Good uses for old Macs - Page 4

Jeffo · #25 October 8th, 2008, 11:37 AM

There is another webserver program that i used way back in the day and liked it quite a bit. it is called NetPresenz.

nixgeek · #26 October 8th, 2008, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffo

There is another webserver program that i used way back in the day and liked it quite a bit. it is called NetPresenz.

Yes! I actually only use the FTP function of NetPresenz since MacHTTP seemed to fulfill the needs I had.

#1 Rhapsody · #27 October 8th, 2008, 06:26 PM

Could you use a USB flash drive, a SD, or CompactFlash some how connected to the SCSI connector in the Power Mac 7100/80AV as a boot up disk? Could you get the adaptors for under $15?

nixgeek · #28 October 8th, 2008, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #1 Rhapsody

Could you use a USB flash drive, a SD, or CompactFlash some how connected to the SCSI connector in the Power Mac 7100/80AV as a boot up disk? Could you get the adaptors for under $15?

This page on Low End Mac might be of some help regarding CF adapters. As it stands, they are only CF to IDE, but it is said that you could also use them in conjunction with a SCSI to IDE adapter.

#1 Rhapsody · #29 October 10th, 2008, 08:03 AM

I also will be getting some older PCs as well (a i486 and several Pentiums). Do they make good web servers? I have the 98 install disk but I lost the registration card but I do have the card for my 95 disk.

nixgeek · #30 October 10th, 2008, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #1 Rhapsody

I also will be getting some older PCs as well (a i486 and several Pentiums). Do they make good web servers? I have the 98 install disk but I lost the registration card but I do have the card for my 95 disk.

With something like GNU/Linux (preferably Debian IMO, or Slackware if you REALLY want to learn GNU/Linux) or any of the free BSD derivatives, it should run just fine. If it's for server purposes, make sure you do a base installation and then install the services that you need. You don't want to give such an old box the extra overhead of X Windows and a desktop environment.

However, if you must install a desktop environment, I recommend XFCE. I did a base installation of Debian on an old AMD K6-300 system with only 64 MB RAM, followed by Xorg, XFCE, and some needed apps (Iceweasel and Pidgin) and I was pleasantly surprised at how usable this old system actually was. Mind you, Web 2.0 sites made Iceweasel crawl, but it should handle light web browsing, IM, and e-mail just fine. Don't even bother with Flash-based sites like YouTube.

Since you are getting multiple PCs, you might also want to tinker around with creating a Beowulf cluster just for kicks and that extra geek factor.

#1 Rhapsody · #31 October 16th, 2008, 08:12 AM

I know I am off the subject but does anyone know where I can get a copy of CrossBasic or REALBasic cheap. It can be any version, Mac or Windows (for REALBasic).

On topic again, one of my Performa's ethernet cards won't work. Either It is not secured properly or Mac OS can't recognize it. I'll mess with it soon.

Thanks in advance

Dewey · #32 October 16th, 2008, 12:21 PM

I am assuming that you guys are using a cable or broadband connection to host with? Will the ethernet connection on the back of my Quadra work with with a cable modem? How about my Power mac 7600?
Any body use this older machine as a work station to record music? I record my instuments with a digital recorder now I just want to experiment with it and a larger screen like a monitor would be an improvemnet over the small sreen on it. There is no way to hook a monitor to my digital recorder.
This is fun stuff especially for a tinker like me
Dewey