Productive use for a spare computer?

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Lucidity

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Jul 30, 2007
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I have an old system collecting dust and was thinking I should probably be making use of it somehow. I'd like to do something that's actually productive though, not just a "for the hell of it" kind of thing. Also have a 15" LCD to use with it.

Specs:

P4 2.8Ghz
2GB Ram
120GB HD
GeForce 6600 256MB


Hit me with some ideas!
 


Are you currently using dual monitor? if not, hook that 15" to your computer. Dual monitors really boost productivity
 
Asterisk.
Development Box
Experimenting box (play around with different distros)
VPN

sampunk is right though - use the monitor
 
oziman said:
Asterisk.
Development Box
Experimenting box (play around with different distros)
VPN

sampunk is right though - use the monitor
Click to expand...

What kind of applications would I use Asterisk for? Could I make my own VoIP service or something?

What would be a good setup for a dev box?

I could attach the monitor to my main rig I suppose, but I'm not exactly hard up for screen real estate with a 24" monitor (which has like 3 15" monitors worth the resolution). Plus the image quality sucks by comparison.

Too greedy to dedicate this to folding@home :).
 
I use my old box as a TV stand, haha. Its been a hell of a lot more useful there than when it was just a drone spam machine. Although it doesn't make me any cash like it used to. But hey, now it's not a pain to watch TV.
 
1. DVR - Expanding on DewChugr's recommendation, this is amazing if you actually like TV. I took an old PC, installed Vista Home Premium and a TV tuner on it, and now have a full blown DVR. I also have a useful app called webguide (free), which allows streaming/recording scheduling through my phone. If you have an Xbox 360, you can sync the two and stream video,etc.

There is even some sexy slimline cases for the full media center effect.

2. Make your own FTP/NAS server. I haven't set one up myself, but this would be perfect for Home and site/domain backups. Always running, redundant storage, and peace of mind. Just set up a cron job and your life just became easier.

Check our FreeNAS, and for the vaginas there is Windows Home Server.

3. Donate for a tax writeoff (fuck paying in), or sell it. I wouldn't try and give it to a family member, unless you want to be the 'tech guy' for the life of the PC.
 
network it and use it for bittorent and other stuff you need running, but don't necessarily want tying up the resources on your primary pc.
 
subigo - Would you mind posting a tutorial on that? I found a few decent ones online, however I am sure there are several others here that would enjoy the read.
 
OrganicOne said:
subigo - Would you mind posting a tutorial on that? I found a few decent ones online, however I am sure there are several others here that would enjoy the read.
Click to expand...

I don't know of a single tutorial online and it would take more time than I have to write one...

However, between the Gizmo5 forums and the Tribox (the version of Asterisk I use) forums, you can easily find everything you need.

trixbox CE, an Asterisk-based PBX Phone System (formerly Asterisk@Home) | trixbox

Gizmo5 - Make free internet calls from your mobile phone and computer - Products - Feature
 
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