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Old Mac G4 uses

ss2cire

ss2cire

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 18, 2008
383
605
Earth?
Hi all,

I have some older G4s (2 G4 500Mhz or so) and 1 quicksilver G4, I'm trying to figure out what to do with them.

I'm not really looking to sell or donate them at the moment.

I'm thinking of turning one into a local web server, music/file server for my LAN etc, but I'm just not sure what to do, are there any cool ideas anyone has?

I read once that you could do a local .Mac thing but lost the instructions etc...

what do other people do with their extra macs?

Thanks in advance.

ss2cire
 
yeh shove some higher capacity hard drives in there and turn it into a server. thats what i would do.

all you need to do is turn AFP file sharing on (& SMB if your planning on serving to a PC) in Sharing preferences and make it never sleep in Energy Saver preferences. then the server will show up in your sidebar in Leopard or in the Network folder in Tiger and earlier.
 
to tell you the truth, i don't do anything with them

as spares, i have a dual 500 G4 power mac and a 300 mhz ibook

they both still work and i guess if my newer mini mac breaks, i can use the old power mac as a backup

but as for a 300 mhz ibook? i really don't know what to do with that
 
You could hook one up to your TV and make a G4 AppleTV like thing... that'd be kinda cool.
 
not on a 300mhz ibook..
The poor thing will have a hard time putting out video images fullscreen on a lcd..

Use it as a .torrent machine and leave it running ;)
 
Server the baby up... It is something I've never done before, but I've considered for the future. It'd be nice to have constant access to files on 1 computer which can be accessed any other computer rather than hunting down said file.
 
Kind of a silly question, no? A computer is there because you need it to perform some function. It's a tool, It fills a need. If you have no need, get rid of the silly thing! Sell it on ebay and get a few bucks for it.

It's like asking "I found this old hack-saw in the shed today, don't really want to get rid of it, so give me some ideas for things I can cut with it!!"
 
lupin..the..3rd said:
Kind of a silly question, no? A computer is there because you need it to perform some function. It's a tool, It fills a need. If you have no need, get rid of the silly thing! Sell it on ebay and get a few bucks for it.

It's like asking "I found this old hack-saw in the shed today, don't really want to get rid of it, so give me some ideas for things I can cut with it!!"
Click to expand...

I disagree. For 1, how can you compare a 'hack-saw' that you found in the 'shed' to a working computer?

If you don't want to get rid of a computer and you still want to use it, why not find something to use it for?
 
tsice19 said:
I disagree. For 1, how can you compare a 'hack-saw' that you found in the 'shed' to a working computer?
Click to expand...
Easily, because they're both tools. I occasionally need to cut things, so for that, I acquired a saw. If I didn't need to cut things, I'd get rid of the saw. I also occasionally need to send emails and browse the web. For that, I acquired a computer. If I no longer had any need for email or the web, I'd sell the computer.

tsice19 said:
If you don't want to get rid of a computer and you still want to use it, why not find something to use it for?
Click to expand...
If you don't want to get rid of a blender and you still want to use it, why not find some recipe for a margarita or something and use it?

A computer is a tool, just like a saw, a screwdriver, a blender, and a motorcycle. If you think otherwise, you're probably not married and don't have a girlfriend either. :eek:
 
lupin..the..3rd said:
Easily, because they're both tools. I occasionally need to cut things, so for that, I acquired a saw. If I didn't need to cut things, I'd get rid of the saw. I also occasionally need to send emails and browse the web. For that, I acquired a computer. If I no longer had any need for email or the web, I'd sell the computer.


If you don't want to get rid of a blender and you still want to use it, why not find some recipe for a margarita or something and use it?

A computer is a tool, just like a saw, a screwdriver, a blender, and a motorcycle. If you think otherwise, you're probably not married and don't have a girlfriend either. :eek:
Click to expand...

Wow. There's a similarity between a saw, a screwdriver, and a blender... they only do ONE TASK. A computer can do MULTIPLE TASKS. Therefor, if you no longer need it as a primary computer, you can make it a second computer to take the load off the primary. You don't need two blenders or two of the same screwdrivers.

Now, if it was just lying around and you weren't using it, then sell it. But if you want to use it, then freaking use it!
 
tsice19 said:
Now, if it was just lying around and you weren't using it, then sell it. But if you want to use it, then freaking use it!
Click to expand...
Ok, so we agree on this point then. Use it, or sell it and get rid of it, but don't just sit on it if you have no use for it.
 
Jeez , the guy has come on here asking for help with what to do with his old macs!....give him a break .You guys slating him for trying to find a use for them is, well , lame -imho .


I respect that he is at least trying to find a use rather than just dumping them , finding a use (if you can ) for items that are no longer cutting edge is a difficult task but a very worthwhile one .

(rant over)
.

I'd go with what the other posters said and use them as a sever for music or networking, that kind of thing is what they are probably best suited for.
( or maybe you could have a bash at installing Linux for a bit of fun ?) .

If you need any help on how to set these things up , I will help as much as I can & I'm sure some of the more knowledgeable folk on the forum will see you right too.
 
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