them in some way and for people without computer hardware
perhaps this is an inexpensive means to acquire an computer. The Apple //c is really
just a relic, a museum piece its usefulness in today's world is just no longer there,
despite the fact that it has a working modem and was used online long before there
was a publicly accessible Internet.The aging PCs that have come out of government, school and business offices are really only marginally different. These machines when they were brand new were hard to use, in actual fact the old //c was easier to handle then this 486 with Windows 3.1. Most machines like this that you might see at an auction sale are stock, they include just what came with them when they were sold. PC users rarely upgrade their systems or hardware so machines like this are short of memory and dramatically short of capability. Certainly, they will do what they were intended to do in the first place, but the capabilities of computers advances so rapidly, these machines, even if you get one free, is more of a burden then a blessing.
For the person who like to waste money and tinker around machines like the one above can be rebuilt, a new motherboard and modern processor can be installed, as can a CD and after you have had the fun of ordering and installing a few hundred dollars of parts and obtained a new Windows 98 operating system it will be almost as good as an inexpensive computer you can buy fully assembled. The only bargain about older computers is their monitors. You can often buy a complete system including its monitor and obtain a working monitor for a fraction of the cost of a new one. But remember new 15" monitors are now less then $300.
There are some exceptions. Few if any Macintosh computers are ever sold used. Only the little black and white early Plus, 512s and Classics are given or sold off.
Most people who have a Mac simply move it to another location, set up a network and plug it into their new Mac. The Duo laptop on the right can be purchased used for around $250 and though it is slow it can be a quick fix for portable computing and continues to use modern software so that its files are compatible with modern machines, this one even has a built in modem so it can handle e-mail and faxing chores.
The bottom line is that if you can pick up an older Macintosh it will do its job and still keep up to date so it can be a good second hand purchase. Older PCs such as 386s and older are excellent landfill, a 486 or early pentium can serve as an extra machine for some simple tasks and could be handy if you already have a network card in it but most Intel, Microsoft based machines are not worth bringing home no matter how cheap they seem.
However, new Celron or Pentium III machines running Windows 98 have promise and if the price it right, they can do some primitive tasks. Modern computers are Internet computers and Windows 98 can do that task admirably as can the high speed of modern computer processors. An old PC is less then useful, it might turn off the novice user from the simplicity of communications and modern technology and after working with one for a short while there is so much to unlearn that your time is far more valuable then the savings in buying that old machine.