What can my original B&W G3 Tower run? Upgrade paths?

[netdog]

I was given a blue & white G3 tower (revision A from the first week they were on the market). It boots. I haven't checked how much RAM is in it, or how big the drive is that came with it, but these are easy to upgrade. Anyway, what I am wondering is the following...

• What is the highest version of OS X that it can reasonably run?
• What is the maximum amount of RAM it can take?
• What creative uses can I put this thing to work doing?

My IP to the outside world is dynamically assigned by my ISP, so I can't see this acting as a server to the outside world in any sort of practical way.

I have an 8MB connection with an uplink of about 384Mb.

I already have a wireless network drive and wireless stand-alone laser.

Currently I run an Intel iMac and MacBook at home.

Given the noise this thing generates, if I do find a use for it, it can preferably be kept in a closet.

I really think this is a beautiful machine. The side door is absolutely brilliant.

Is there any way to easily and inexpensively upgrade the system board or processor?

Surely somebody out there has found an interesting and useful application for these machines with a home network. Any and all ideas invited.

 

[Kreamy]

Ideally don't push it past Panther.

It can take up to 1gb of 100MHz SDram

It could be your media centre =) Good use for iPhoto, iTunes and DVD movies (if you have the DVD drive version)

 

[GooMan]

My B&W G3 (Rev 2) was my main Mac until a couple of months ago. It has 10.4.6 on it and has 768MB of RAM (2x256MB and 2x128MB). It has a couple of 40GB drives in it. It actually performs pretty well, except for video playback. I picked it up on eBay for $100 shipped about a year ago to give OS X a try.

 

[FullmetalZ26]

My IP to the outside world is dynamically assigned by my ISP, so I can't see this acting as a server to the outside world in any sort of practical way.

It's usually not all that big of a deal, depending on how frequently the dynamic IP actually changes. I ran a server on Verizon DSL for over 2 years, and had it linked to a domain name despite the 'dynamic' IP. The only time the IP would actually change was when service was down temporarily, and subsequently I only had to update the DNS listings for my domain every month or two.

 

[purelithium]

It's usually not all that big of a deal, depending on how frequently the dynamic IP actually changes. I ran a server on Verizon DSL for over 2 years, and had it linked to a domain name despite the 'dynamic' IP. The only time the IP would actually change was when service was down temporarily, and subsequently I only had to update the DNS listings for my domain every month or two.

Or you could go with a free service like this one: http://www.dyndns.com/services/dns/dyndns/ they direct a domain like mine( purelithium.homelinux.org) to your external IP. I keep DynDNS.org automatically updated with a feature in my Linksys WRT54G router. If you dont' have this feature in your router, you can go to the DynDNS.org site and manually change it whenever you notice it changes

EDIT: there's also third party software that you can have running on your server, or any computer on the same internet connection as your server that can automatically update your DynDNS.org ip. http://www.dyndns.com/support/clients/