Have you considered a PowerPC-based machine? They run at lower
frequencies, using less power. Might be something to consider.
Something like an old beige PowerMac 6200 or something from that era.
In Vancouver, we have a Mac consignment shop that always has old
machines like this. Maybe you have something like that out your way.
We actually used such a machine as recent as 2000 to run a pretty
functional web and terminal server. If your wife is comfortable using
Pine or Elm for email, you could easily use a machine like this. (I
believe OpenBSD's PowerPC/RISC support is quite good.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_6200



On Jan 30, 2008 8:08 PM, Douglas A. Tutty <dtutty@porchlight.ca> wrote:
quoted text
>
> On Thu, Jan 31, 2008 at 05:14:32AM +0200, Jussi Peltola wrote:
> > I haven't had any difficulty finding PII / PPro based HP Netservers that
> > are too heavy to carry up the stairs. Any i386 server from that time
> > should be pretty reliable if it still works...
> >
> > Running OpenBSD is a whole another thing. I've found most of the early
> > PII servers very quirky, the netservers being a bit less so than some of
> > the worst. I'd recommend just carrying a bunch of them home and throwing
> > out the useless ones.
>
> P-II runs too fast.  I'm looking at P or P-Pro (or 486).  I haven't
> found any.  Know of a source of such servers?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Doug.