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Bringing your old computer back to life By Paz Vaysman The days in which computers were said to have a lifespan of two to three years have passed. Today, computers that have attained venerable old age can still function well and provide most of the basic needs of the average home user. Even if your old computer is a Pentium 2002, you can find many things to do with it, even without upgrading the memory. TheMarker investigated what can be done with your old computer, aside from storing it in the attic, and came up with the following answers. Advertisement Shareware software such as eMule or BitTorrent often has a queue for downloading. Sometimes the waiting time for a certain file can be hours or even days. Thus your old computer can be used for shareware: It can be left on round the clock without delaying other important tasks. At the end of the downloading, you can of course scan the files or transfer them from the old computer to the new one with a mobile memory device. The computer can be connected to the television and stereo and used as a media center. That enables you to see the films you have downloaded on a large screen and listen to digital music files. It is important to remember that playing video and music files requires a relatively strong computer, but a three-to four-year-old computer should be up to the task. In any case, if you plan to turn your old computer into a media center, we recommend purchasing a wireless keyboard and mouse for it. The old computer can be used as a teaching and play device for the children. For example, the computer can be used for learning piano: All you have to do is connect a special keyboard that simulates piano keys. If you are parents of children aged two to five, you can purchase Comfy keyboards. These are special keyboards for young children that come with games and teaching software that are adapted to the keyboard. The games and the teaching software do not require the system resources used by advanced games, so you can definitely operate them on an old computer. The price of a Comfy keyboard ranges from a few dozen shekels to NIS 300, depending on the type of software and keyboard. When a number of computers operate on a small network, it is necessary to organize the flow of information between one computer and the next and among all the computers and the Internet. If you have several computers at home or in your business, you can use an old computer to run the local network. It can be used for software such as NetLimiter, which allocates a bandwidth to each user, as well as professional firewall software and other needs. In that way, the other computers can be freed from this task. Moreover, you can use the computer as a file server. If you run a business and privacy of information is important to you, you can set up an internal e-mail server with the help of the old computer. Administering the organization's communications will enable you to prevent mail from leaking to the outside. Setting up an internal e-mail server is not simple, but one can find guides on the web that explain how to assemble servers based on Linux. There is a good guide at the following site: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MailServer. If you have an old printer and scanner that still work, you can turn your old computer into a fax machine. All you have to do is connect the old computer to a telephone line with the modem and operate the fax software that comes with Windows XP. Your old computer can provide spare parts for a new computer, and even save money in the purchase of internal parts such as a hard disc or an optic disc. In addition, the old computer's internal memory can be used, but you have to make sure the card is technically compatible with the motherboard. In addition, you can purchase a container for an old hard disc and thus turn a standard disc into a mobile disc. A container for a hard disc is not only a strong aluminum box but also a supplier of current and a USB converter. There are many groups that specialize in collecting old computers and donating them to schools or charity. One such association is A Computer for Every Child. David Weissberg, who works with the organization, explained: "We upgrade 60 to 70 percent of the computers we receive; the rest of the computers serve as spare parts for existing computers." For details see http://computer.org.il. If your computer is really old and you have found no use or new owner for it, you can always give it to a company that specializes in recycling electronic waste. This field is very underdeveloped in Israel and there is only one company that does it. In Europe, in contrast, there are already laws requiring the recycling of electronic waste. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Siniora vs. Hezbollah The Lebanon prime minister accuses Hezbollah of staging a coup. Plant down - again Palestinians say tha Gaza power plant has closed due to a fuel shortage.

Read & React Hezbollah fighters start withdrawing from Beirut Responses: 601 British PM: Israel`s creation one of 20th century`s `greatest achievements` Responses: 328 Ahmadinejad: Israel is a 'stinking corpse' doomed to disappear Responses: 350 Key witness 'fears Olmert may seek to harm him' Responses: 96 Jews bend over backward to stay neutral in U.S. vote Responses: 127 Jerome Segal: Through tough love, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be ended Responses: 141 More Headlines 01:57 Hezbollah claims victory as Lebanon gov't U-turns 02:12 ANALYSIS: Clashes in Lebanon have yet to affect Israel 22:48 Olmert to appeal move to hear early testimony from key state witness 22:16 21 Qassams hit the Negev on Saturday, lightly hurting five 22:30 Palestinians: Gaza power plant closes due to fuel shortage 01:16 Jewish Republicans are jockeying to win McCain's favor 01:06 ANALYSIS: Hezbollah, Lebanon gov't are boxers girding for next round 22:24 Rabbi testifies in support of Hamas-linked imam facing U.S. ban 14:01 Palestinians: Gaza-Egypt border opens temporarily 07:32 ANALYSIS / Olmert probe shows the media really is the message Previous Editions Select Day 09 may 08 may 07 may 06 may 05 may 04 may 02 may 01 may 30 apr 29 apr 28 apr 27 apr

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