New iMac + Dial up = ?

[jukeofurl]

At the risk of getting slammed, here is the question. I have a 2004 iMac 1.25 GHz Power PC G4 512 DDR SDRAM. And dial up. I can only get dial up in this location. If you want to waste your time telling me to move, it's your life. I can't move. Not now anyway.

If I can swing the $ for the current iMac 21.5, double up the memory, can the sheer difference in the quantum leap of processor speed + RAM help complete most normal pageloads? I know it won't change bandwidth for big boy media functions. I just want to see a site load w/o me aborting to roll the dice on that working. I do need to do important blog type WP stuff & also read Calvin & Hobbes. Or use @#%&*! Gmail and not burst a blood vessel.

Hate to get a cheap Windows & take my chances with that mess around.

OK. Ready to duck. . ..

 

[rowley]

I'm sure you can plug in a USB modem and have your dial up and eat it.
I dont see any problems with that.

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Its doubtful that a upgrade of desktop machine will improve your browsing experience. As you will be restricted to 56kbps, the image still takes just as long to download as before.

Is there a mobile solution in your area? 3G is a lot faster than dialup.
Using a 3G modem could certainly improve things.

 

[jukeofurl]

3g

Thanks for replying. Pretty much what I thought. I will explore 3G availability again. Last time I checked, the provider was not helpful with all my questions.

I live in rural Virginia US. Though I have proximity to a large uni, the reliability of technical support/advice here is a crapshoot. Like most people, they want to close a sale first & worry(?) about if it works for the customer after the fact.

 

[sngx1275]

My parents live in rural Missouri and their only option is dialup as well. My mom has a Mac Mini and a Macbook and uses the Apple USB modem with them and her speeds are horrible. My dad has a custom built Windows PC with a PCI modem and he gets pretty good speeds.

So it could just be that the modem you are using doesn't agree with your ISP. It doesn't make much sense to me why that would happen, but I see 2 modems operate completely differently when I go to my parents' house.

 

[velocityg4]

Have you considered a satellite internet service provider like Hughes Net? There are some downsides to satellite like lag and fair access policies (daily data limits before throttling begins). But compared to dial-up satellite is superior by leaps and bounds.

 

[EvenStranger]

Just to let everyone know, the Apple USB Modem is not supported by Snow Leopard or Lion, so if you need to go the USB modem route, you'll need to purchase a 3rd party modem that is supported. US Robotics has one here that says it's Snow Leopard and Lion compatible.

 

[tjb1]

Have you considered a satellite internet service provider like Hughes Net? There are some downsides to satellite like lag and fair access policies (daily data limits before throttling begins). But compared to dial-up satellite is superior by leaps and bounds.

It would almost be cheaper to get an iPhone with data and tethering and it's most likely faster.

 

[mstrze]

It would almost be cheaper to get an iPhone with data and tethering and it's most likely faster.

Assuming the OP has 3G coverage.

And there is more than one provider of USB 3G or 4G dongles out there to get your wireless internet connectivity. Check with all the local cell phone providers because you may actually have multiple options.

Or you may be in a dead zone and dial-up and satellite may be your only alternatives.

 

[tjb1]

Assuming the OP has 3G coverage.

And there is more than one provider of USB 3G or 4G dongles out there to get your wireless internet connectivity. Check with all the local cell phone providers because you may actually have multiple options.

Or you may be in a dead zone and dial-up and satellite may be your only alternatives.

I have dial-up only or the $100 a month satellite and my iPhone kills anything around here in speed. We even had a 3G card for the laptop that sucked, barely faster than dial up.

 

[jukeofurl]

Thanks. So far...

The solutions suggested are worthy. The sat is not feasible --- two reasons: trees & fees. I have too many big trees & too little monies I called Hughes anyway --- they didn't even have my location listed. They asked me ---do you get postal delivery service? "you're not showing on the USPS route..." BTW, they'd need to build me a really big utility pole my neighbors would have to approve. Deputy Dawg would come by right after & hand me a sweet zoning fine. I think I might be in an alt universe. One apparently even more effed up than this one.

