Got an Intel Mac? 6 ways you can repurpose it after support ends

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I have an Intel iMac that is currently sitting in a closet. I can hear it sniffling and weeping as I type. It begs and pleads with me to take it out and at least snap a photo of it to be used for this article and serve as proof that it is still alive and kicking.

It is still alive, and it still kicks fairly well. It runs Tahoe just fine, and I could easily pull it out, turn it on, and use it. The only reason it sits in the closet is that I purchased a Mac Studio , and I don't have room for it in my office now.

Also: I tried buying a MacBook Air from Apple today - shipping was delayed by over a month

However, I often think about that iMac and what I could do with it should I finally pull it out and plug it in. That's right, there are options. But why should you be concerned about this?

First off, Tahoe is the last update Intel-based Mac machines will be getting. That means there will be no new features, and some apps will most likely cease to function properly. Although this does not mean your iMac will give up the ghost (more on that in a bit), it does mean that you might want to consider other options for it.

I've installed Linux on Macs before, and although it's not a perfect option (sometimes wireless and sound can be problematic), it certainly does bring new life to that old hardware. You see, installing Linux (especially a lightweight distribution such as Lubuntu) will make that old Mac feel young again . It'll run faster than it ever has, will receive updates for years to come, and will have even more options than it might have previously had. Even better, there are tons of software options you can run... all of them for free.

Yes, there are trade-offs. For example, you won't get the same sync between your iPhone and your Apple Watch, and you won't be running Photoshop. But there are always alternatives (such as GIMP and Affinity).

Also: 6 features I wish Linux would borrow from MacOS

If you do decide to go this route, make sure to find out what year your Mac is and whether the distribution you want to install supports the wireless and Bluetooth chips. If it doesn't, purchase a supported Wi-Fi dongle or get a USB-C-to-RJ45 Ethernet jack adapter.

One option I'm considering for my iMac is installing Nextcloud on it and using it as my home cloud server. Typically, I run this server as a virtual machine, but with the more powerful specs on the iMac, I may as well use it as a home cloud server.