Internet Issues.

[Carboy7]

While trying to get my iMac G3 online, I came across an issue. (maybe several) I could not get the Airport card to recognize my wifi. I tried connecting to my laptop through an Ethernet cable so I could share the internet, but that wouldn't work. I painstakingly made a network on my laptop to try and get my iMac to connect. However, the network would only let (or so it seemed) Windows computers join. Oops. So I installed Wine on the iMac, but I wasn't using the right version, so it didn't work. Double oops. I continued to try different settings, but the "encryption method" wasn't correct. Triple oops. HELP PLEASE :O

My two computers are the iMac G3, and my old Dell inspiron.

 

[rsolberg]

In Mac OS 9, your AirPort card supports up to 128-bit WEP encryption. More modern network hardware and software uses WPA or WPA2 encryption. You might be able to configure your router or laptop to allow WEP encryption, but be aware that this is very insecure; WEP is pretty trivial to infiltrate. Not only could someone access your Internet connection and network resources, but they could intercept data being sent and received between all of your wireless devices as well.

 

[PowerPup]

To my recollection, the original Airport cards only support up to WPA encryption.

You'll need an Airport Extreme card to support WPA2 (usually the default encryption method on today's routers.) You can always go into the router settings and downgrade the encryption method to WPA, at the risk of less security.

More info: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1353596?tstart=0

It also depends on what OS you're using on the iMac G3, if you're running Mac OS 9 or below, then you'll only get support for WEP encryption: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/695592?start=0&tstart=0

Only Mac OS X can support WPA on the original Airport cards.

 

[Carboy7]

On the Internet Connect in OS X, Airport supports WEP, WEP 40/128-bit hex/ascii, LEAP, WPA, WPA2, and 802.1X WEP. Have no idea what any of this means, but okay.

This is the message when I try to join with WPA Personal: "The wireless network ------ does not support the requested encryption method." If I try WPA2 Personal, it says the same message. But if I try WEP 40/128-bit hex, it instead says "There was an error joining the AirPort network -----."

I'm pretty much ready to give up.

 

[Carboy7]

Oh yeah. Switching the boot disk to OS 9 to try and fix the internet will not work. The error message is "Your internet software is not configured correctly." So, yeah. I have got a computer that's based around the internet yet it won't connect. And this is the bad thing about any old computer from the 2000s. You can't do anything without the internet. Since man deserves better technology, the internet will be improved. (aka ruined).

UGH

 

[rsolberg]

Your router is likely set up for WPA and/or WPA2 with PSK. (AES encryption) This is the modern standard, but some older devices that can do WPA and WPA2 don't support AES. If your router has a setting for "WPA2 multi", "WPA2 AES/TKIP", or "WPA2 PSK/TKIP", that will probably work. TKIP was an intermediate method of encryption introduced as a stop gap to AES due to the insecurity of WEP.

 

[Johnnya101]

If you can, get an ethernet cable. At this point, its a lot easier. If your iMac is too far away from the router, like mine, I bought these two adapters called nether Powerline adapters. You plug one in by the computer into a wall outlet, and then plug the ethernet cable into the mac, and the other into an outlet by the router, with ethernet going into the router.

 

[techknight]

the G3 is the bare minimum to even browse a somewhat modern rendition of todays internet, and thats with 10.4 with TenFourFox. Anything earlier forget it. classilla is getting worse as time goes by because of website scripting changes, etc.. 

But thats quickly fading as HTTP 2.0 is here, and a bunch of other technological changes like SSL enforcement, etc.. commencing as they always do. So its only a matter of time when the G5 is the minimum to run modern internet properly. Oh and failing to mention that more and more websites are starting to look like "apps" these days and to do that you need a shit ton of javascript code, and of course HTML5 if supported. 

So if you want a vintage machine just to browse the web in its normality? Well....  

My personal opinion is respect the machine for what it is, and for what it did. Not for what it can be "forced" to do. Although fun, given the horsepower the experience wouldnt be pleasant. 

If you HAVE to have internet, 10.4 with TenFourFox is minimum. 

 

[tanaquil]

I don't like doing anything internet related on any of my vintage machines, even the G4. Just too painful and too slow. I do try to keep them all ethernet connected if possible, but that's for local file transfer.

It's a pity there is no vintage internet out there, since of course once upon a time these machines did surf the internet just fine (at least, the ones made after 1995 or so). We could all be hitting up geocities and yahoo to our heart's content.

Not to mention gopher! And usenet!

 

[Carboy7]

It's a pity there is no vintage internet out there, since of course once upon a time these machines did surf the internet just fine

But, like I said, the internet has to get better. And when it does, it basically renders these old machines obsolete. >

 

[Cory5412]

It's not "The Internet" that's at fault -- it's your wireless router. Essentially, 11-megabit, hackable in mere seconds wireless networking with poor range turns out not to be good solution when you have more than one or two devices, a larger home, a local file server, whatever.

Devices with only 802.11B wireless networking (outside of things with unusually long lives, such as Nintendo products) haven't really been built generally for a bit under ten years. Many more modern home networking gateways (I've heard a lot about this with Comcast gateways) just don't work well with 802.11B clients, even if you turn off all of the security.

My recommendation if you want to experience wireless networking is to buy an early wireless router and one or two computers that support 802.11B networking. Then, you can configure that particular access point however you want. A WRT54G variant or an old 2wire DSL gateway would be good for this kind of thing.