Originally Posted by
soarer
or get him a Mac Plus , I think I did more with that when I first started than I do with my stuff now !
and think how small MacPaint etc was.....
OK....I doubt a Mac Plus would run anything but AOL 1 so you could not even do simple emails......but then I am sure some are still using them....
Actually, I'd suggest a Mac Mini circa 2005-2007 earliest generation of Intel-based product, running 10.6 or 10.7 of the Mac OS. For $100-150 ebay prices, you can get a perfectly useful OS-X platform (which is very similar to a Linux OS but with a bunch of user-friendliness layered on top) and 1 GB of RAM is perfectly sufficient to run as a more than decent web browser.
As I personally just transitioned to the Mac ecosystem (one of Microsoft's overnight involuntary upgrades that trashed my system and forced me to do a total re-build was the last straw that prompted this), I am in the process of moving my elderly mom to just such a platform since I need to support her (actually, I went a little more upscale, getting her a nice used 2 GB Core2Duo based Mac Mini for about $220 on the 'bay). I' actually using it right now as I am configuring it for her to be as similar to the MS Win 7 desktop that she is used to. And the thing is more than competent as an internet computer for any non-power user.