computer? 
So I've been slowly trying to consider what to get my 6yr old for his first
. No internet, of course. One day in the middle of the week, I decided to haul a bunch of yard trash to the local dump site. This site also collects electronics, appliances, etc.
As always, I like to take a peak at the computer stuff people throw away. So as I am driving in, I take a glancer, and....oh my....what is that? It was a PowerMac in almost perfect condition! I mean, it wasn't smashed, torn apart, nothing at all. A few scratches here and there, but no broken exterior pieces anywhere. I was too curious to see if she still worked. Picked it up, dumped my trash and raced home.
LOL! The freakin thing booted straight into Panther! Played with it for an hour making sure it wasn't going to bust in a ball of fire, and have had absolutely no hiccups!
But I can see why she was tossed away.
Specs when I found her:
OS X 10.3 Panther
466mhz PowerPC CPU
512mb of PC133 SDRAM
20gb IBM Deathstar Harddrive
ATI Rage Pro AGP Video Card
CD-RW
Not very powerful. But guess what? It is PERFECT for a 6yr old! Looked for a few spare parts around the house, and she is now upgraded.
She has been updated with:
OS X 10.4 Tiger
OS 9.2 (for running a few classic games)
1.25gb of Ram
60gb Samsung Harddrive
DVD-ROM
4 slot Siig USB PCI card
I spent maybe $50 on a ton of educational games on eBay and for an Apple keyboard and mouse. Got him all sorts of goodies like math games, reading games, Oregon Trail, nature games, physics games, clues finders, and a ton of other things. No giving him internet just yet, so I had to make sure he is kept super busy other ways. He has been using it for several weeks already and he is loving it. He plays his games on it and watches his movies in his room with the 17" Compaq CRT it is connected to. With the apps he does, this baby doesn't feel slow at all.
I now routinely look at the computer recycling area.
So I've been slowly trying to consider what to get my 6yr old for his first
. No internet, of course. One day in the middle of the week, I decided to haul a bunch of yard trash to the local dump site. This site also collects electronics, appliances, etc.As always, I like to take a peak at the computer stuff people throw away. So as I am driving in, I take a glancer, and....oh my....what is that? It was a PowerMac in almost perfect condition! I mean, it wasn't smashed, torn apart, nothing at all. A few scratches here and there, but no broken exterior pieces anywhere. I was too curious to see if she still worked. Picked it up, dumped my trash and raced home.
LOL! The freakin thing booted straight into Panther! Played with it for an hour making sure it wasn't going to bust in a ball of fire, and have had absolutely no hiccups!
But I can see why she was tossed away.
Specs when I found her:
OS X 10.3 Panther
466mhz PowerPC CPU
512mb of PC133 SDRAM
20gb IBM Deathstar Harddrive
ATI Rage Pro AGP Video Card
CD-RW
Not very powerful. But guess what? It is PERFECT for a 6yr old! Looked for a few spare parts around the house, and she is now upgraded.
She has been updated with:
OS X 10.4 Tiger
OS 9.2 (for running a few classic games)
1.25gb of Ram
60gb Samsung Harddrive
DVD-ROM
4 slot Siig USB PCI card
I spent maybe $50 on a ton of educational games on eBay and for an Apple keyboard and mouse. Got him all sorts of goodies like math games, reading games, Oregon Trail, nature games, physics games, clues finders, and a ton of other things. No giving him internet just yet, so I had to make sure he is kept super busy other ways. He has been using it for several weeks already and he is loving it. He plays his games on it and watches his movies in his room with the 17" Compaq CRT it is connected to. With the apps he does, this baby doesn't feel slow at all.
I now routinely look at the computer recycling area.
