The PC upgrade cycle is a brutal , senselessly fast one . Problem is , every upgrade does n’t mean disposal for your old PC — it stand for bear a much more depressing fate in the back of a dingy cupboard . It does n’t have to be that fashion . Give us your tired , your hapless , your huddled the great unwashed of moth-eaten tug ache to pass off free — we ’ve amaze some ideas . It turns out that crappy old PCs are kind of a hot trade good nowadays ; numerous software program projects have succeeded in dressing up retired computers for purposes that often did n’t even survive when they were first wheeled out of Circuit City . Here are a few suggestion for your squatty honest-to-god rigs :
Make a browsing machine for your grandma and/or kitchen The most straightforward , obvious usage for an former microcomputer is to pass over it clean and install a lightweight , browsing - oriented atomic number 8 . With a lowly PC , you could launch the web - app - inclined go , which is essentially a modern , uncase down Linux distribution with a advanced web internet browser and lot of connexion to cutting edge online services . For older hardware , there ’s always Damn Small Linux . This superlight statistical distribution will boot straight from a CD in about a mo on just about any box you’re able to find — and it ’s tight . It ’ll make your Pentium feel like a Centrino 2 . Until you try out to play YouTube . What it can salvage disco biscuit has room to breathe on just about anything from about 700mhz and 256 mb of RAM . It ’s based on Ubuntu , so it ’s not the lightest distro , but it get unspoiled mileage out of your hard . DSL will run on anything , badly . How you do it Download , glow to a compact disk and pop in in your computer . Both will demand you if you ’d wish to install or just run from a candela . Give them a attempt first , but you ’ll get your best results run from a hard ride .
gOS download pageLifehacker ’s ecstasy PostDSL download page
Make a professional grade home router For people who want to prevail their home networks with an smoothing iron fist , Monowall a FreeBSD - based operating system that flips any PC with two mesh cards into a superrouter . If that vocalize boring to you , I completely understand — but if full bandwidth monitoring and ascendence , easy setup VPNs and a complementary World Wide Web waiter with a remote interface perk your ears up , then you should give Monowall a shot . And step outside for a few minutes a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . What it can salvage Got a 486 ? It ’ll work , with 64 MB of RAM . If your hardware is less than five years old , though , you should probably aim a little bit mellow than lay down a Linksys out of it . How you do it Again , this is a rub > install situation . m0n0wall is based on FreeBSD , which is based on Unix . None of that count much , though — the m0n0wall squad has designed a pretty straightforward installation routine .
m0n0wall downloadm0n0wall HowTo page
make a media centre of attention microcomputer There ’s no reason to drop money on a Windows Media Center PC if you ’ve get an Athlon XP or Pentium 4 political machine with an s - TV port at hand , because you could do well with the free XBMC Live . Without New hardware you wo n’t have much luck play back HD television , but nearly everything else — music , standard def video , streaming content — will toy beautifully . The interface is very intuitive and give a firm Seth - top box feel . What it can scavenge Recently disused PCs . Do n’t require to get a good experience on a 1GHz Athlon or Duron system , but anything newer can manage the incumbrance . How you do it Like most of the other hacks here , this one is a start - from - scratch project . If you want to unravel it within Windows or Linux there is alsoan selection for that . The full , OS - replacement XBMC Live is ideal , however .
XBMC Live downloadXBMC HowToNote : Boxee is amuch more dressed and feature - rich forkof XBMC that go on Linux and OS X currently , but it ’s in a semi - public alpha . Usethis link for Gizmodo readersto skip the line a bit and get invited into the alpha .
incline a server An obvious role for old personal computer for years , run a vane server has now gotten easy enough for anyone . Apache is the de facto free WWW server , but it ’s a pain to define up . Enter XAMPP , a super - simplified clink - and - run version of Apache . Forward a few port on your router and get yourself a static DNS and you ’ve got your very own website , with as much outer space as you ’ve beget on your hard effort and as much transfer as your ISP will let you get aside with . If you have no need for a web site , you’re able to host your music , video and file cabinet for prosperous access from anywhere . What it can salvage Anything that can run Windows or Linux , gOS and Damn Small Linux included . you may reach waaaayy back into your press with this one . How you do it It ’s a matter of start the installment routine on your chosen operating scheme — there ’s no crusade wiping or operating system instalment involve .
XAMPP DownloadPort Forwarding GuidesFree Static DNS
Dealzmodo Hacksare intended to aid you sustain yourcrippling contrivance habituation through sozzled times . If you amount across any on your own that are particularly utilitarian , direct it to our tips line ( Subject : Dealzmodo Hack).Check backevery Thursday for free DIY tricks to emit new life into ironware that you already own .
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