Safari can't establish secure connection to apple.com-Power Mac G4

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Level 1

9 points

Safari can't establish secure connection to apple.com-Power Mac G4

Inherited a used Macintosh, my first Apple product, and Safari won't open www.apple.com because it can't establish a secure connection. I figured perhaps its because Safari is old (maybe vulnerable, can't recognize modern php, HTML5, etc.), apple.com isn't allowing a connection. It has OS X 10.3.9, but not meeting Firefox requirements. I'm wondering what other options I may have for:

Adjusting settings so Safari preforms good enough to, or alternatives for...
Registering the device with Apple
Updating/upgrading OS X and Safari (is offline an option?)
A browser other than Safari to manage the above

The machine connect to https~google.com and searches work as expected, but most sites I have to dismiss warnings and many the Mac is refused or refuses a secure connection. Iv'e been using Linux off and on for many years and am comfortable using a terminal. The Mac didn't come with any OEM disks for an OS restore, which is a different question, so I though I should exercise caution and get advice rather than accidentally crippling the Mac.

Thanks in advance!

Chris

null-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.3.x), Power Mac G4,OS X 10.3.9

Posted on May 25, 2018 11:35 PM

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Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 10

83,358 points

May 26, 2018 7:36 AM in response to kawaisunn

Welcome!

As most browser versions are tied to System Software versions, you are limited. PowerMac G4s (the newest are now 14 years old) are limited to no higher OS than 10.5.8 if the processor is 867mHz or faster, or 10.4.11 if it is slower thatn 867mHz. "Big-name" browsers left the PowerPC behind long ago.

Your best option is TenFour Fox. It is a FireFox "fork" written to run on PowerPCs. I still have several PowerPCs connected here and that is the only browser that comes close to working. Because it is forked from recent versions of FireFox, modern web pages see it as "supported" and you don't get those "browser is too old" errors.

This is the developers' site:

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

Do not get TenFourFox (abbrev "10FF") from anywhere else. Too many download hosting sites today will fill you up with adware when you download something.

EXPECTATIONS (and what not to expect):

You will not have a smooth browsing experience. Even with the magic 10FF brings, web pages are no longer optimized for the now-primitive processor in your G4; that processor will struggle with decoding the pages. Page loads for me are slow for me even on a directly-connected 100MBps cable internet service, and scrolling or redraws will give you time to contemplate the wonders of creation.
10FF does not support plug-ins. You can't watch Flash videos or do things like NetFlix. It does support many FireFox add-ons like ad blockers, themes, etc, so it's not dead, just a little crippled by the way web pages are now created.
You will not get the current Mac experience with a G4 (made from about 1999 to 2005). To see what it is really like, I think you need at minimum a 2010 or later model Mac.

That said, there are those of us here who love our G4s and try to keep then relevant. We can toss out some useful tips if we know the sub-model G4 you have. There are G4 PowerMacs (mini-towers), G4 iMacs, G4 "Cubes"; and G4 Mac Minis, in the desktop category. plus PowerBook and iBook G4s in the laptop arena. Some are very easy to service at home. To that end, please find the sticker on the case with the serial number and enter the number into this support page to get the sub-model:

Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support

If that tells you it can't find the model, this web page does teh same thing but goes back farther in time:

https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/

If that fails, snap an image of the computer and post it.

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Answer 2

kawaisunn Author

Level 1

9 points

May 26, 2018 8:08 AM in response to Allan Jones

Thank you, Allan! Any and all useful tips welcome. I can see how someone could become fond of the Mac platform, this little machine is impressive for as old as it is. It's relatively fast, quiet, has a pleasing look and 'feel;' more than what I expected when I found out its approximate age.

Had to use the way-back machine:

From the About This Mac:

640 MB SDRAM

From System Profile:

disk0 38.32 GB Available

disk1 51.98 GB Available

Mac OS X 10.3.9 (7W98)

Kernel Version Darwin 7.9.0

After posting, I found 104 Fox and downloaded the correct version for my hardware directly from their Git repository, but it wouldn't play nice. In the docs I read something about the 10.3 OS being problematic, so tried Camino (wrong OS library, wanted 9). I had better luck connecting with the old Netscape browser that I found in Applications, but it didn't render better than Safari. I got hold of Apple support, and essentially got a green light for upgrading to 10.4.11 if I could find a copy not tied to an existing Apple account, which would allow me to move forward with 10 4 Fox if I understood correctly. I also downloaded and installed the available updates from the Developer site, then shut her down.

Thanks again,

Christopher Tate

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Safari can't establish secure connection to apple.com-Power Mac G4

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