1. Audio recoder with indexing

2. Put a Windows/DOS emualator on them, for those times you need Windows. Or make them an Apple II emulator, or Linux system. Amiga emulators should also run on them

3. MP3 storage

4. Fax/Phone answering machine. You can also use it to Fax a list of your resumes for business ads.

5. Network a couple and play games

6. You can turn them into dedicated home controllers or home security systems fairly easily. With better control and monitoring than more expensive systems. (or just leave the talking moose running, people will think a person is home )

7. Put a big hard drive in them and use them for back up (nice, in that you can always check or alter your back up files).

8. There is likely an electronic hobbyist you know/teenager who would love such a computer for a number of computer projects. Check your local college, tech school.

9. With a shortware set, you can turn them into a radio teletype news reader. Or use it as an audio recoder for radio shows. Or view weather satellite signals that have been downlinked to shortware frequencies.

10. A lot of old programs allow you to turn such computers into anything from sound analysers/sound processors to weather stations ( think they may be one out there to turn a computer into an automoble test device. Check around.

A few more

Home Automation Server (www.x10.com)
Digital Video/ Audio Editing System (A/V)(Premiere/Avid, Sound Edit 16)
Email, Web, Word Processing Machine
"CD Burning Station" via ethernet (SCSI Burner)
Super Nintendo Game Console (SNE9x and A/V Card)
Digitally Record TV programs (A/V Card)
An addition to your stereo system, MP3 Player via Audio out
BeOS (older version) should run
Linux Should run
Amiga OS should run
SETI, other distributed processing

quote:

---

An addition to your stereo system, MP3 Player via Audio out
BeOS (older version) should run
Amiga OS should run
SETI, other distributed processing

---

FireWire is fast
General, 4 star
68k Macintosh Liberation Army

There was also alot of software/experiementers programs made for the 68k Macs. You could use them for everything from heart monitors to home security systems.

They're also fine for most programming languages: BASIC, PASCAL, etc, if you know them, you can make the computer do a number of tasks.

but i do like the x10 idea.
and i did buy my LC mainly for gaming reasons....

Anyway, one of the pages for the site I'm gonna compile is "Uses for old macs. (Unless someone wants to do it first?)

If anyone can get ahold of an old Mac magazines, electronics magazines, etc, there should be many ideas (by the way, I remember Popular Electronics had an article on how to convert a Mac SE/Classic for use with a regular sized monitor).

A few more ideas:

1. Retirement homes can use them - the Mac OS is easy to learn, and 68K Macs work fine for writing letters or sending email.

2. Just as a second computer for the kids, or for another room where you might use the computer to check email, etc.

3. You can use them to store periodic images from a web camera. You could use them to watch an area for security, look for UFOs, or whatever.

4. This is kinda funny, but it works, I have seen people who don't have laptops take their Mac Classic/SE to the library with them for taking notes. You could easily take one on car trips to check email, write papers, ect. Of course a 68k laptop is good for this also, when you don't want to risk losing your new Titanium one.

5. Set up the MacinTalk to repeat phrases to train a parakeet :>)

6. Use it as a sound recorder, for meetings, phone calls, ect. The existing file system would allow easy indexing of sounds - sure beats looking though a cassette tape for the information.

7. If you have an extra phone line, you can use them for uploading/downloading big files, while you use your other computer to surf the web or whatever.

quote:

---

5. Set up the MacinTalk to repeat phrases to train a parakeet :>)

---

Edited by - sosumi on 20 Nov 2001 23:00:56

quote:

---

Anyway, one of the pages for the site I'm gonna compile is "Uses for old macs. (Unless someone wants to do it first?)

~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
68k Macintosh Liberation Army (now with forums!)
00013 Macs liberated.

---

{ candyPunk }
{ 68k MLA }
{ Macs liberated: 6 }
{ My baby: Q660av }

I will break the list into catagories:

o Home/business uses

o For the electronics/sofware experimenter

o Comunity Service

quote:

---

Nice sig! ^

Anyway, one of the pages for the site I'm gonna compile is "Uses for old macs. (Unless someone wants to do it first?)

~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
68k Macintosh Liberation Army (now with forums!)
00013 Macs liberated.

---

::::..:....:::.::.:..::.:....:.......
Please! no more weasels! I'm full...

For creating custom GUI interfaces for control systems, and controlling devices via the modem and printer (serial) ports, take a look at TRAX. http://www.dataton.com/

vCool

I am checking the web for interesting old Mac programs. If anyone can help, that would be cool. And if anyone has a good library nearby, how about looking through Mac magazines of the late 80s. I know there were alot of things Anyone have any contacts with MacAddict? Do they go back to the late 80s?

jeremy

"If we go down the shitter the whole ecosystem goes down the shitter."

Steve Jobs

My AOL, AIM Sceen name is got 007s milk

Here is a neat idea, with a comput of hours of work, you could have a home controller, monitor, or whatever for the cost of wiring, and a few switches.

Learn a little BASIC (doesn't take long, and BASIC programs for the MAC can be found easily. Then get an old keyboard, take it apart, and wire switches across the keys - now the computer can tie each switch into a character that BASIC can ideentify. Then with a little wiring you can monitor your house (remember each key on your keyboard can become an individual on/off switch). Everything from how long the furnance/AC was running, to how many times the doors were opened (keep an eye on your kids) can be monitored.

I never though of using the keyboard as the interface device. The only draw back it to access the computer, your have to switch keyboards - but once your get it going, you shouldn't have to do anything else.

BUT, no 68k Mac I know of can recognize speech, and my reqquirement is that I can control all the lights and devices with voice commands and AppleScript.

that Keyboard modification idea tho... how would you wire SWITCHES to it? if you flipped it on, you'd send LOTS of commands quickly, because of keyrepeat. Maybe I missed something.

~Marchie

~Chaplain Marchie
68k Macintosh Liberation Army

They are just that simple...

The Shift, Option, Command, and Control keys all work a little different from the others... if you look at the wireing, you see that they are wired to a differet part of the keyboards CPU than the rest of the keys are.

~Marchie

~Chaplain Marchie
68k Macintosh Liberation Army

jeremy

"If we go down the shitter the whole ecosystem goes down the shitter."

-Steve Jobs

My AOL, AIM Sceen name is got 007s milk

What to do with old macs? Acquire them.

quote:

---

...

4. This is kinda funny, but it works, I have seen people who don't have laptops take their Mac Classic/SE to the library with them for taking notes...

---

Macs Liberated: 3
Apple ][s liberated: 1

quote:

---

I use my 512K as a portable - just to take it somewhere quiet and type things up.

---

FireWire is fast
General, 4 star
Forum moderator
68k Macintosh Liberation Army

I have no idea why I can type well on the 512k. Maybe it's because I started typing reports up on one way back when. I think it's because there are no distractions when I'd go type on it.

68k Macintosh Liberation Army Forums

© 2001-2003 68kMLA