Internet on an iMac G3?

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Level 1

4 points

Internet on an iMac G3?

This is my second post today, so apologies if I happen to have crossed your path twice. But in looking for information to answer my first question, I discovered a second.

I have an old iMac G3 that I still use a still LIKE to use. The RAM was already upgraded and I expanded the hard drive and upgraded the operating system. By some miracle, I also found a USB wireless adapter that worked with it (in tonight's reading, that seems rare; at the time, it was the advised option).

Would an AirPort card really make the wireless Internet experience any better? I've seen posts where people rave about the cards, but they were also from 2006-2008...

I know, of course, that the speeds won't match anything on any of today's devices and I'm not expecting it to. I've also read that I'd need to change the encryption setting on my router if I were to go for the AirPort card.

Does anyone have any experience with different types of Internet connections on the G3? What would you advise?

Thanks!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.1), G3. Snow. 600MHz. 120GB.

Posted on Apr 15, 2013 8:57 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Kenichi Watanabe

Level 8

41,572 points

Apr 15, 2013 11:07 PM in response to sheerpoetry

For Internet access, the "slow" networking speed of the old wireless tech actually does not matter so much, because it still exceeds the broadband Internet connection speed for most people. Most of the feeling of slowness comes for the old G3 CPU (and old graphics hardware) trying to keep up.

If you use Mac OS X, it's actually not so difficult to find a USB adapter that works, because there are drivers for Mac OS X (especially Tiger and later). What's difficult to find is a product with a driver for Mac OS 9. Your profile says "10.4.1"; if that's what you currently have, be sure to update it to 10.4.11 (the latest release for Tiger).

One advantage of the internal 802.11b AirPort card is that it has a "built-in" driver for Mac OS 9 from Apple. But if you are using only Mac OS X Tiger, I can't see any advantage either way (compared to your USB option). If your USB adapter is 802.11b, there is no need to consider a faster 802.11g or n adapter, for your iMac G3. It has very slow USB 1.1 ports (not 2.0), so while a faster USB adapter may work, you won't get any faster speed from it because the USB 1.1 port is the bottleneck.

I have an old PowerBook ("Pismo") that has USB 1.1 and that same AirPort card. I have a USB adapter from OWC (NewerTech) that is 802.11g (used with another Mac). A few years ago, I tested a file transfer on my local network using the AirPort card versus the 208.11g USB adapter. I timed a transfer of a 100mb file to another Mac. The transfer time was essentially the same, either way. So, I'd stick with what you have, if it's working for you...

Encryption - For my old Pismo (running 10.4.11) using the AirPort card, it supports modern security protocols. I have my router (an AirPort Extreme Base Station) set for WPA/WPA2 Personal. If you were running Mac OS 9, THEN you would need to use the older WEP protocol (because WPA did not exist yet back in the days of Mac OS 9).

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Answer 2

sheerpoetry Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 16, 2013 4:25 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

It was actually the third adapter before one finally worked! Despite them saying they'd work on OS 10.4. I'm not sure if I ever updated to 10.4.11--I think I had trouble locating it. (When I switched out hard drives, I lucked out and got one with 10.4.1 and some other things on it. I tried looking for the installation discs, but everything I could find was either the server version or DVDs.)

Thank you for all the information! I kind of figured this was about as good as it's going to get. And, honestly, it's not too much slower than my iPhone or iPad...but we also have pretty crappy Internet. I do pretty basic browsing anyway, so it's probably mostly the animated ads that clog up my pages. Shame I couldn't get a version of Chrome and use AdBlock!

I just love using the iMac because I like the stability of a desktop (meaning I'm not balancing it on a chair arm) and I'd always wanted one of those models when they came out, so I definitely couldn't resist when I saw it for $20!

Thanks again!

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Answer 3

Apr 16, 2013 5:27 PM in response to sheerpoetry

The 10.4.1 version may have something to do with the driver issue, since most vendors consolidate their testing on the last version for the major release, once the latest Mac OS X moves to the next major release. It's also important for other types of software, because applications that supports Tiger are usually "10.4.11 or later."

Here is the combo update for 10.4.11 (PowerPC). "Combo" means it can be installed over any earlier version of Tiger.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL170

Be sure to have a backup of at least your user data (preferably a clone of the entire startup disk), before doing any system level update. You should also run Disk Utility and use Verify Disk on your startup disk, to make sure there are no data corruption issues before applying the update.

The last version of Safari that supports Tiger is 4.1.3. This looks like the download (and it requires Mac OS X 10.4.11)

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1069

You can also try this FireFox-based browser that is optimized for Tiger on PowerPC Macs (and again, it requires 10.4.11).

http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/

If you use Safari, there is a plug-in called ClickToFlash

http://clicktoflash.com

It may do some of what you want with "Adblock."

I also like using my old Pismo sometimes, because there is something soothing about a screen with only 1024x768 resolution and "big" pixels, plus Tiger is an excellent "minimalist" version of Mac OS X.

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Answer 4

Apr 19, 2014 4:40 PM in response to sheerpoetry

Hi! In your post you are mentioning that you found a USB wireless adapter that worked with your iMac G3. Where did you take it? If you remember could you please tell me because I've got the same internet problem with mine and it would really help me. And my iMac is running OS X 10.2 in case it would change anything 🙂

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Answer 5

Apr 19, 2014 8:04 PM in response to rosemariegrondin

The version of Mac OS X is very important, for a USB wireless network adapter. A third-party (not Apple) vendor is more likely to produce a device driver for their product, for more recent versions of Mac OS X.

This is the current version of the product I mentioned in the old post

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/MXP3802NU2C/

but now, it only supports "Mac OS X 10.5.x and later" (according to the specs). An older version of the product supported earlier versions of Mac OS X (at least back to 10.4.11). You may want to send them an email, to see if they have any of their older models left in stock, and if they have any left, see how far back the Mac OS X version support goes. NOTE: The "NewerTech" brand is owned by the vendor OWC.

If your iMac G3 is a supported model, it can also use Apple's 802.11b AirPort card, mentioned in the previous post. This card fits internally (not to a USB port), using the built-in antenna, and is decribed here

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1621

Since this wireless card is from Apple and optional on the supported Mac models, the versions of Mac OS X supporting those models should have built-in driver support for this wireless card.

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Answer 6

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,213 points

Apr 20, 2014 7:20 AM in response to rosemariegrondin

Hi,

Alternatively, you could connect a wireless Ethernet bridge (also known as a media or gaming adapter) to the Ethernet port of the iMac. There are devices from several manufacturers (examples include Netgear WNCE2001 and Linksys WET610N). A wireless Ethernet bridge does not (normally) require special drivers, and can thus be used under almost any operating system (also the older Mac OS 8.x and 9.x) without a problem. The initial setup is typically done through a web interface (using a standard web browser). If necessary, this setup can even be carried out at another computer (PC or Mac). One advantage with a wireless Ethernet bridge is that the latest security protocols can be handled as well.

Jan

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