What do I do with an old laptop?

[Hodgins Family]

Good morning!

> I have a very old, Compaq Presario 1245 laptop, with a AMD-k6 333Mhz
> processor and 128 MB memory (4 gig HDD). Most importantly, perhaps, it
> does not have a ethernet adapter on it. It does have a PCI card slot,
> though.
> 
> What is the best - or most creative - way to use it around the house?
> Does anyone have any tips as to what I can do with this laptop and
> how? Ubuntu runs fine on it.

Not terribly creative, sorry! How about keeping it near your desktop and 
using it to help diagnose other users questions?

1) Without an ethernet card you would be in a great position to assist 
similar users with alternate methods of installing software/updates, etc.

2) Someone is having a problem that relates to their filesystem in some 
manner. You could fire up the Compaq and report what your machine does 
and what might be of use to them.

3) You could pop for a PCMCIA ethernet (wireless or wired) and make 
yourself an expert on PCMCIA networking.

4) You have serial and parallel ports. You could become an expert on 
alternate methods of installing Ubuntu or moving files between computers.

5) Fiddle around with making the "Ultimate Minimalist Useable Ubuntu" 
installation for your hardware.

Just some ideas,

Rob