My PowerBook G3 works comfortably, but my Macintosh SE can't even load a single picture. What do you think is the oldest Mac (with upgrades) that can surf the internet?
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The oldest Mac that can "surf"
- Thread starter h4lp m3
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Katakefalos
macrumors newbie
Someone got their Mac Plus online with the help of a modern computer: http://www.keacher.com/1216/how-i-introduced-a-27-year-old-computer-to-the-web/
tevion5
macrumors 68000
That is awesome. It even looks very legible! I've seen an SE load google and it was a code ridden mess. Wikipedia looks very clean. Shame it requires so much hardware and coding though... :/ (although it was nice of them to share the code).
Seems the only thing holding back my 512Ke is RAM. How easy are those old MacSnap ram kits to install and remove does anybody know?
sliceoftoast
macrumors 6502a
Many websites can detect when you're on a mobile device and direct you to an optimized version of their website... I wonder if the same can the same be done to detect older operating systems?
The oldest one i have that i still use on the web from time to time is my PowerBook 3400c. It does however have 144MB of ram...
If you don't need the pictures, then a 512Ke could probably connect using MacTerminal via modem to a dial-up remote Unix system (are there any of those left?), and run lynx in VT100 mode for text-mode web surfing. In lieu of a finding a remote Unix dial-up, a serial-to-USB plug on a raspberry pi might work.
tevion5
macrumors 68000
I might make that the next adventure for my 512Ke. I've already made it a server over a forwarded FTP server. I can take pics on my iphone and and them straight to my 512Ke and see them! Also, I use my PM8600 as a file server to give my 512Ke a free hard drive solution. Connecting to the internet shall be my next conquest!
BJonson
macrumors 6502a
I have all the macs and the oldest one I have that is actually barely useable is my quicksilver g4 upgraded with a sonnet encore duet 1.27ghz. Before the upgrade it was at 867mhz and it crawled through stuff now its kind of useable. Youtube videos are still choppy but playable kind of. Opening Netscape on my 9600 results in a million errors popping up on apple webpage so unusable. Quicksilver is running 10.5.8.
Hrududu
macrumors 68020
benvw99
macrumors member
Kudos to the guy who got the classic working on the net.
Oldest computer I got on the web is... iMac g3 9.2? My grandparents have a really slow windows xp, and their wifi doesn't work very good, so whenever I visit I haul up my ol' bondi blue G3 from the basement and give it an Ethernet cable. Perfect sites every time. Not too slow either.
Oldest computer I got on the web is... iMac g3 9.2? My grandparents have a really slow windows xp, and their wifi doesn't work very good, so whenever I visit I haul up my ol' bondi blue G3 from the basement and give it an Ethernet cable. Perfect sites every time. Not too slow either.
Anonymous Freak
macrumors 603
A few definitions are required...
"with upgrades" - do you mean only upgrades that substantially keep the computer the same "basic computer" as it started, or do "rip the guts out and replace them" upgrades count? A Color Classic with PPC upgrade would be a usable surfing machine. As would an original Macintosh with its guts ripped out and replaced with a modern small-form-factor PC (like a Mac Mini.)
"surf" - do you mean use a web browsing program natively on the OS, or is simply finding a way to display websites on the internal screen sufficient? I have gotten my original Macintosh to "surf" by using a serial terminal program, and connecting to my Linux server. Then using a text-based command line browser.
I would say the oldest "usable" machine for browsing would be the Macintosh IIx. With a 68030, it can run iCab 2.9.9, which is still reasonably useful. Or, for a more "classic" experience, an SE/30. Slightly newer, but as a compact Mac, it gives a more vintage feel. (I used an SE/30 for web browsing for quite a while after it was "obsolete", as it fit in a cubby in my kitchen perfectly.) And, of course, you can get an Ethernet card for the SE/30 just fine.
"with upgrades" - do you mean only upgrades that substantially keep the computer the same "basic computer" as it started, or do "rip the guts out and replace them" upgrades count? A Color Classic with PPC upgrade would be a usable surfing machine. As would an original Macintosh with its guts ripped out and replaced with a modern small-form-factor PC (like a Mac Mini.)
"surf" - do you mean use a web browsing program natively on the OS, or is simply finding a way to display websites on the internal screen sufficient? I have gotten my original Macintosh to "surf" by using a serial terminal program, and connecting to my Linux server. Then using a text-based command line browser.
I would say the oldest "usable" machine for browsing would be the Macintosh IIx. With a 68030, it can run iCab 2.9.9, which is still reasonably useful. Or, for a more "classic" experience, an SE/30. Slightly newer, but as a compact Mac, it gives a more vintage feel. (I used an SE/30 for web browsing for quite a while after it was "obsolete", as it fit in a cubby in my kitchen perfectly.) And, of course, you can get an Ethernet card for the SE/30 just fine.
Netscape, when this most brilliant browser was killed off, was the day I went off that operating system that is most popular, that runs on my new HP laptop, with tiles and has a touchpad called surface...
I suppose it's possible to connect and old Mac with System 6 : it works with Mini vMac : http://www.journaldulapin.com/2014/05/16/connecter-system-6-a-internet-avec-un-emulateur/
I have "connected" a PowerBook 100, but it's to slow with my 2400 bauds modem from a Newton : http://www.journaldulapin.com/2014/06/02/connecter-un-powerbook-100-a-internet/ (in french)
Powerbook 100
Also connected an old Powerbook 100 and it worked slowly but steadily on the net. Great thread OP.
Also connected an old Powerbook 100 and it worked slowly but steadily on the net. Great thread OP.
JoeG4
macrumors 68040
You can set your user agent to a mobile browser agent like these:
http://www.useragentstring.com/pages/Mobile Browserlist/
That should help get you mobile sites that aren't so loaded with js and modern junk that would choke any browser made in the 90s.
http://www.useragentstring.com/pages/Mobile Browserlist/
That should help get you mobile sites that aren't so loaded with js and modern junk that would choke any browser made in the 90s.