Any Good Uses For An Old '07 Mac Mini?

[snipecaik]

I have an unused mac mini sitting on a shelf in my bedroom, every time I see it, it pains me that it goes to such a waste, and I am interested in putting it to work. Right of the bat, I don't need it for kodi (which would be a bad idea since the the GPU would not be able to handle 1080p), it would also make a pretty bad plex server consider it's lack of CPU horsepower, and I already have a 'torrent box', but anything else I'm pretty open to. Some of the things I have been considering are an Apache web server, but what are the benefits, since I'm not interested in running my own website? Does anyone out there have any ideas?
And for anyone wondering, the specs are, 2.0Ghz core2 Duo, 2gb DDR2, and OSX 10.6

 

[jpietrzak8]

Does anyone out there have any ideas?

Ah, my own 2007 Mini just started going wonky on me last month, so it has finally been retired. I'd mainly used it as a file server, connected up to an odd (and ever-changing) collection of external drives. (Seems like I can always find more old-but-still-usable drives from people getting rid of their old machines...) Also had it hooked up to an old 720P TV for various media duties.

I think it really is up to you how you use it. OS X is a full-blown Unix operating system, so the possibilities are wide open for all sorts of tasks...

 

[now i see it]

my own 2007 Mini just started going wonky on me last month, so it has finally been retired.

Mine just died too. I guess they're avg lifespan is about 9-10 years.

 

[MysticCow]

You could:

1. Repurpose it as a jukebox. Plus, with sites like iHeartRadio, you can even use it for radio purposes.

2. Repurpose it as a web server. It's almost as easy as throwing a switch, but there's a couple of steps you have to do afterward.

3. Repurpose it as a router. You can turn on internet sharing and have a wireless base station.

4. Take it to work. Most jobs only need a word processor, spreadsheet, and basic web browsing to work in any job. Said mini can handle all of that.

There are lots of other ways to do it, but I'll leave it at that for now.

 

[pacmania1982]

Time machine server using OS X Server
iTunes server
Plex server

 

[snipecaik]

Time machine server using OS X Server
iTunes server
Plex server

*sighs*

 

[dogslobber]

4. Take it to work. Most jobs only need a word processor, spreadsheet, and basic web browsing to work in any job. Said mini can handle all of that.

I used a 2007 Mini for a year or two in the job after installing Linux on it. Eventually the disk started going bad and the fan started making more noise than I cared to listen to so I passed it on to a relative to run Windows 10 on it. It's a very nice Windows machine.

 

[raymanster]

Perhaps you could use it as a proxy and VPN server?

I've been doing this with my 2006. It's been running almost non-stop for over ten years now, only problem was a failed hard disk a few years ago which I replaced.

 

[Kaida]

sorry, couldn't resist..

 

[Osty]

iTunes Server
Plex server
DLNA server
File server (AFS or Samba)
VPN server
Web server (static, dynamic sites)
Email server
Print/airprint server
Local DNS caching server

Mind you, for most of these tasks, I'd replace macOS with Linux (Ubuntu Server 16.04)