What can I do with a prehistoric laptop?

May 30, 2008 6:04 AM

I've got an old 486 laptop, 75MHz, a whopping 8Mb of RAM, Windows 95 installed, floppy drive (no CD), no USB ports (but does have PC card slot). Charities won't take it. Is there anything useful I could conceivably do with it, other than using at as a doorstop?
posted by hatmandu to computers & internet (20 comments total)

Play (very) old games on it. It's easier than using DOSBox.
posted by Memo at 6:09 AM on May 30

If it actually works, put it up on ebay. I doubt you will get less than $50 for it.
posted by b1tr0t at 6:11 AM on May 30

Turn it into a digital picture frame.
posted by pocams at 6:43 AM on May 30

Put it on CraigsList, pickup only. Someone will take it and this problem won't be yours anymore.

I did that a few years ago with an original Macintosh and it quickly disappeared. I was touched the woman who picked it up wanted it for her kid as they couldn't afford a computer of their own.
posted by Mutant at 6:58 AM on May 30

Ditto, post it on Craiglist or Kijiji. For somebody that just wants primarily e-mail and a web browser, it should still work just fine, even if the battery is bonked and it has to run on the AC adapter only. And really, that's what most people use home computers for anyway.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 7:10 AM on May 30

Does it have a network connection? If you can add a second via the card slot, you could use it as a low-power gateway/firewall machine with a very basic linux install.
posted by Morydd at 7:11 AM on May 30

Sorry folks, I should have said things I can do with it by keeping it - the picture frame idea is great. Any others? (I'd choose to Freecycle it rather than eBay/Craiglist etc otherwise.)
posted by hatmandu at 7:27 AM on May 30

You could install MAME and turn it into a dedicated classic games box for all the ROM images you legally own
posted by mikepop at 7:30 AM on May 30

You can always brink it to a scrap metal place. most nowadays take computers because they have copper and other metals in them.
posted by majortom1981 at 7:37 AM on May 30

Use it to write a novel or do something else which requires a computer but no distractions. I used a similar machine for three months when I was revising for exams and all I wanted to be able to do was check email.
posted by caek at 7:38 AM on May 30

In a word, NO.
posted by a3matrix at 7:43 AM on May 30

Even though your computer could be run as a home router or firewall, it will draw so much more power than new dedicated devices from Linksys that it is not worth it.

You can keep it for sentiment, but there's no practical point in running it.
posted by zippy at 7:55 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

Using it as a learning tool and see if you can get Damn Small Linux running on it.
posted by COD at 8:35 AM on May 30

Find some old educational software that only requires a keyboard, then give it to a friend with a toddler.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 8:53 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

You could turn it into a dedicated bartending guide. Or, as a stereo.

And, some day, you can put it in a museum.
posted by jabberjaw at 9:31 AM on May 30

Another vote for the digital picture frame. I've always wanted to do this but put a motion sensor on the top of the frame so that it turns into a Harry Potter style picture. In other words, when it detects motion, the video (from which the still picture is derived) starts and the images start waving at the viewer.

Unfortunately, I have neither the time, nor the skills, nor the old laptop with which to make this happen.
posted by stuboo at 9:53 AM on May 30

PC Mag had an old article about this . Some of it may still be relevant.

More recently, Lifehacker had a great post entitled Give an old laptop new life with cheap (or free) projects. In addition to the picture frame idea, they have some others that sound like fun and useful projects.
posted by D Wiz at 9:58 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]

Indeed. DSL Linux runs screaming fast on a PII300 I have, so it might work for you. If you give a crap about running something on it for no particular reason.

If it has a card slot, you could hook it up to the 'net and maybe... maybe? run one of those distributed computing things (although with x86, 8mb of ram and win95, i'm skeptical that any of those function, but who knows)
posted by bitterkitten at 10:04 AM on May 30

I have a very similar laptop and installed Basic Linux on it. Once I get SVGAlib working, I will turn it into a digital picture frame.
posted by Monochrome at 10:05 AM on May 30

Build a DOOM arcade machine cabinet, like the one in Grosse Point Blank.
posted by -harlequin- at 2:50 PM on May 30