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poofyhairguy
June 22nd, 2005, 07:16 AM
So recently I got tired of the fact that when I wanted to do really fun stuff with (aka break the hell out of) Ubuntu, sometimes my desktop is all screwed when I need to just pound out a document or check a webpage. I used to do all the developing on my laptop, but now I want that to be stable too (to show off Ubuntu). So I recently starting building a new machine out of old parts.

The eventual task of this machine is to be a mythtv box, but since good tv tuning cards are still pricy it will just be a development box for a while. The true reason for this box is to use up the spare parts I had lying around.

I have some great PC100 kingston RAM and a 600 mhz slot one Pentium 3 that gets no use. I bought a dual slot one motherboard off ebay for as much as it costed to ship it, and recently bought another processor to go with it (that was the most expensive thing at 23 bucks because its the last of the Katmai chips). I added a wireless card I had sitting as well, a Quantum Fireball 35 gig hard disk, and an Sound blaster live that gets no use. This plus a nvidia card I splurged on last month just to try xcompmgr (it was worth it for the month) and I had the hottest thing back in early 2000!

I always said in 2000 "I can't wait till this stuff is cheap." Well I did and its here. Some might ask: why buy that old stuff when a cheap mobo and modern celeron will run better? Well...I always wanted a dual CPU machine....and I don't really care about speed for this project, I care about quality. Everything I have (except for the powersuppy) was the good stuff back in its day. I want something I can hammer on, and it will say put so to speak.

I have most of the parts now and I put it together on a piece of glass because I don't want a case yet. I booted it last night and begin to install Windows 2000 on it because:

1. I own it legally.

2. My window's skills are getting rusty

3. I always said "this is the worlds best desktop OS" till Warty came along.

4. It was the best when this machine was the best. Nothing like living in the past.

5. There is no five.

I get as far as the desktop till I remember what fonts looked like in 2000. I quickly burned an Ubuntu install CD- I really like text anti-analyzing. Hoary installed great on there, and felt pretty snappy. Yeah for good (but cheap) hardware. Soon I'll try to get the tv out to work and maybe install Breezy on another junk hardisk I have.

What Frankenstein machines do you have made out of spare parts? What is you best "I got this cheap hardware off ebay" story? Whats the slowest or oldest machine you have put Ubuntu on?

drummer
June 22nd, 2005, 07:55 AM
I have a 500mhz Celeron Gateway from 2000 (64meg ram, 10gig hdd, 90watt psu (WTF?!?)) I'm planning to put Ubuntu Breezy on.. haven't got around to that yet. I installed Hoary on a 350mhz PII (slot one, 96meg ram, 4gig hdd) just for fun and to prove to a friend that it can be done and actually works smoothly with xfce :).

I also have a 200mhz PII (slot one) with similar specs and a 5.6gig Quantum Bigfoot lying in bits that I might try as well.. I also want to try out a raid array on my ancient DPT scsi controller but I don't have the right scsi cables and it doesn't quite fit in my current case (FULL length pci :P)

benplaut
June 22nd, 2005, 09:26 AM
i need a machine like that, to play around with (although i don't really care about dual core)

the slowest one i put ubuntu on was a PII 200MHz with 64mb RAM.

put on IceWM, Dillo, Abiword, and Gaim and had a great system that nobody knew was that old (old corporate thin client form factor)

unfortunately, it wasn't mine...

i need something to experiment on ](*,) ](*,)

allforcarrie
June 22nd, 2005, 09:44 AM
I have a 1gig gateway with 512MB ram that i got for free, it is my linux tinkering box. All of my computers are build out of old crap i find at the recycling center weather it is keyboards, cd drives, hard drives.

poofyhairguy
June 22nd, 2005, 09:49 AM
i need something to experiment on ](*,) ](*,)

Ebay is calling. Or froogle.

benplaut
June 22nd, 2005, 09:53 AM
Ebay is calling. Or froogle.

my parents restrictions on "excessive junk" are calling.

i need to convince one of my friends to buy a new computer, have me build it, and then pay me with their old computer :grin:

sapo
June 22nd, 2005, 12:03 PM
i ve used a 486 machine with coyote linux to share internet connection.. its very usefull :grin:

