Hi all,

I know someone looking to get rid of some very old mac destops with monitors. If possible she'd like to see them re-used (if that's even possible) rather than just put into ewaste.

There are about 5 of them that were used by a school. They're just sitting stored and she doesn't know much about what they are system-wise. She just figures they may date back to the late 1990s.

And, they're in Thunder Bay. Are they just ewaste? Does anyone want this kind of thing?? Do you really need more info to make a better response? (Maybe the back of them would tell us what's needed?)

Thanks in advance!

Auction it off on eBay, collectors will snap them up. Will get better value if they can be tested before hand whether they're working or not.

Auction it off on eBay, collectors will snap them up. Will get better value if they can be tested before hand whether they're working or not.

I'll see if they are in a position to use Ebay. Thanks.

Problem with these is shipping, before posting on eBay do some research on actual shipping charges. Also you will have to scare up adequate boxes for packaging (a machine like a PowerMac/Quadra 6100 takes a very wide box). All in all a fair bit of work. The value will depend on the model of Mac. If they are G3 desktops, they are way better than Performa machine. The 4400 was the ugliest Mac made, imo.
The monitors aren't worth the price of shipping.

Problem with these is shipping, before posting on eBay do some research on actual shipping charges. Also you will have to scare up adequate boxes for packaging (a machine like a PowerMac/Quadra 6100 takes a very wide box). All in all a fair bit of work. The value will depend on the model of Mac. If they are G3 desktops, they are way better than Performa machine. The 4400 was the ugliest Mac made, imo.
The monitors aren't worth the price of shipping.

Yeah...I'm thinking these folks won't be interested in the work to post on Ebay and then shipping and you're right, they'll have to be packed well. I don't know the exact machine they have but when I searched on Ebay, none of the vintage were going for very much. At least, not enough that I think they'd pursue it. It's an office manager who has to get rid of them pronto. ....maybe I'll suggest the local Kijiji.

The problem I've hard getting rid of older ones is the shipping costs more then the computer is worth.

These seem to be Beige G3 systems and would still have very legitimate uses like serving files or a simple writing/homework/research computer for a young student.

If the OP's friend would like to get rid the computers without resorting to ewaste, I suggest freecycling it. She won't get any money but they should go to a good home. I have got rid of a number of clunky computer related items there, even things I tried to give away on ehMac (with no takers) things too good to throw out because they worked just fine, just too old to use

Check it out - The Freecycle Network - about the Thunder Bay Group (http://groups.freecycle.org/thunderbayfreecycle/description)

These seem to be Beige G3 systems and would still have very legitimate uses like serving files or a simple writing/homework/research computer for a young student.

Yup. I just used my G3 DT a few weeks ago to salvage some really old AppleWorks files and some Apple ProDos format files that were on some single-sided and old double-sided floppys for a lady who wanted some of her recently deceased husbands writing/stories recovered and converted into a useable format.

The good ol' G3 managed to accomplish the task, with a bit of some head scratching on my part. Thank God it still had System 8.1 available and full ProDos translators, as well as System 9.x and OS X 10.2.x to manage the job . ;)

If the OP's friend would like to get rid the computers without resorting to ewaste, I suggest freecycling it. She won't get any money but they should go to a good home. I have got rid of a number of clunky computer related items there, even things I tried to give away on ehMac (with no takers) things too good to throw out because they worked just fine, just too old to use

Check it out - The Freecycle Network - about the Thunder Bay Group (http://groups.freecycle.org/thunderbayfreecycle/description)

Simon,

That's exactly what I suggested to her along with Kijiji free. I'm hoping she managed to find someone for them. I've benefited from both of these in both ways (giving and receiving).

I'm glad for the other person who managed to retrieve the files for that woman! That's awesome. I recently pulled my Windows 98 out of the closet and dusted it off with hopes it would still work and it did! There's a music program on there that I can't find again to use on my current system nor can I find anything comparable. But Band in a Box fired up nicely on the old computer! Now to just find the time to use it.

"New and improved" has its downside....leaves "works okay" behind.

(I just noticed the '98 didn't even make it into my signature block when I set it up way back when and the G5 is busy digitizing my old audio cassette tapes these days)