many problems with the 15 inchers I had... I love my 12" and it is a great machine but I sure do miss the size and beauty of the 15". I can only imagine the beauty of the 17". If you don't need extreme portability then I say go for it :D

[Mechcozmo]

I was curious too, because I always found PB keyboards to be conspicuously undersized and cramped in feel. Do PB owners feel that way too, or do you get used to it?

I love my keyboard. 12" Rev. C PowerBook.

YS, I can never figure out how to get rid of my old desktop PCs either. Somehow doing the old "university dumpster driveby" doesn't seem socially responsible . . . ;)

Turn them into fileservers. Make one an FTP server, another a webserver, etc. Use a couple of them, strip them down, and make a Beowulf cluster. Take the parts from 3 and make 1 ultra-computer. (PIII, 4 HDDs, etc.)

That's what I would do.