Don’t throw it away! or 10 best ways to use an old computer
Table of Contents
Turn computer into a TV tuner
Many modern TV tuners, such as the Hauppauge WinTV GO-Plus, only require a 100 MHz CPU to play the TV signal in real time. But, in order for you to record a video stream, you need a more powerful processor – about 700 MHz.
But you can save your favorite programs in DVD quality, and you can use scheduled recording. All tuners are provided with the software necessary for recording.
Watching live TV on your laptop or PC is completely legal, providing you have a TV licence if you’re in the UK.
Most likely you want to watch TV programs not on your old monitor, but on your TV, then take a look at the ShowShifter tuners (priced at about £ 30) and SageTV (about 40) – they are designed so that they can reproduce the signal on a TV …
The quickest way to watch the core five channels is to open a web browser and type in www.tvcatchup.com and then click on the channel you want to watch.
Sell computer
Old computers quickly lose their value, so if you have something to sell, you shouldn’t delay. If you have a rare piece of computer innards, you can put it up for an online auction (for example, eBay). There is a chance to help out for old equipment even more than it really is.
Give a computer
Why not give this PC to your beloved great aunt? It doesn’t matter that it can’t play high-definition video, but it can handle web browsing, displaying digital photos and running office applications. For a beginner, this is exactly what is needed to delve into the intricacies of modern technology.
Recycle your computer
According to research organizations, the manufacturer uses 240 kilograms of fossil fuels, 22 kilograms of chemicals and 1,500 liters of water to make one monitor! 1.8 million tons of e-waste is released into the environment every year.
To help protect the environment in some way, take your old PC to your nearest electronics recycling center.
For example, there is an organization for the recycling of computers in the UK https://www.greenitdisposal.co.uk
There is a Best Buy computer recycling organization in the USA.
Make your computer a music center
Even the old processor is capable of playing digital music in WMA or MP3 format. And even a small hard disk will fit a lot of music tracks. If you add powerful speakers to this, then you get a real music center. And if you are using an ancient laptop, then this is generally great. By the way, you can make music play with one press of the power button. To do this, set Windows Media Player (WMP) to autoplay, create a new playlist with all the songs on your PC, then set WMP to random play mode.
Donate a computer
We live in the 21st century, but there are still millions of children who have never seen a computer. Donate your old PC to any school, although, in principle, it doesn’t matter where, the main thing is that it can be used later. There are even special organizations that accept old computers for charity.
Use it as a game server
If you like to play multiplayer games with friends, then it is preferable to use your own server, this will eliminate connection delays and evil moderators.
Use it as a test machine
If you often encounter a virus threat, then use an old PC as a testing machine. It can be used as a tool for downloading email attachments and programs from the Internet. You can install various programs on your old computer, so it will be possible to evaluate the benefits of them before installing them on the main PC and to avoid littering the system.