As for anything smaller--- MacBook not enough guts . I can't really afford a MBP blah blah blah. For the WP I do, I need a display that won't take the rest of my eyesight(me=old), so iPad or iPhone is out. I need some storage oomph, so a relatively big HD is called for, though I don't really need a TB. That's why a base iMac 21.5 satisfies most needs, as I said, kicking up the memory.

Regardless --- If I can trust the locals info --- there's a chance at 4G. A recent occurrence if true. They do hedge that ---it's on a 14 day trial basis because they can't guarantee me service. One hand giveth the other smacketh down.

Good news is, just after I posted my problem here, people on my current project offered to pay for Verizon 4G. If that actually works, I can dig up these old Confederate era copper phone lines & retrofit them to their original purpose. Making moonshine. . ..

 

[sngx1275]

Just to let everyone know, the Apple USB Modem is not supported by Snow Leopard or Lion, so if you need to go the USB modem route, you'll need to purchase a 3rd party modem that is supported. US Robotics has one here that says it's Snow Leopard and Lion compatible.

Really? My Mom's Mini and her MB are running SL and using the Apple USB modem, I just plugged it in and it worked. Although like I said, the speeds are terrible, even for dial up.

 

[jukeofurl]

Apple Modem

Your folks have an Apple USB modem but. . ..


Since 2008(?) Apple no longer comes with a built in modem. Not too long after that move, they stopped producing that USB Modem too. Shows you what they think about low end users. I'm using a Best Data, which I had to buy 5 years ago when I blew out my internal Apple modem because I was rocking some exotic scripts to juice the data flow here in Apple-lachia[sic].

For anybody in a similar situation, the only USB discrete external modem compatible w/Lion extant & on a retailer's shelf ( for now ) is a Zoom telex. If Verizon is for real (they've misled me about availibility before---that's a really nice story), I'll be using 4G hopefully because my work partners approved it. Up to now, I was told it wasn't avail in my location. Might still be the case. I don't trust any intell here. Stay tuned. . ..

 

[NightFox]

Just to let everyone know, the Apple USB Modem is not supported by Snow Leopard or Lion, so if you need to go the USB modem route, you'll need to purchase a 3rd party modem that is supported. US Robotics has one here that says it's Snow Leopard and Lion compatible.

To confirm what's already been said - the Apple USB modem does work with Snow Leopard (or at least it did for me!); it's just Lion it doesn't work with.

I assume you're getting rid of your old Mac? If you were planning on still running both, you can leave the old one hooked up to your dial-up connection and share the Internet connection with your new Mac over a network connection? Guess this might be overkill for your requirements though.

 

[accessoriesguy]

Your folks have an Apple USB modem but. . ..


Since 2008(?) Apple no longer comes with a built in modem. Not too long after that move, they stopped producing that USB Modem too. Shows you what they think about low end users. I'm using a Best Data, which I had to buy 5 years ago when I blew out my internal Apple modem because I was rocking some exotic scripts to juice the data flow here in Apple-lachia[sic].

For anybody in a similar situation, the only USB discrete external modem compatible w/Lion extant & on a retailer's shelf ( for now ) is a Zoom telex. If Verizon is for real (they've misled me about availibility before---that's a really nice story), I'll be using 4G hopefully because my work partners approved it. Up to now, I was told it wasn't avail in my location. Might still be the case. I don't trust any intell here. Stay tuned. . ..

good luck with that. I have heard of this a while back, im not too sure about it but you should look into it, maybe you can get some luck out of it.

http://www.belkin.com/networking/powerline/

pretty much internet using your electrical wiring. maybe that can help you get faster speeds? Like i said I don't know much about it, i heard about it years ago but have never seen it implemented.