So. I have a G3 iBook laptop that’s been dropped. The computer still works, kind of, except that:

– The hinge for the screen, and the bezel around the screen, are broken. The screen itself still works, though.

– The power supply can’t be disconnected; the jack for the power supply cord is damaged and the cord can’t be removed.

– The CD-ROM drive is cracked and appears to be damaged.

The computer itself, however, still works and the hard drive is fine. The computer has built-in wireless networking, and the wired Ethernet jack still works as well. As the result of a complicated story involving a client who has many Xserve systems which I have had to administer from the laptop, the laptop is running OS X Server, not regular OS X. There is an external monitor jack, which appears to work as well.

So, the million-dollar question is, what should I do with it? I hate the idea of throwing away a perfectly good (well, still-working) computer, but the repair estimate is greater than the machine is worth. Things I’ve thought about include:

– Taking off the screen, sticking it in a corner, and running it as a network file server/Web server/MOO server/whatever, administering it remotely by SSH.

– Taking off the screen, sticking it in the corner, and using it as a router.

– Disassembling the computer, putting the parts into a picture frame, and hanging it on the wall as a digital picture frame.

– Disassembling the computer, putting the parts into a picture frame, ripping Blade Runner or some cheesy 70s porn onto the hard drive, hanging it on the wall, and letting it play the movie silently on a continuous loop all the time.

– Disassembling the computer, building a cabinet for it (HA! Like I have time to do that!), running MacMAME on it, loading the hard drive with MAME ROM emulators, and using it as a vintage arcade game. With a 12-inch screen.

– Something else? What are your thoughts, O liveJournal community?