Just a thought. If anyone was looking to replace (or get hold of) something to replace an old '486 but not with something completely brand new then one option might be to use a companies' old cast-off thin client.
It won't help you if you're having to use hardware such as ISA cards and the speed won't be as low as a 486 but apart from that these are a possible source of older computers to try to use. Ebay ususually has several old thin clients for sale.
Two points though; first of all if you're paying hundreds of pounds you are being ripped off - don't do it. Also, don't buy anything with "sun" written on it - these devices use their own standards so you can't repurpose them very easily. And avoid zero clients!
This website is a good place to start. Quite often with most thin clients all you need to do is;
- Find a power supply (not all, but most use a completely normal power supply, e.g. 12V)
- Make a USB stick with some sort of OS installer on it
- Wipe the internal storage (usually a DOM, or disk on module) and install.
Some thin clients can have their memory increased and a lot seem to use a device called a disk on module or "DOM". These tend to be small in size though, usually 512MB or 1GB. They can be replaced as they are essentially IDE based devices and with a short 2.5" cable, IDE to CF (compactflash) coverter and card you can replace the DOM with a CF card of your own choosing!
My first one was the
T5720 though there are plenty of others! It even still has some older ports such as serial/parallel ports and PS2 ports.
Hope this helps someone out there!
ljones
ljones