Imac Plus Xubuntu Internet Puzzle

[Liam Proven]

On 7/10/06, Irena and Richard Jenkins <richard.jenkins at internode.on.net> wrote:
> Hello everybody ... and apologies if this has been covered before.  I have
> installed Xubuntu (6.06) on my 350 MHz iMac ... and it went well.  I like the
> modern, smart graphics ... and the snappy response times.  It seems like the
> ideal OS for this old warrior.
>
> However, it does not seem to find the internal modem ... and so I cannot
> connect to the internet.  I tried the documentation ... but no-one uses
> dialup internet any more  ... so the documentation doesn't help.  I tried
> looking at /var/log/dmesg ... but can find no reference to modem.  I know it
> works (with other linux distributions) ... so what's missing..??

Although I have fairly extensive Mac experience going back 18y, I have
never tried Linux on one. With OS X, I see no point, frankly.

But I believe that the modem in most models of iMac is a
controllerless "software" modem, AKA a WinModem. Your chances of
getting it running on PPC Linux are, I'd say, slim.

Get a router, connect the iMac to it by Ethernet. If you don't have
broadband access where you are - I don't know, maybe you're way out in
the outback :¬) - then you can build your own router out of an old 486
PC, an ISA or external 56K modem and a copy of Smoothwall Express.
It's very easy and will connect to just about any ISP and present this
to your network as a routed TCP/IP connection. The minimum useful
specs for a Smoothwall machine are a 486/66, 32MB RAM, 350-400MB disk.
You need a CD for installation but not again; you can install over the
network but it's fiddly.

That kind of machine is given away for nothing all over the world now;
you can probably get one anywhere in Oz from the nearest town if you
ask around.

You ask what other OS for an old iMac. It will run much more sweetly
under OS X, if you can give it the memory. You need 256MB for very
light use, 384MB or so for moderate use, and it will perform very
nicely on a 350MHz G3. My home Mac is a 400MHz G3 with 768MB, running
2 17" screens on 2 old ATI Rage128 PCI cards, with Tiger (OS X 10.4)
running off 2 20GB IDE disks. Most of this kit was given to me for
free - the disks, the Mac, the screens, the RAM - and the machine runs
rather sweetly. No, it's not a powerhouse, but for
Web/chat/email/writing, which is what I do, it's a lovely box and far
preferable to a PC of nearly 10x the speed.

-- 
Liam Proven · Blog, homepage &c: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile
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