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Here’s What you can do with Old Computers

You may have an old computer laying around the house or collecting dust somewhere in storage. You might think that it can’t be used anymore because it’s slow and old. Well old computers can still be used for other stuff. As an example, I’ve turned a HP all in one from 2010 into a web server, this website you’re viewing this blog on is being hosted on it.

So here’s a list of things you can do:
– Try Linux
– Server (Web, NAS, Plex)
– Old-school gaming
– Chromebook
– Spare parts
– Practice PC building
– Sell it
– Give away

Try Linux

Why should you try Linux? Installing and using Linux on your system is the easiest way to avoid viruses and malware. The security aspect was kept in mind when developing Linux and it is much less vulnerable to viruses compared to Windows. The Linux system is very stable and is not prone to crashes. Performance will also be an improvement because Linux doesn’t have as much background task as Windows does. Linux is completely free and users do not need to pay for anything. All the basic software required by a typical user and even an advanced user are available.

Now, Linux by itself is not really an operating system, it’s basically a kernel that operating systems can be built on top of. In fact, a lot of operating systems are actually built on top of Linux like Android and ChromeOS. But we aren’t talking about Android and such, we’re talking about desktop operating systems. There’s a whole variety of them that are built on Linux, so many to choose from. I’ll tell the most recommended ones along with the popular choices among the Linux community.

Now, operating system that are Linux are called distros.

Linux isn’t like Windows or macOS. Microsoft combines all the bits of Windows internally to produce each new release of Windows and distributes it as a single package. If you want Windows, you’ll need to choose one of the versions Microsoft is offering. Linux works differently. The Linux operating system isn’t produced by a single organization. Different organizations and people work on different parts.

Picking a Distro

Let’s start with the basics, I’ll show a few distro that are Ubuntu based. Ubuntu is a distribution based on Debian, designed to have regular releases, a consistent user experience and commercial support on both desktops and servers. So, here are three distros that are based on Ubuntu:

Zorin OS

Zorin OS Promo

Zorin OS has one ultimate goal in mind of providing a Linux alternative to Windows users. Zorin OS is also a very good Linux distribution for people who are new to Linux. Zorin OS is fast, powerful, secure.

Zorin OS Lite

For old, very old computers, the team behind the OS also offers a lite version. The difference is mostly the desktop from the looks of it. Instead of using the GNOME desktop, Zorin OS Lite seems to use the XFCE, which is more lightweight and easy for an old graphics card.



Elementary

Screenshot from my desktop

elementary OS is something I use personally as my daily driver for my primary machine. I’m using it now to write this blog.

elementary OS, as mentioned on the website, is the fast, open, and privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS. From my point of view, it’s a great replacement for macOS that is because of it’s look. If you’re a geek of customization, this isn’t the way to go, I feel like the Elementary team went a bit too far in being  restrictive with the OS but at the same time, limiting things is  something Apple has turned into a successful experience and given that Elementary seems to take inspiration from Apple; perhaps it’s not a bad thing. But I do like the restriction for myself personally, as I waste too much time in customization on other distros.

I’ve used this distro on very old machines, so I can confirm it will run on old computers as old as from the year 2004.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint - Wikipedia

Linux mint is an amazing operating system which has helped developers alot to make their work easy. It provides almost every app for free which is not available in other OS and also their installation is also very easy using terminal.

It has a user friendly interface which makes it more interesting to use.

Running a Server

Running a server at home is easy, there are many reasons to why you may want to run one.

Web Server
For those we already rely on other host or a VPS to run a web server, self-hosting is a good idea. Running your own server gives you more control on how things run and you’re able to do much more.
Before creating a web server, I recommend that your internet’s upload speed should at least be over 10MBPS, you can test your internet speed here.
As mentioned above this section, you can try Linux, which is the best operating system to run a web server on. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of Linux, I’ll show you how to host a server using Windows and macOS as well.

Running a Web Server on Linux
Linux is the best operating system for hosting a web server. There are many distos you can use, I recommend either Ubuntu or Fedora.
The server software we will use on Linux is Nginx, to install it, open the terminal and run:

sudo apt install nginx

or if you’re on Fedora

sudo dnf install nginx

After running this command, we need to port forward your server in your home router. Commonly, the login for your router is at http://192.168.1.1/ or http://192.168.0.1/, if not look at the back of your router as it should provide login information.
Your username and password should be printed on the back of your router.
After logging in, look for port fowarding settings. You’re gonna want to s

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