[Hg2491]

Can anyone help me find a usb wireless card for an iMac G3 running Mac OS 8.

Thanks in advanced.

[Veltliner]

That's a really antique machine you have there.

I don't think you'll find a wireless card for it.

Are you sure you don't want to spend your money rather on a more modern computer?

[JKT]

The problem is more likely to be that you are running OS 8 - that is a very old version of the operating system and is unlikely to be supported by any USB wireless device available for purchase. However, depending on what type of iMac G3 you have, you could upgrade it to OS X (version 10.3.x is possibly the highest you could go, maybe 10.4 at a stretch depending on exactly when your iMac was produced) but you would need to boost the RAM at the same time. Then you could probably find a USB wireless device that works with the iMac as it is much more likely to support OS X.

[Big Mac]

He could also buy a newer Mac for less than it would cost to upgrade the RAM and buy an adapter.

[P]

Easiest way: buy a wireless router that supports bridging to the existing wireless network and connect the iMac to it with Ethernet. Apple has the Airport Express, but there are cheaper models from other manufacturers.

Second best: Upgrade your OS to 10.3, buy an adapter from this list and get the driver from here.

[retroSE]

Yes, it would be best to buy a router AND upgrade to OS X, but, whatever you do, do NOT use USB. The USB speed on all G3 iMacs is around 11Mbs, far too slow for almost anything.

[P]

Originally Posted by retroSE 

Yes, it would be best to buy a router AND upgrade to OS X, but, whatever you do, do NOT use USB. The USB speed on all G3 iMacs is around 11Mbs, far too slow for almost anything.

Oh you spoiled child of the broadband generation... We used to surf the web using 28.8 kbps modems, and used BBSes at 2400 bps.

It works. You can do basic web and email - I know, I have done precisely that on a slotloader with a USB pin from the list I linked above. File transfers work, you just have to be patient and avoid file sharing protocols like AFP and SMB in favor of HTTP and FTP. A G3 isn't fast enough for more demanding sites anyway, and forget about gaming.

[Hg2491]

Thank you all for the feedback. The computer is for a 10-year-old so speed is not an issue. Does anyone knows where can I get OS 10.3?

I'm thinking about going the router way.

Thank you again.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by Hg2491 

Thank you all for the feedback. The computer is for a 10-year-old so speed is not an issue. Does anyone knows where can I get OS 10.3?

I'm thinking about going the router way.

Thank you again.

The best place for old OS is macsales.com . Order the emac or imac version if they have it -- it's a generic install. If you want to know the best deal for your machine, just call them. Of course, places like smalldog and powerbookguy can get copies too.

[Veltliner]

How easy will it be for the OP to get all this?

He's from the Dominican Republic.

[Hg2491]

I don't think it would be easy to get 10.3 here. I did some research and found that Tiger can be installed on the G3s. I'll be upgrading the iMac to 1gig of RAM and to a 80gig hdd.

[P]

Tiger runs OK on my slotloading iMac (400 MHz), but Panther was better. More RAM is a requirement, though, as you plan.

You don't mention exact specs of your Mac. Be sure to check what is your max RAM. The slotloaders can take 1 gig, but the previous ones can't.

[Hg2491]

Originally Posted by P 

Tiger runs OK on my slotloading iMac (400 MHz), but Panther was better. More RAM is a requirement, though, as you plan.

You don't mention exact specs of your Mac. Be sure to check what is your max RAM. The slotloaders can take 1 gig, but the previous ones can't.

I found that this iMac takes up to 1 gig of RAM and up to 127 gigs of HDD.
One more thing, isn't the RAM for a 9 year old iMac supposed to be cheap?

[P]

Not anymore... RAM prices bottom out when it is the type in major use and then start creeping upwards again as warehousing becomes a bigger part of the cost equation.

Sometimes "Mac memory" is more expensive than other, equivalent RAM, but in this case I can't save more than a buck or two off that price with a quick check of the usual suspects. I guess it is that expensive these days.

[Koralatov]

Originally Posted by Hg2491 

I found that this iMac takes up to 1 gig of RAM and up to 127 gigs of HDD.
One more thing, isn't the RAM for a 9 year old iMac supposed to be cheap?

P is right — PC100 RAM has gone up a lot in the last couple of years, as it’s now considered obsolete by manufacturers. It’s probably been five years since a new computer was released that required it. In the grand scheme of things, $32 for a 512MB DIMM is pretty cheap.

If you’ve got the full 1GB, and a nice fast drive, Tiger should run pretty well on you iMac. I had an 500MHz iMac G3 for a while, with an 80GB 7,200RPM drive and a gig of RAM, and I was happy enough with Tiger’s performance.

[Hg2491]

I'll be getting the gig of RAM and a 80 gig HDD for the iMac. I used an old 400 Mhz PowerBook the other day with 512 running Tiger and it ran ok for a 8-9 year old computer. I guess that the iMac will be a perfect iTunes server .

Thanks for all the help!

[Veltliner]

I like those Caribbean islands.

They are great museums.

American fifties and sixties cars in Cuba, nineties computers in the Dominican Republic!

Cheerio!