And i hope someday i ll have a wireless network in my house... to share connection with a notebook.. but i still dont have even the notebook :(

WildTangent
June 22nd, 2005, 12:25 PM
every computer i have is a frankenstein, or started out that way (and kept getting new parts until it was a new computer) in fact, the computer im currently typing on has a computer name: frankenstein :) its a 600 mhz P3 slot 1 (katmai core) with 256 MB of PC133 SDRAM. i have, or should say had a 500mhz slot 1 P3 computer as my test box, but i put the memory, CPU and hard drive from the old 600 mhz box into it. now the other box doesnt work :( (damn Compaq) oh well, im happy with my new frankenstein, it looks better, and has an Asus mobo (these things last...)

-Wild

jdong
June 22nd, 2005, 01:26 PM
Mine aren't frankensteins, but they do have tumors.... Once in a while, I go overboard with upgrades.

The two most recent tumors were in the storage (6x40 IDE RAID5) and RAM (1.5GB) areas ;)

supenguin
June 22nd, 2005, 02:32 PM
Recently, I needed a box to install Ubuntu on. I didn't want to install it on my Mac. Just so happened that this was at the time of the neighborhood garage sale. I picked up a Pentium II 300 for $5. I couldn't get the onboard sound working, so I picked up an SB Live. Well, a SB Live 24 bit, which I got running thanks to the forums. Also, I bought a Nvidia Geforce 4 graphics card so I could run at something higher than 640x480. Grand total for a cool little PC to play with Ubuntu: $65. Oh, and a refurbished 17" CRT monitor I picked up for $40.

Old hardware is cool.

jsimmons
June 22nd, 2005, 02:59 PM
Recently, I needed a box to install Ubuntu on. I didn't want to install it on my Mac. Just so happened that this was at the time of the neighborhood garage sale. I picked up a Pentium II 300 for $5. I couldn't get the onboard sound working, so I picked up an SB Live. Well, a SB Live 24 bit, which I got running thanks to the forums. Also, I bought a Nvidia Geforce 4 graphics card so I could run at something higher than 640x480. Grand total for a cool little PC to play with Ubuntu: $65. Oh, and a refurbished 17" CRT monitor I picked up for $40.

Old hardware is cool.
SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) has issued a n edict that prevents me from retaining old hardware "just in case". If you had asked this question a couple of years ago, I would have been able to safely underestimate that I could build at least 12 machines with the spare parts I had. I even had a few old 5-inch hard drives and floppy drives that still wored on the 8086 motherboards that went with them, an Apple IIe, an old Kaypro, a Timex Sinclair, and an Atari 400. Every one of them worked, too. Sold or donated almost all of it. :)

supenguin
June 22nd, 2005, 04:47 PM
jsimmons

That sounds like quite the collection. At one point I had seven computers, including a 100 mhz Alpha I purchased off ebay. It was running NetBSD as that was the only thing I could manage to get installed on it.

I realized I was using hardly any of it, so I ended up donating or selling everything except for one desktop, one laptop, and spare parts that made sense (1 keyboard, one mouse, one CD-ROM drive)

It didn't take long for me to realize I really missed having one computer to just mess with whatever I felt like messing with.

somuchfortheafter
June 22nd, 2005, 05:04 PM
normally i rebuild old machines in recycle machines from their previous owners and then ship them out to people who cant afford pc's... usually with ubuntu + xfce :)

hw-tph
June 22nd, 2005, 05:06 PM
I too am a hardware chipmunk. I somehow end up getting old computers, often as a "thanks" for helping others with computer and networking stuff. My main machine is a pretty current but absolutely huge laptop (HP nx9105, a.k.a. Compaq R3000z) but I have tons of hardware lying around my house and others' houses as well. I have a thing for laptops. I love them and I can't help it.

My current projects include revitalizing an IBM Thinkpad (600E 400Mhz model with DVD but only 64MB RAM) which has had some sort of BIOS failure, and a Compaq Armada 7400 with a broken screen.

