Re-purposing an old Pentium II with Xubuntu

[Bob Chandler]

I have found a great use for an old Pentium II 450 MHz. machine with 192
MB RAM, and a small 9 GB hard drive.

I installed "Xubuntu"...it's Ubuntu but with the lightweight and less
resource-hungry XFCE desktop.   The applications that come with Xubuntu
tend to be a bit more "lightweight" than Ubuntu or Kubuntu, but you have
access to all of the same package management tools that you'd have with
Ubuntu/Kubuntu.

What I'm using the machine for is as a dedicated "streaming audio"
computer.   I have a small micro-FM radio transmitter connected to the
soundcard output jack on the machine, I've tuned the transmitter to 90.7
MHz. (which is an "empty" frequency in the Toronto area) and I can
listen to whatever audio stream is coming out of the computer on any FM
radio in the house.   Actually the range of this little transmitter is
about half a block...and so I can take a portable radio out to the back
yard on a nice summer day like today and listen to whatever I feel like
listening to!

The machine I got in a yard sale for $5 (minus hard drive and
non-working video card...quickly remedied with stuff from my computer
"junque box").

While this machine is old and slow, it's more than adequate for
streaming audio...and Xubuntu makes it possible.  Just one caveat...for
machines with low RAM, use the "alternate install" CD.

Cheers,

Bob
http://www.ve3sre.com