The one perk of where I work is that we’re in the midst of a computer replacement cycle. This means that a lot of older computers are being marked as no longer needed and are being recycled.
Fortunately, there are a few older Macs in this mix, and they are fair game. As such, I now have an iMac DV+, circa 2000, to use while we save up for a new Mac laptop. The specs of this machine are far from cutting edge, but it has three things going for it:
- It is relatively compact and will fit in The Burrow.
- It can run Mac OS X 10.4.
- It is compatible with Apple’s original Airport 802.11b wireless card.
This last bit is the kicker, as I have an Airport card from the iBook, as well as the adapter cradle for the iMac. I plugged in the Airport card last night, and it worked without a hitch. Given that we use a wireless setup in The Burrow due to unfortunate placement of our phone jack, this is a big plus.
The one thing is that this Mac is slow. I’ve put 512 MB of RAM into it, which helps, but it’s not going to be a world-beater in terms of Photoshop manipulation. But it’ll run the important stuff – namely email and a web browser – and will burn CDs with the best of ’em.
I’m installing the last of the needed apps on the iMac now, and it should be ready to fly by the end of today.
Yay!
Abby
1 December 2005 — 23:14
I’m so glad that you guys aren’t computer-free!–Abby