My newest pet place to prowl for surplus hardware is the hardware trash room in the basement of the local governmental roads and infrastructure office. My band has a studio next to this room and we have they keys to it. It is amazing what kind of hardware governent agencies throw away - complete P2 systems including working 17 inch monitors, walkie talkies and other stuff that's neat to me but trash to others.

I can provide everyone I know with a working usable desktop with a 400MHz or so P2 CPU and 128 to 256MB of RAM. This might be the best way to promote Linux - show them that computing can be completely free! :)

At home I have another old half-dead laptop running as a "server" in my closet. It accepts SSH and http only, and it serves pages well with its 128MB RAM and 300MHz of pure computing power. :)


Håkan

allforcarrie
June 22nd, 2005, 05:17 PM
:):):):)http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=224113#post224113 (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=224113#post224113)
This thread gave me luck today..

az
June 22nd, 2005, 05:45 PM
Last night I won a 64 meg DDR nvidia graphics card on ebay for dirt! It was advertised as pci. The seller advised me it was agp. The sale was cancelled!

DENIED!

Also, My wife stacked a whole bunch of my hardware together so that it would look neat. She has no concept of anti-static protection!

"We have to get rid of your boxes" she said...

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to a soldering iron i just bought....

(I'm gonna need it...)

phen
June 22nd, 2005, 07:47 PM
who do you donate the pcs? i think i could manage to build 2 working boxes out of my old stuff. But i dont need them at all... The idea off giving them away to ppl in need(?) sounds good to me. i would install ubuntu of course!

poofyhairguy
June 23rd, 2005, 12:38 AM
who do you donate the pcs? i think i could manage to build 2 working boxes out of my old stuff. But i dont need them at all... The idea off giving them away to ppl in need(?) sounds good to me. i would install ubuntu of course!

I built an Ubuntu box a few months ago and gave it to a friend who graduated from college and needed a computer, That is one way to spread linux.

poofyhairguy
June 23rd, 2005, 12:47 AM
Small update on my box:

Today I got in the mail two parts I really needed- a case and the extra CPU. The CPU worked great, and had a MUCH better heatsink on it that my old CPU I matched it to. Soon I will download the SMP kernel and try out dual cpu computing for the first time in my life.

The case was a casecom case I bought of the internet:

http://www.casecom.com.tw/case.htm#

I got the 918. It cost me $22 dollars to buy and ten to ship (so it was about the same price as the CPU). It is a VERY cheap case, and two parts of it were broken when I got it. It is all aluminum and things don't fit that well- I had to pretty much force the parts in there, something I would never do with newer stuff. For what I'm doing (trying to build the absolute cheapest dual CPU PC I can) it worked because now it looks more expensive than it was, but I would not recommend there cases to anyone. For the price, especially if you need a power suppy (it did not come with one) its just not worth it. At least it doesn't rattle.

So the project is done from a building standpoint. The only other thing I might add in the near future is a USB 2 card.

From a software standpoint the fun has just begun. I want to make the thing display out to TV (so I can play things in Xine of Mplayer and have it be shown on the TV). I bet I'll reinstall Ubuntu three times before I get that right. And I need to find a way to get it to network to my Ubuntu desktop (I guess thats that Samba thng I've heard a lot about). Then when I'm done with that I'll throw in the 8 gig hard disk I have sitting around and I'll dual boot breezy on there. Its going to be a fun week. Anyone have a links that would help?

EDIT: I got the tv out to work. I love the howto section!

Lovechild
June 23rd, 2005, 12:48 AM
Last night I won a 64 meg DDR nvidia graphics card on ebay for dirt! It was advertised as pci. The seller advised me it was agp. The sale was cancelled!

DENIED!

Also, My wife stacked a whole bunch of my hardware together so that it would look neat. She has no concept of anti-static protection!

"We have to get rid of your boxes" she said...

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to a soldering iron i just bought....

(I'm gonna need it...)

It's called a divorce, and can save your life/sanity.

az
June 23rd, 2005, 01:01 AM
It's called a divorce, and can save your life/sanity.

But she's better than Ubuntu! Anyway, it's fun to solder back the bits she knocked off while cleaning ("my corner")...

supenguin
June 23rd, 2005, 02:45 PM
It's called a divorce, and can save your life/sanity.

