Lost in the continual cries for new flat-panel iMacs and new G5's is the fact that for most consumers, the eMac would more than fit their needs. Even two years ago, acquiring a 1.25 Gigahertz G4, CD-burning, DVD-playing Mac with a 17 inch screen for under $800 would have required something immoral, something illegal, or being Steve Jobs' nephew. But at $799, the eMac represents such a good value that you should probably buy one, even if you don't need it. But then what? Well, here are ten things you may not have realized you could do with a spare eMac:
10. Get that screen saver that has the fish swimming around, and tell unsuspecting Windows-using visitors that it's a real fish tank.
9. Turn it into a real fish tank.
8. Upgrade the RAM, add an internal AirPort card, add an internal Bluetooth card, and add a FireWire hard drive, all while complaining that the eMac isn't "upgradable."
7. Set it up at a major crosswalk and bet pedestrians five dollars that they can't find the "on" button within 30 seconds.
6. Take off the speaker grilles. Put them back on. Take them back off. Put them back on.
5. Give it to my mother. No, seriously, give a $799 eMac to my mother. There's no punchline on this one, just give it to her already.
4. Drag it down to the local mall, set it up in the food court, launch Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4, and charge kids to play it by the minute.
3. Do the exact same thing, in the break room at your conservative corporate job. Charge the boss extra.
2. Order it custom-built from the Apple Store with "extra cheese". Cheerfully await their response.
and the number one reason to buy an eMac you don't really need...
1. Donate it to your local school. On this one, I'm serious. Placing one eMac in a Mac-using school can start them on the path toward upgrading to MacOS X, and placing one eMac in a Windows-using school just might start them on a path to buying more Macs. Even if they don't buy any more Macs, the kids in Windows-based schools should have the chance to touch at last one real computer before they graduate, right? Remember, it's a tax write-off.
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