Dialup Modem advice for iMac

January 14, 2009 2:21 PM

Latest iMac G5... no internal modem for dial-up. Need dial-up. Will any usb modem work?

My mother just bought a new iMac (in December). She lives in the boonies. There doesn't seem to be an "internal modem" in her network settings. Will any USB modem work? For instance, this one from Trend Net or (preferably) this one from Belkin (it's the cheapest I can find).

My concern is that the iMac won't recognize these as a modem for plug and play but will require some convoluted set up process (mom's not so hot with computers) or a download of software that's no longer available.

Suggestions?

posted by You Should See the Other Guy to computers & internet (10 comments total)

If you want to be sure, there's the Apple USB modem. I have one and it's totally plug and play.
posted by zsazsa at 2:30 PM on January 14

I've used the Apple USB Modem without a problem.
posted by Oktober at 2:30 PM on January 14

Just a note: the iMac G5 was discontinued in March of 2006. Did she really buy a "new" one?
posted by sbutler at 3:08 PM on January 14

sbutler, sorry, I didn't realize they change the name. It's the latest iMac, the aluminum one. I just assumed as since there's no g6, it was a g5. My mistake.

Oktober and zsazsa thanks the answers. I'd rather not give Apple more money than I have to for something that should have been in the damn machine (imo). My own aluminum iMac has a built in modem inside. Paying Apple $60 (in Canada) for a $5 part grates on my nerves, which is why I am looking for other brand solutions.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 3:14 PM on January 14

The G3 through G5 series was for the PowerPC processors. Early ones made by Motorola, then the G5 by IBM.

The new ones don't get that designation because they use i386 processors made by Intel (the same ones you can find in a Dell or HP). A couple of the white ones had Core Duo processors, but IIRC all the aluminum ones have Core 2 Duo. I think Apple has started referring to them as Early/Mid/Late YYYY. For example, your mom's would be a Late 2008 iMac.

Anyway, doesn't answer your question, just The More You Know!
posted by sbutler at 3:26 PM on January 14

Well... I've been able to use a USB-to-serial adapter to hook an old USR Courier V.Everything up to my Mac and that worked as well. I had to go to the web site manufacturer of the chip in the USB adapter and get the drivers (here), but it did work. You could probably pick both up for about $15 each on eBay, and you'll need the right cable to connect the two. Not really a Mom-proof way, but it's proof that there are some alternatives out there.
posted by zsazsa at 3:26 PM on January 14

If you do buy a third party $5 usb modem, make sure it is not a winmodem, or if it is one, check for the availability of OSX drivers.
posted by Arthur Dent at 3:27 PM on January 14

You are not really paying $60 for a $5 part, because those $5 parts are almost certainly winmodems, not actual hardware modems. They're garbage; I don't even use them on Windows, they're such a terrible idea.

You're probably paying $60 for a $45-50 part, because that's what real modems -- ones that aren't just depending on overgrown drivers to do all the heavy lifting -- tend to cost these days.¹ There is certainly a premium for Apple gear, but it's more like 10-20%, not 1200%.

I would seriously recommend just going with the Apple part; as a Mac owner I've gone down the generic path before, and it's almost always worth just sucking it up and paying the "Apple tax" and saving your time and frustration. (Particularly since this is not your computer, and I doubt you really want to spend a lot of time supporting it.) I suspect that the reason your mother has a Mac is because of the 'just-workiness' ... that can all go straight out the window the second you start shoehorning stuff with vendor-supplied (rather than Apple-supplied) drivers into the mix.

But if you're really hell-bent on avoiding them, here's a USR alternative that claims cross-platform compatibility.

1: At least for USB ones; you can find cheap hardware serial modems floating around, but then you have to get a USB-serial converter and are back in the configuration hell you're trying to avoid, since some of those converters can be finicky.
posted by Kadin2048 at 3:58 PM on January 14

The money she will save over the lifetime of her mac (eg. virus subscriptions, technical support, software etc...) will absolutely make up for having to shell out $50 for an external modem. Go for the plug and play option!!
posted by derbs at 4:21 PM on January 14

sbutler: 386 is not quite the correct terminology. The 386 line was a specific generation of x86 processor, and has long since been phased out of modern computer design. As you note, current models have Core 2 Duo processors. I suspect you were thinking "x86" -- and just to keep things complicated, the Core 2 Duo line is actually x86-64, meaning it's a 64-bit Intel CPU.

As far as the modem goes: experience suggests that any external USB modem that adheres to the plug'n'play standard will work, but that you might encounter driver issues if you go with a non-Apple modem. While not something that a technical user couldn't deal with, given the intended use the Apple modem is apt to be easier to get working.
posted by ellF at 4:50 PM on January 14