Save Money -- Linux on an Older Computer
I saw a post at Slashdot that led to an article at ASE Labs explaining how to breathe new life in an older computer by installing Linux. A great idea -- and possibly a HUGE money-saver!
If you've got an old desktop or laptop (something like a Pentium II 266 Mhz or so) sitting around doing nothing, why not install Linux on it and put it to use as a second (or third or fourth or fifth) computer? And if you don't have an older computer gathering dust, it might not cost much to get your hands on one. Some people even give them away!
My inlaws just gave us an old Pentium II 266 earlier this year. I plugged it in and it wouldn't even boot up, so it sat in the garage for 4 or 5 months. Then one day when my kids were bugging me wanting to play games on my (um, I mean the family) computer, after I reluctantly handed it over to them, I went out and started taking that old computer apart.
In the end, after reseting the BIOS (and overclocking it up to about 350 Mhz), replacing the CD-Rom with an old one I had in a box, and swapping the old 15-inch monitor for a 17-inch that was sitting around doing nothing, we had a computer just for the kids.
Most of their games play just fine -- a few are a little slow -- plus I combed the Net (and the free disks from my computer mags) for lots of great freeware games to keep them busy. They love it!
I've also got an old Toshiba laptop (a Pentium II 233 Mhz I think) that I bought on eBay for around $150. The battery doesn't hold a charge, but it's still good for word processing and such.
Both these machines run Windows 98 just fine, and the kids' computer will need to continue to do so becaue it's mostly for playing games. And the laptop will probably keep running Win98 as well since it's also got MS Office installed. But since the sale didn't include the disks for Windows or Office, if I ever have to wipe the hard drive, I'll more than likely install Linux and Open Office as replacements.
I've just checked on eBay.com, and there are plenty of good older laptops going for around US$100. In Australia, it'll probably cost more like AU$200. But with so many great FREE Linux applications, I think that's pretty good value.
If you've got an old desktop or laptop (something like a Pentium II 266 Mhz or so) sitting around doing nothing, why not install Linux on it and put it to use as a second (or third or fourth or fifth) computer? And if you don't have an older computer gathering dust, it might not cost much to get your hands on one. Some people even give them away!
My inlaws just gave us an old Pentium II 266 earlier this year. I plugged it in and it wouldn't even boot up, so it sat in the garage for 4 or 5 months. Then one day when my kids were bugging me wanting to play games on my (um, I mean the family) computer, after I reluctantly handed it over to them, I went out and started taking that old computer apart.
In the end, after reseting the BIOS (and overclocking it up to about 350 Mhz), replacing the CD-Rom with an old one I had in a box, and swapping the old 15-inch monitor for a 17-inch that was sitting around doing nothing, we had a computer just for the kids.
Most of their games play just fine -- a few are a little slow -- plus I combed the Net (and the free disks from my computer mags) for lots of great freeware games to keep them busy. They love it!
I've also got an old Toshiba laptop (a Pentium II 233 Mhz I think) that I bought on eBay for around $150. The battery doesn't hold a charge, but it's still good for word processing and such.
Both these machines run Windows 98 just fine, and the kids' computer will need to continue to do so becaue it's mostly for playing games. And the laptop will probably keep running Win98 as well since it's also got MS Office installed. But since the sale didn't include the disks for Windows or Office, if I ever have to wipe the hard drive, I'll more than likely install Linux and Open Office as replacements.
I've just checked on eBay.com, and there are plenty of good older laptops going for around US$100. In Australia, it'll probably cost more like AU$200. But with so many great FREE Linux applications, I think that's pretty good value.
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