Sending G4 to Parents

Hi everyone I've been a member for a while but not an active poster. I have a couple of questions. I have a g4 with Mac OS X Server vs. 10.4.8 on it with 400 Mhz PowerPC G4 with 1 GB SDRAM. It also has 100 GB Hd in it.

My father currently uses this busted Dell that he got while he was deployed in Iraq and the thing is horrible has so many problems it's not even funny. So I don't really use the G4 anyone and was going to put OS X 10.5 on it however it's not capable of running leopard. I was debating about putting 10.4 non-server version on and sending it to my parents or wondering if 10.4 server would be fine.

I did plan to do a a CPU upgrade when I was home if my parents liked the machine to Sonnet Encore/ST G4 1GHz/2MB
SG4-1000-2M
Leopard compatible! This CPU upgrade makes unsupported G4 (800MHz or lower) compatible.

G4 1GHz Upgrade w/2MB L3 Cache. Compatible with PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics(Sawtooth), Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, and QuickSilver 2001/2002 models.
New, 1 Year Sonnet Warranty.

Price : US$165.95

However I was debating if this would even be worth the upgrade and the shipping cost of this machine to my parents. Please advise what would be the best route. I would be sending it without the monitor from Rhode Island to California.

Cant help you out with the shipping - don't live in the USA

I would stick with the 400 mhz g4 and stick to tiger (10.4) for now. Try and get a non server edition.

The most important thing is how your dad is going to transfer files off the Dell and use them on the mac, I assume he can figure this out, but may need help from you.

I would install 10.4 - update it and install everything he needs, MS Office or NeoOffice(free) to open office files.

If he prefers Firefox, then install that, if you think he will be more comfortable with Mozilla thunderbird than apple mail - then install that was well.

Basically - get the machine so that it has as much as he needs out of the box.

That was my plan, basically my father keeps AOl for his email address which I think I'm going to also get him a .mac account so everything will be easier for him. He mostly just has a lot of images and music which I think would be great for him. I'm also sending him my nano and pda which I don't use anyone since I got the iPhone.

This is what I was thinking on installing
MS Office
Setting up his gmail account
Adobe 8
Adium and iChat
Toast
VLC

My biggest concern with leopard was the fact that I could control the computer from my area over ichat to help with any issues. How would I go about doing something of this sort halfway across the country. Is there another application I could install.