Jonathan Hutchins wrote:
The problem I've encountered with this idea is that Xwindows itself is pretty resource intensive, and many of the older systems have video cards that don't have Linux drivers. At best, you may get 640x480x16 colors. You can off-load most of the work to the server (talk to the Lumensoft guys), but you still have to get a basic Xwindows setup going. 4M of RAM is going to be a distinct challange.
If you _do_ succeed, a writeup would be great - maybe we can post it to the web page!
Are there any VNC clients that can use the console directly? If so, you could run your X11 server remotely.
I think the laptops would make excellent SOHO router/firewall/access points. Just add PCMCIA interfaces and you have a low-cost, low-power device with its own battery backup.