Here's the solution my wife and I came up with. She's a graphic designer/artist and had her art stuff here and there all over the house. I had a bunch of computer stuff. We designated a room "her room" and another room "my room". When we're cleaning, any of her stuff goes in her room, any of my stuff goes in my room. Other than that we don't mess with each other's stuff. That solved a ton of problems.

We had also got into high level discussions about me spending too much on computer stuff, and her spending too much on stuff for the house. Solution to that: a budget. Actually, more like we each get an allowance to spend on whatever we want. No questions asked. She can use her money on paint or whatever, and I can use mine for that 17 inch monitor I bought. That has worked out great so far.

N'Jal
June 23rd, 2005, 02:56 PM
Ok i bet i can beat most stories, since all the parts were free :D, everything seems to work apart from the graphics card, gnome don't support it. I even went as far as trying to install gentoo so i could compile the card in but alas after an all day install gentoo didn't recognize the card. So this PC once we get another free card will be running hoary.

CPU, PII Im sure
RAM: At least 300 MB SD though
Hard drive: 2 X 8GB
Video card: Something known as an S3, but that wont be there for long
DVD-ROM
300W PSU

So it's not a bad little PC considering it's totally free to build, the plan is to install Ubuntu and then sell the desktop with a free copy of hoary on CD (since we can't charge for ubuntu). Selby will soon have a spurt of Linux desktops for sale.

jdong
June 23rd, 2005, 03:25 PM
(since we can't charge for ubuntu)

Says who? ;)

If you take the time to bring it up-to-date, do some tweaks, etc etc etc, I think that deserves at least an extra $20 worth of value for the OS.

WildTangent
June 23rd, 2005, 04:44 PM
Video card: Something known as an S3, but that wont be there for long
i have one of those from my first computer (1997) and it still works great. i still use it to this day in my windows computer for my third monitor. i aquired a similar one (same manufacturer, different model) from around the same time period, it works great as well, ive tested both of them with Ubuntu, and a couple other distros so i dont see how gnome doesnt support it

-Wild

aragorn2909
June 23rd, 2005, 04:47 PM
A buddy of mine needed something after his seperation, so I threw together an old amd k/6 500, 128 ram, 5 gb hd. (K)Ubuntu up and running (sort of) nicely. But seriously, it serves its purpose

N'Jal
June 23rd, 2005, 06:01 PM
Um can you help me with that graphics card then?

It's an S3 Vision 968 PCI card, there is an AGP slot but i belive i have diabled it. Might have to check that then, if you can help me PM me please.

AgenT
June 23rd, 2005, 07:23 PM
Um can you help me with that graphics card then?

It's an S3 Vision 968 PCI card, there is an AGP slot but i belive i have diabled it. Might have to check that then, if you can help me PM me please.

Just so you know, the key to getting it to work is not GNOME, but instead you have to make sure that:
1) the hardware itself works (it's not broken)
2) it's okay with the kernel (kernel modules, etc.)
3) x.org is configured properly to use it

GNOME (and other DE's) have nothing to say about what card you use (although they do provide some configuration utilities that edit X config files). If xorg will work, GNOME will too since it uses your X system (xorg).

And just so you know, searching google came up with confirmation that your card works. Also, "S3 Vision 968" is the chip, not the card. Maybe your card is a "Diamond Stealth"?

Some quick searching around brought up these links. Check them out as they may be helpful:
Link1 (http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-259202-highlight-s3+vision+968.html)
Link2 (http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.windows.x.i386unix/browse_thread/thread/3bafbaf2bf31313f/a82579d657df98a4?q=%22S3+Vision+968%22+linux&rnum=2&hl=en#a82579d657df98a4)
Link3 (http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=%22S3%20Vision%20968%22%20linux&num=100&hl=en&hs=BOV&lr=&safe=off&client=firefox&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&sa=N&tab=wg)

Although to tell you the truth, you are more or less wasting your time trying to get it working. You are better off just researching what video cards work with Linux and buying one (used or otherwise). Look for older ones. There are plenty of places that sell cards from $10-30 that work great. If you want a NVIDIA, buy an old GeForce2 or 3 (works great!). GF2 goes for about $10. Same goes for sound cards. Try eBay.

az
June 23rd, 2005, 07:43 PM
Um can you help me with that graphics card then?

