Mired in antiquity

[popeye]

I'm a one trick pony. In my eighties and having learned to get around on my G3 dual USB iBook with 640 MB of memory, I never moved up to a newer machine. Where I live, dial-up is my only option, DSL has been "around the corner" for two years and counting. Not surprisingly, my online experience isn't exactly breath taking. I'm not interested in games, photography, or music — I use my machine exclusively for research (nothing sophisticated — just every day stuff). My principal beef is interminable downloads. I know a new machine, broadband, and an upgrade from OS X 10.3.9 would cure what ails me, but what about something not so dramatic? Would love to hear some innovative views.

[Solitare]

Have you tried Firefox? It seems a bit more responsive than Safari.

[Mikef]

I still use a G3 Powerbook in my line-up and have no intention of replacing it as it does just what I need for a specific task. That said, your download problems aren't easily solved, there are applications that promise to speed up dial-up connections but I never found one that really made much difference.

In the UK the most public libraries now have free BB Internet for their users and you can burn the results of your hour's session to a R/W CDR. So if you have a similar facility local to you you could use it once a week for an intensive download session and then digest the CDR at home at your leisure.

I maintain such a facility for emergency use (my home BB goes down from time to time) and I've got into the habit of sending emails between the two locations which just contain useful www links.

Sorry I can't suggest anything more positive.

[popeye]

Solitare:

I was disillusioned with Safari some time ago. I installed Camino and Firefox and chose Camino. While the improvement wasn't dramatic, it was better.

Mikef:

It was very comforting to know I'm not the only one still using the G3. I live in a small town, but happily computer service is first class at our library — BB is taken for granted. While it was always there in my face whenever I visited to browse the bookshelves, it never occurred to me to take advantage of the service. Your suggestion opened my eyes — I'll give it a whirl.

Would my downloading experience be appreciably improved by hi speed USB 2?

[mmkerc]

Since your computer's usb ports are all usb 1 (or 1.1) a usb 2 device would not improve your preformance.

I cannot think of anything to suggest to improve performance as your issue is all about connectivity and not really hardware.

[popeye]

Originally Posted by mmkerc

Since your computer's usb ports are all usb 1 (or 1.1) a usb 2 device would not improve your preformance.

I cannot think of anything to suggest to improve performance as your issue is all about connectivity and not really hardware.

Having provided me with a relevant insight, you've enabled me to accept reality.

Thank you.

[Mikef]

Originally Posted by popeye

Solitare:

It was very comforting to know I'm not the only one still using the G3. I live in a small town, but happily computer service is first class at our library — BB is taken for granted. While it was always there in my face whenever I visited to browse the bookshelves, it never occurred to me to take advantage of the service. Your suggestion opened my eyes — I'll give it a whirl.

Would my downloading experience be appreciably improved by hi speed USB 2?

The UK libraries do not allow the users to connect anything to them hence using R/W CDRs is the only option. As regards the Libraries email - hmmmmm again they're configured to point you towards using MS-Hotmail - not my preferred option but it works so I didn't argue.

I hope you have some success