Computer longevity
One huge misconception in the computer community is that computers are obsolete as soon as you buy them...or computers need to be replaced every 3-5 years.
Both of these statements are patently false. I stand by my claim and philosophy that a computer is only outdated when it can no longer perform the functions you need it to OR it mechanically fails. Today I saw a customer that demonstrated this theory well. He had two old computers (486 25mhz) computers with 2 GB Hard drives (they were upgraded in 1997). The original machine is circa about 1991 or 1992. The computers still server their purpose for him, but he needed a new application that won't run on those machines. And this gentleman runs a multi-million dollar business with these 15 year old computers!
The next time you think you need to upgrade your computer, or you think your new computer is outdated...think again. If your computer carries out the tasks that you require of it, use it until it quits. Don't be a victim of the upgrade merry-go-round.
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Parts might have to be
Parts might have to be replaced but not computers. I have several older machines including the built like a brick house IBM 300 GL. This is a 398 MHz machine with a 10 gig HD and 384 MB Ram..it works fine with XP. I also recently picked up a GX100 with 500 MHz, 9 gig HD and 194 RAM it runs Windows 2000 Pro and can do most modern apps.
To anyone out there, go to E-Bay pick up a older Pentium with 600 Mhz for like $30, throw some ram in it, a larger hard drive, and Win Xp Pro and likely thats all you need for most modern apps. On the low end I have a 166 Mhz with 39 MB Ram, 2 Gig Hard drive and Windows 2000 runs on it...It does need some more ram to get on the internet properly.
Right now the PC 100 SDRAM DIMM Ram sticks have been selling on E-Bay for next to nothing. These were widely used in many machines including the IBM 300 GL, Dell GX100, Apple G3 and many others. Looking back at PC Magazine from late 2000, PC100 64 MB Ram was selling at $71 from Crucial to as much as $120 from Kingston. Now on E-Bay these same 64 MB Ram boards are selling about 99 cents a piece and 128 MB Ram is selling about $5.00 +/- each.
Lastly, look into Ubuntu. That Windows 98 machine sitting in the basement can be bought back to life with a free operating system that will do most modern apps. You might need some more Ram, but if its a PC 100 SDRAM DIMM...it won't cost you much...also maybe a network card..found at E-Bay for under $5.00 in most cases.
There seems to be a renewed interest in older machines. Maybe its the release of Vista that has people looking for alternatives to it, including installing XP over a Vista computer. I also belive that the rise of Linux, namely the now wildly successful Ubuntu has some looking for older machines to install it on. People who are fed up with bloated software, restrictive software and expensive anti-spyware have found Ubuntu as the best alternative to windows.
Hang on to those older machines, they were built well and easy to work inside.
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