It's an S3 Vision 968 PCI card, there is an AGP slot but i belive i have diabled it. Might have to check that then, if you can help me PM me please.


I have two of those, and I just help another guy in another thread about the S3

On low-end cards with little memory, you must use a low color depth.

sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

and set the color depth to 15-bit. They cannot handle more than that, but ubuntu does not know that...

WildTangent
June 23rd, 2005, 08:43 PM
cant help you mate, both mine are PCI, like i said, theyre old (circa 1996-97)

-Wild

poofyhairguy
June 23rd, 2005, 10:03 PM
A buddy of mine needed something after his seperation, so I threw together an old amd k/6 500, 128 ram, 5 gb hd. (K)Ubuntu up and running (sort of) nicely. But seriously, it serves its purpose

I personally believe this is the best way to spread linux.

benplaut
June 24th, 2005, 01:00 AM
still trying to work up something that can be installed via floppy drive to my ThinkPad 701C

8mb RAM
75MHz Pentium 486
640x480 TFT screen

but it's the collectors edition butterfly model! i can't just let it go to waste!

but it runs Win 95 just fine \\:D/

az
June 24th, 2005, 02:08 AM
If not debian Woody, try Potato.

jdong
June 24th, 2005, 02:35 AM
http://distrowatch.com/search.php?category=Old+computers&origin=All&basedon=All&desktop=All&architecture=All&status=Active

DeLi Linux works on my old laptop quite well... Same specs as yours but less RAM.

don't expect to do too much on it... it uses an ancient libc and X.

poofyhairguy
June 24th, 2005, 03:07 AM
don't expect to do too much on it... it uses an ancient libc and X.

gtk 1, Linux 2.2.

Ennead
June 24th, 2005, 03:55 AM
Most of you have me beat. I've got an AMD K6 550MHz with a whopping 256k of RAM. Just loaded Ubuntu on it this week and am working on a few glitches, one of them being my ISA network card (any points for that?).

I've always been a firm believer in patching together my computer systems. It's very rewarding between meltdowns.

My thanks to all who posted. This has been a fun read. \\:D/

clarke.rainey
June 24th, 2005, 03:56 AM
Well I just got a new Sager 9880 so my "old" desktop is what I am going to use for my beater machine...

AMD 64 3200

1GB DDR

80GB HD
80GB HD
120GB HD
250GB HD
250GB HD

Nvidia 6600 GT

Asus K8V - Deluxe

After I move the files I really want to use often to a portable HD I am going to unplug the other HD's and then try out breazy on the main...

If I somehow want to help test breazy is there anything special I need to do?..

aragorn2909
June 24th, 2005, 05:27 AM
I personally believe this is the best way to spread linux.

Thanks poofyhairguy! Personally, and I don't think I'm alone here, but I've got a second room pretty much dedicated to second/third hand hardware that has come to me for either little or no cost. Do I really need to hang on to those 3 AT cases/power supplies? How about that old super 7 mobo? The 8 meg pci video card? There are lots of people out there that for whatever reason dont have the means to purchase a computer, let alone a $250 os, so I don't mind helping out. Humm? Does this make me a philanthropist?

tkiesel
June 24th, 2005, 06:20 AM
My wife and I upgrade our computers piece by piece, saving the upgrade victims/castoffs. When we've acumulated enough pieces to build a new machine, we do so, and give it to someone we know in need. A few weeks ago, we were able to do just that, and our friend M received a nice used parts computer with decent graphics and sound, and Ubuntu installed, ready and tweaked for his needs.

It felt good, and after some discussions with him since, he's taking to the new (to him) OS quite nicely! Awesome!

TravisNewman
June 24th, 2005, 06:26 AM
"The 8 meg pci video card?"

Heh, I've been looking for one of those for a while now (for dual monitors, so it doesn't need to be fantastic).

aragorn2909
June 24th, 2005, 06:44 AM
"The 8 meg pci video card?"

Heh, I've been looking for one of those for a while now (for dual monitors, so it doesn't need to be fantastic).

