What to do with old Mac?

[JohnT]

I have a five-year-old, first-gen eMac that needs to retire. It will be replaced by either a MB or MB Pro. Question is what to do with it. I'm open to suggestions. I tried selling it once but had no takers.

[JamesB]

recycle it, dont put it in the trash. I believe Apple will take it back and recycle it for you, or you can take it to a local recycling station that accepts electronic components.


James

[studiocygnet]

Here in Austin Goodwill has a computer restore that you can donate still working computers and related hardware to, you might check and see if Goodwill has the same kind of operation in your area. There are always folks looking for real cheap stuff to just do email.

[JohnT]

Thanks! Both of these are good ideas. I think I'll pursue Goodwill first, and recycle if it doesn't pan out.

[andyz]

I used to donate my old computers to the school district. Then, my oldies were to old for even them. Goodwill is a nice way to go, you can also do a Freecycle if there is one in your area (Google it) or recycle. Our local Office Depot would once or twice a year have a freebie recycling effort where you could drop off your old equipment.

Ensure you delete, really delete your personal data and if you give it away, include the power cords and software so it can still be used. When I recycled, I pulled the hard drive to destroy it.

I don't know about you, but I cried last time I cleaned out the old equipment closet. Boxes with "Buy Now - Sale $1,999" on the side were junked. Such is the price of technology.

[DeLeon]

There are plenty of non-profit organizations that would probably take it.

[PeteQ]

Why not set it up as your music server or something like that? I have my old Powerbook that is sync'd with all my other Macs and it just sits in the background running my music and also email. I still sync everything to keep my mail and music updated across the board but it lightens the load on my desktop machine and every little bit helps. Plus I don't have to switch apps when I hear an email come in, I can just look over and see what's going on. It runs an external monitor so it's a bonus set up from stuff that was just lying around.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by PeteQ

Why not set it up as your music server or something like that? I have my old Powerbook that is sync'd with all my other Macs and it just sits in the background running my music and also email. I still sync everything to keep my mail and music updated across the board but it lightens the load on my desktop machine and every little bit helps. Plus I don't have to switch apps when I hear an email come in, I can just look over and see what's going on. It runs an external monitor so it's a bonus set up from stuff that was just lying around.

Thanks, Pete. While this is a good idea, I'm trying to simplify. My goal is to have one desktop for business and one MacBook Pro with Parallels so I can run whatever is needed for business, my son's school (Windows only), and personal stuff.

[Steelsun]

You could make a really neat photo project out of it - do something creative to destroy it and take pics of that.

I once stuck some swords through a computer monitor (this was in the early-mid 90s, old green screen) to do a King Arthur Sword in the Stone/Computer type pics (back in film days too). They were neat (until one of the swords touched an undischarged capacitor and arced and stung like crazy).

[DeLeon]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

..... (until one of the swords touched an undischarged capacitor and arced and stung like crazy).

I had a friend try and discharge an old CRT with a screwdriver once...I miss him.

[David_3]

Originally Posted by andyz

Ensure you delete, really delete your personal data ......

Yep, that's important.

Then take it to the shooting range for some target practice.

[AndrewCCM]

Make a fish aquarium.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by AndrewCCM

Make a fish aquarium.

It already does that. Digitally.

[zach-e2]

Originally Posted by DeLeon

I had a friend try and discharge an old CRT with a screwdriver once...I miss him.

[picman]

Could keep it for back-up - both a BU computer and BU for files.

To BU files, plug up the 2 computers with firewire, hold down the letter T on the keyboard on the BU computer and turn it on. The firewire symbol will show on the screen and the drive will show up on you main box. (I know this works with laptops - not sure with desktops, but worth a shot.

Brian