Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

If you’re like me, you probably have an old PC (or two) laying around.  It’s a box you think you’ll do something with.  Maybe you’ll take the plunge and put that PC in a new case like a toaster or something.  Perhaps you are unsatisfied by using that large tower as a side table.  Here’s a round up of 5 things you can do with an old PC.

1. Internet/Network video on your TV

If you’ve got a PC that is only a couple of years old, then there’s a good chance you could hook that PC to your television.  Grab a copy of Boxee for Linux or Mac OS now or try to get into the Windows alpha.

You’ll have a ten foot interface for Internet video in no time.  Also, just because Hulu’s bosses have ripped Hulu away from Boxee, you can always just watch the videos via a regular browser.  Hulu has made it difficult to watch content on your TV, but not impossible. 

If you’ve already got videos, music, or pictures on your network, XBMC is a nice alternative to Boxee.  XBMC Media Center is an application you could pick up for free for any OS.

Links: [Boxee] and [XBMC]

2. In-house Media Server

This might be one of the easiest and most useful thing you can do with an old PC.  Odds are you’ve got a couple of DVDs sitting around.  Why not create back ups that you can watch and access from any machine on your network?  If you’re going to do this, definitely hardwire this computer to your network.

Grab a copy of Handbrake and rip your DVDs.  If you’re somewhat impatient, you can just rip the media on your faster machine and then transfer the files over the network to your server.  I’m suggesting Handbrake over other DVD-ripping tools because it makes a more portable version of the video file that you can take with you on your laptop or phone.

Link: [Handbrake]

3. Emulator central

The hardware on the original video game consoles pales in comparison to modern computers.  You should be able to run lots of systems easily even on older machines.  NES, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and lots of MAME games should work well.  Grab a live CD and play some Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!

4. OS surfing

Windows XP is good and pretty stable.  Change is good.  Why not try some other operating systems?  Try out any number of Linux distributions.  If your computer was built in the last few years, most Linux distros will be able to handle your hardware with few problems.  Maybe if you build that server, you could just use something like FreeNAS and just make that old PC a big network storage device. 

5. Take it apart

If you’ve never messed with your computer’s guts, why not try it with a machine you don’t care about?  For the most part, these skills transfer to newer computers.  Ports may change, but the gist is the same.  Take out a hard drive, a PCI card, and maybe some RAM.  You’ll find it’s a lot easier to take a part a desktop than you originally thought.