News - Intel paying Pentium 4 customers US$15 in compensation

[ik9000]

Pfffft I started with a 286 with a 20MB hard disk. As for why that P4 won't sell, it's because they're ancient and being given away for free on sites like Freecycle!

Trust me, no-one takes them!

[spl]

Trust me, no-one takes them!

I guess with them being so old, it's not like they could even be used for spare parts due to lack of compatibility with more modern systems. Well, except maybe something really basic like the fans, but even then, those bearings will be pretty ancient by now. Maybe the floppy drive? :-)

As for their use as a whole system, I'd guess a lot of people would be put off by them being (presumably) Windows XP machines. Maybe your best would be to get Linux on them? I'm not a huge fan of Linux, but at least it's a lot more secure and less likely to get viruses than XP, and won't cost you anything to install (except maybe the cost of a DVD-R if it doesn't boot from USB). Could appeal to somebody interested in screwing around with Linux. Also a good backup if their main computer is out of commission.