Just did a quick inventory of the Wife's stacking job (same disease as azz' Wife), and it turns out it was a 4 meg, not an 8 meg. Diamond Monster 3dfx, circa 1997. :)

poofyhairguy
June 24th, 2005, 07:02 AM
Just did a quick inventory of the Wife's stacking job (same disease as azz' Wife), and it turns out it was a 4 meg, not an 8 meg. Diamond Monster 3dfx, circa 1997. :)

A pass through card!

Before 3D and 2D were on one card. I remember that ....

aragorn2909
June 24th, 2005, 07:28 AM
A pass through card!

Before 3D and 2D were on one card. I remember that ....

Cutting edge stuff, young man, along with my 486/dx, 16 meg ram, and a whopping 1 gb seagate hd! (the Seagate I might add runs to this day)

az
June 24th, 2005, 01:06 PM
Most of you have me beat. I've got an AMD K6 550MHz with a whopping 256k of RAM. Just loaded Ubuntu on it this week and am working on a few glitches, one of them being my ISA network card (any points for that?).

I've always been a firm believer in patching together my computer systems. It's very rewarding between meltdowns.

My thanks to all who posted. This has been a fun read. \\:D/


Is it an etherlink III? If so, you need to load the 3c509 module by hand.... I think I have seem more etherlink III cards than any other network card!


"8 meg video card"

I was just at a used-stuff store and they had a pile of them for 10 bucks each. Some were 16-meg dual-head for twenty.

Canadian dollars, no tax.

TravisNewman
June 24th, 2005, 02:00 PM
Those old seagate hard drives never ever die.

champ_rock
June 24th, 2005, 02:44 PM
i dont think this is the place for this question but still
i have got a crap 4 gb hdd to which i want to install linux... but prob arises here it has got a box full of bad sectors ....is there a way i can mark these out and continue smoothly

poofyhairguy
June 24th, 2005, 07:45 PM
i dont think this is the place for this question but still
i have got a crap 4 gb hdd to which i want to install linux... but prob arises here it has got a box full of bad sectors ....is there a way i can mark these out and continue smoothly


Not really. If its 4 gigs it might be too slow to be usable. Plus....that will be pushing the space limit- I like at least 5 gigs in my root partition.

TravisNewman
June 24th, 2005, 07:58 PM
I don't know why I hadn't mentioned this before:

Goodwill. Especially in a college town. I recently bought 2 perfect 17 inch monitors (with the exception of one has a cracked base, but still works) for 4 bucks each.

Also a really good place to find collectors items for some people. Mac Quadra, Commodore, etc, will often find a home on the bottom shelf of the technology section of a goodwill.

WildTangent
June 25th, 2005, 08:15 AM
I don't know why I hadn't mentioned this before:

Goodwill. Especially in a college town. I recently bought 2 perfect 17 inch monitors (with the exception of one has a cracked base, but still works) for 4 bucks each.

Also a really good place to find collectors items for some people. Mac Quadra, Commodore, etc, will often find a home on the bottom shelf of the technology section of a goodwill.
good idea...theres a goodwill not too far from here, i should check it out

-Wild

daigorobr
July 22nd, 2005, 01:55 PM
I am, right now, installing Ubuntu in a K6-266 with 64 megs RAM and the crapiest video board in the world (don't ask).
It's gonna be an "internet kiosk" for me and my wife just so the "big computer" stays free for who really needs it at some time.
It was assembled from thousands of spare parts found at my parents' home.

poofyhairguy
July 22nd, 2005, 05:33 PM
I am, right now, installing Ubuntu in a K6-266 with 64 megs RAM and the crapiest video board in the world (don't ask).
It's gonna be an "internet kiosk" for me and my wife just so the "big computer" stays free for who really needs it at some time.
It was assembled from thousands of spare parts found at my parents' home.

