Okay, so after getting my new IMac a few months ago, I finally went
wireless. We contacted HughesNet, and they installed a satellite
high-speed internet package with a Belkin router. (That was about the
only option for us folks who live out in the boonies!) Wow! Sure beats
the 28.8K dial-up modem!! (And now we can get rid of the dedicated
phone line we had for our IMac.)
So I went to the local Apple Store. I asked them what I could do with
my older IMac G-3 - could I go wireless and/or high speed? And the
Apple technician said yes to both questions. He said I have 2 options,
a "6 of one, half dozen of the other" solution:
1. The easiest solution would be to purchase a USB adaptor.
Right
there in the Apple Store, he went online and brought up the following
website. (He told me that is what I needed to purchase.)
http://macsense.com/product/networking/wua880.html
All I needed to do was to plug it into a USB port and download the
drivers from the same website. But then he said I probably had, on
that particular model IMac, only 2 USB ports. (Answer - yes.) Hmm...
So, my first question: I have my printer and my keyboard plugged into
the 2 available USB ports. Can I plug the printer into the one
remaining USB port on the backside of my keyboard, freeing one of the
USB ports on the side of my G-3?
2. The Apple tech said, if it were his older IMac G-3, he would
install an Airport card. (He said that operation, for him, would be
very easy.) He said I could get around any charges for labor by making
a tech appointment, bringing in my G-3, placing it right there on the
counter, and an Apple tech rep would then give me the required tools
and lead me by the hand, instructing me to unscrew what needed to be
unscrewed, opening what needed to be opened, etc., and therefore, I
would be the one doing the actual work. So there would be no labor
charges.
I asked if I could purchase an Airport card right there in the store.
Nope - they are no longer available from Apple. He said I would
probably have to go online and purchase it there. He said I could start
with eBay, but he cautioned, hopefully, I wouldn't get a used card
(that might give me problems later on). He said I needed specifically a
B Airport card, NOT a G. (An A card will work, but it will be slower
than the B.) And the B Airport card must be non-Airport Extreme. He
said my G-3 still wouldn't be as fast as the new IMac, but it would
sure be a heck of a lot faster than with the 28.8K dial-up modem.
So what does the group recommend? Since the Apple guy said he would go
with the Airport card (if it were his G-3), I'm tempted to go that
route. And, so, would anyone know where I might be able to get a new
non-Airport Extreme "B" Airport card? (And should I avoid buying one
from any particular place?) Or should I just go ahead and get the USB
adaptor from macsense.com?
Tech info: IMac PowerPC 750 (33.11)
700 MHz
256 KB cache
512 MB memory
100 MHz bus speed
OS X 10.3.9 (And by the way, I mentioned what the
group said
before about upgrading to 10.4 [on this particular machine] - don't do
it. The Apple tech strongly
concurred - he said, technically, I
could get away with installing 10.4, but that I would be much better
off sticking with 10.3 on this particular IMac
model.)
So, thanks for any recommendations you can pass this way. But don't
let it interfere with any of the comments about the new OS - I'm
enjoying reading all the information and discussion about Leopard as I
anticipate upgrading to Leopard on our new IMac.
Chris
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