So, my grandmother has an old eMac that I want to get running. It's connected to the internet (and updated to the max), but of course, the computer is just so outdated that the internet doesn't display well at all. Are there any browsers/plugins I can download to get things working properly? Upgrading to Tiger/Leopard is pretty much out of the question.
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How to make Jaguar usable?
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Jaguar? you mean 10.2 ...please ,please do your Granny's eMac a favour and update to Tiger 10.4 which is miles more stable
and you could then run TenFourFox or Camino the best browsers for PowerMac's and the last that are fully supported with updates today (both based on Firefox)!
and max out the ram to at very least 512 mb , better to 1 gb then you got a computer thats even today usable for the basics at descent speeds, you will then for normal browsing see not much difference in speed compared to your iMac 21.5", the eMac's are still great computers
Panther 10.3 would be a option too , but then you need to use a older unsupported Camino version.
because 10.2 was everything but not a great OS even in 2002 , of course you could try installing a even older version of camino (1.0)which isn't supported since years
other great option would be reverse back to OS9.1 /OS9.2 and use clasilla browser at least that is a supported browser
and you could then run TenFourFox or Camino the best browsers for PowerMac's and the last that are fully supported with updates today (both based on Firefox)!
and max out the ram to at very least 512 mb , better to 1 gb then you got a computer thats even today usable for the basics at descent speeds, you will then for normal browsing see not much difference in speed compared to your iMac 21.5", the eMac's are still great computers
Panther 10.3 would be a option too , but then you need to use a older unsupported Camino version.
because 10.2 was everything but not a great OS even in 2002 , of course you could try installing a even older version of camino (1.0)which isn't supported since years
other great option would be reverse back to OS9.1 /OS9.2 and use clasilla browser at least that is a supported browser
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That requires too much time and effort; my grandmother doesn't use this computer primarily, she uses a Windows XP laptop that works just fine. She just wants this eMac to be relatively operational.
Tiger would be great, but aside for getting it illegally its very hard to get your hands on a copy these days 
Put Tiger on it, it's a million times better than Jag, and if your eMac is supported, or if it's not and you were feeling like putting some extra effort in, I'd recommend Leopard over Tiger.
If that's too much effort then you can give the computer up for lost. Jaguar is just too old. Upgrading the OS isn't THAT much effort, and the RAM is also fairly easy to upgrade. I could do the whole thing in an hour and a half.
Well, it is too much effort for a computer that hasn't been used for years. Yes, the RAM is easy to install (and is easily found for cheap on eBay), but getting Tiger would be a major pain; I'd have to hunt down the rare-ish CD version of Tiger and then pay a ridiculously expensive price ($100-$110) for a 7-year old obsolete operating system.
Yay! iCab! I use that as the main browser on my PM G3
What do you like about iCab?
I found that older camino versions work best.
I reckon Apple should produce a small amount of Tiger CDs each year and sell them for $50 or something. I know a lot of people (including myself) who would buy it, and Apple would make a little profit from it as well. Everybody wins
Well, it's running OS 9 and it is the only browser I've tested so far. I might try Classilia or whatever it's called soon.
it's called Classilla and i run it on my clamshell with os 9.2.2
http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/
http://www.floodgap.com/software/classilla/
I'm all against software piracy, but for an old Apple OS that Apple doesn't even care about anymore, I'd just grab it from the usual sources. Nobody is going to send the police to your door for downloading Tiger.
Its sort of selfish for Apple to keep it copyright IMO. I mean, they don't sell it anymore. It reminds me of a little kid holding on to their teddy bear and not letting anyone else use it, even though they don't even like it anymore...
I'd support that, but if Apple does that they'd probably be pressured to release all the way back.
As I understand it 7.6 and above are still copyright. The latest you can get in public domain is OS 7.5.
Best way to make Jaguar usable is to install Panther. No joke, Jag was a terrible OS. Its slow, it crashes all the time and even with lots of RAM will never perform up to what you'll see from Panther. I would bet you could easily track down a copy of Panther or even Tiger for super cheap on eBay these days.
Except that it doesn't make any business sense to release such a relatively recent OS for free. It would eat into their current sales of Macs, because people in the OP's situation would be more inclined to just download Tiger than to just buy a new Mac. Apple's job is to stay in business and stay profitable, not enable users to continue to use very old Macs.
I'm not saying I approve of this, but at the same time it makes perfect sense.
If you really think it makes "perfect sense" that a free download of an OS from 2005 that never even had a retail build for Intel chips is going to hurt Apple's sales of new computers, then you've got to be smoking something. People who want to run Tiger are either not in the market for a new Mac at all or they already have one and are using it on hardware that cannot be purchased new anywhere. Sorry, but that logic is a complete joke.
If Apple released any recent version of OSX out in the pd it would be a huge mistake. Even Tiger is better than Windows, it would make it that much easier for someone to make a simple loader for Tiger to work on pc's not that it's not possible already, but at least as it stands now it's harder to get ahold of Tiger without illegally downloading it.