Sounds like the most that can be is a dumb terminal

AgenT
July 22nd, 2005, 07:16 PM
What do you mean by "internet kiosk"? Just a web browser? If that is so, then you should be able to do it. You don't even need to have a desktop installed, just install minimum (server install) and then add xorg. That's it, because xorg comes with it's own low-end windows manager (at least xfree did). Make xorg launch Firefox and you are done. Also, make it auto boot into xorg (no login). There are even special kiosk extensions for Firefox!

daigorobr
July 23rd, 2005, 04:24 AM
In fact, it works even better than I thought.
It runs Firefox and Gaim flawlessly, as it runs OOo with minor speed issues.
Nothing worse or better than a Win95 machine.

I also got to play Freecell (and won!) and am apt-getting via Synaptic.

BTW, Ubuntu was clean-installed (with "server" option) and the only WM I could use was XFCE4 (because of the old Cyrix PCI graphics adapter, that refuses to go beyond 8 bits of color - and that messed all other "lightweighted" WMs).

Way, WAY better than I expected.

az
July 23rd, 2005, 04:42 AM
What do you mean by "internet kiosk"? Just a web browser? If that is so, then you should be able to do it. You don't even need to have a desktop installed, just install minimum (server install) and then add xorg. That's it, because xorg comes with it's own low-end windows manager (at least xfree did). Make xorg launch Firefox and you are done. Also, make it auto boot into xorg (no login). There are even special kiosk extensions for Firefox!


I think he means something like start X and ssh into the MotherBox and run the apps there. The cpu is used on the mother box and the window is displayed on you screen. Thin client computing.

I do that with my 167 MhZ pentium laptop through wireless from upstairs when I rock my toddler to sleep.

matchstich
April 6th, 2008, 02:38 AM
still trying to work up something that can be installed via floppy drive to my ThinkPad 701C

8mb RAM
75MHz Pentium 486
640x480 TFT screen

but it's the collectors edition butterfly model! i can't just let it go to waste!

but it runs Win 95 just fine \\:D/

i just got one of these .

Tundro Walker
April 6th, 2008, 08:19 AM
p2 400mhz
+ Ubuntu live cd
+ USB flash stick
+ USB wireless adapter
==============
Spunky little Folding@Home client

Kit-bashed her together with spare parts laying around my parents place. Didn't have an HD, and BIOS wouldn't boot from USB, so I tossed in a Gutsy live cd just to boot and make sure everything worked ok. I was surprised at how responsive it was after booting, so I didn't bother with an HD or installing the OS. I just took it home, plugged in a spare flash stick & wireless adapter I had sitting around, d/l'ed the folding client and cranked it up. I took all of 10 seconds to switch off some non-critical stuff to free up CPU & RAM, but other than that, I just let it loose to grind on small projects. It completes one every 2-3 days now. Since I stored the folding program on the flash stick, if the power goes out (like it did during a rain-storm a few nights ago) the work isn't lost. I just reboot, and crank up the program again. Pretty simple. But, it's a bit of a heat generator, even with a decent fan.

SIDE NOTE: You can hop on www.CraigsList.com (http://ubuntuforums.org/www.CraigsList.com) and find all kinds of deals on computer stuff in your local area. You have to sift through the listings a bit, because some folks have an over-inflated sense of worth for their junk. But, you can find some really sweet deals on there, too. Make sure you check the "free stuff" section, too, because there will occasionally be someone just giving away computer stuff (normally CRT monitors, since most folks don't want them, but I've seen ads giving away routers, PCI expansions, cases, mobo's w/o cpu's, etc). There was an ad about 2 months ago where I live from someone who was basically selling 6 old p2's (monitor, keyboards, etc ... everything that goes with them) for $50 total ... that's $50 for all of it, not per machine!

Probably one of the guys on here who's wife didn't appreciate him collecting "junk". :)

SIDE SIDE NOTE: I remember when my mom brought home an 80286 VGA from work so she could "telecommute" some (which basically meant she could bring her work home with her...ugh). I ended up cutting class a few times to play Ultima 6 on it in the afternoons, because it ran super-fast and looked great compared to the main XT CGA family computer we had. It would take 30 minutes to have a combat session on that old XT before we installed a hard drive on it. After the hard drive showed up, it would take 15 minutes, just because the comp was still struggling. Then I screwed around with the 286 one day when my mom wasn't home, and combat in U6 was flying. I later went on to sneak in play sessions of shareware Wolfenstein 3D on that comp, too. Ah...good times...