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I volunteered with a non-profit several years ago, and due to the competition for the available Windows machine, I located an old iMac nobody was using - large

by vba616 4y ago

I volunteered with a non-profit several years ago, and due to the competition for the available Windows machine, I located an old iMac nobody was using - large flatscreen era, but still apparently too old for system updates. And apparently could not properly connect to secure websites. It made me sad, particularly because an organization like that can't really afford Apple prices and yet they also can't afford an IT department which is probably why someone bought it originally figuring it would "just work". I realize in principle I could've installed Linux on it, but didn't see any point.

drunkpotato 4y ago
I have a 2012 iMac that is no longer supported, so I installed the latest Ubuntu on it and it works very well. So if you run into that situation again, Linux is a very viable option.
- vba616 4y ago
  I didn't want to work (without pay) for that non-profit for the rest of my life, and if I had, I would've had to deal with their small-time local IT service provider, and it was already a nightmare prior to a hypothetical initiative like me standing up computers or servers of my own. My experience with small (non startup) organizations, meaning under a dozen people, is limited, but it's led me to believe that every role in that situation is like being a high level executive, only without the pay of a big corporation or an assistant (other than the volunteers...). They might have had a place for me if I had been able to wrangle their hostile service provider, but doing technical things wasn't what they needed. I couldn't even start if all their servers and their network were under the control of someone who wouldn't talk to me. They would've been happy if I could've dealt with their domains, and everything else related to IT, but at a administrative/managerial level - it was entirely about talking to people, and I was keenly aware I didn't know where to start.
scarface74 4y ago
Any x86 based Mac can have Windows installed. The older ones didn’t need BootCamp. You could just pop a Windows DVD in.
- vba616 4y ago
  It might have been PowerPC. I can't recall for sure.

by vba616 4y ago

drunkpotato 4y ago

I have a 2012 iMac that is no longer supported, so I installed the latest Ubuntu on it and it works very well. So if you run into that situation again, Linux is a very viable option.

vba616 4y ago
I didn't want to work (without pay) for that non-profit for the rest of my life, and if I had, I would've had to deal with their small-time local IT service provider, and it was already a nightmare prior to a hypothetical initiative like me standing up computers or servers of my own. My experience with small (non startup) organizations, meaning under a dozen people, is limited, but it's led me to believe that every role in that situation is like being a high level executive, only without the pay of a big corporation or an assistant (other than the volunteers...). They might have had a place for me if I had been able to wrangle their hostile service provider, but doing technical things wasn't what they needed. I couldn't even start if all their servers and their network were under the control of someone who wouldn't talk to me. They would've been happy if I could've dealt with their domains, and everything else related to IT, but at a administrative/managerial level - it was entirely about talking to people, and I was keenly aware I didn't know where to start.

scarface74 4y ago

Any x86 based Mac can have Windows installed. The older ones didn’t need BootCamp. You could just pop a Windows DVD in.

vba616 4y ago
It might have been PowerPC. I can't recall for sure.