Mac = Media Server?

[abyssknight]

How plausible would it be to use an old G4 350mhz Sawtooth as a media server for a cross-platform network? As you know (from my first post) I came into possesion of a mint condition G4 PowerMac, and have really no use for it other than experimentation, programming, and ... iTunes. I recently came across the iTunes webRemote, and fell in love. I am considering making the PowerMac into a media server for our new house. Basically what I am thinking is, drop another harddrive in there, load all the mp3's, add them to the itunes library, and allow iTunes to share the music, with maybe webRemote running for playing the media on the servers speakers. Mind you, I am not very mac savvy, and have no idea what I'm getting myself into. What do you all think?

 

[symphonix]

Sounds like a very good idea, provided you've got enough space on the machine to drop those Mp3's into it, should be no problem. You can use iTunes sharing to access the library from any machine on your network (up to 5 users at a time, I believe) and you could also use iTunes remote to control what the server itself is playing, yes.

You could also use it as another client to get access to your music from another part of your house, for instance, when working in a garage, rec-room or studio. In these instances, it doesn't matter if it doesn't have a lot of power, since all it'll be used for is accessing your music, and maybe grabbing hold of documents and so on when you need them. I hate to see a good Mac tossed in a cupboard as a 'server' just because its a little dated. Put it where it'll get a little day-to-day use, and run it as a server anyway.