eMac Newbie with USB WiFi dongle

Hi Guys! After a couple of decades tinkering with PCs, I finally bought myself a 3rd generation 1.25Mhz eMac to play with. So far, it's been kind of fun - but something like trying to find an address while driving on the wrong side of the road in a strange car. I upgraded the RAM (from 256k to 1.5 Gig - which makes quite a difference to performance!) added a "Tilt'n'Swivel" base, and toyed with buying either an Airport Extreme card... or a MUCH cheaper USB dongle. I went for the dongle - remember, I'm a NEWBIE, not a fanboy! (But a Newbie with twenty years experience. My RAM upgrade came from my "spares" box; it works just fine, even if it DOESN'T have an Apple logo stuck on it. I shudder to think what it would have cost if it HAD the Fanboy's logo!)

I "installed" the Dongle - plugged it in, and installed the driver, configured it, typed in the WEP key for my home network... and it found the router and connected happily to it. With a PC, that's all you need. Apparently, with an eMac, it's NOT all you need. I started up Safari, and was told "you're not connected to the internet" (Strange... the RaLink configuration window says that I AM connected to it!) It offered to open the Network configuration tool... which offered a wide range of options, but NOT my situation: WiFi by some means OTHER than an airport card.

I bought the eMac expecting to be dazzled by how fantastic Macs and OSX are. As you might have gathered... I'm NOT too impressed at the moment.

Any suggestions would be welcome. How DOES one get Safari to talk to the web through a perfectly good connection provided by a dongle?

Did you not read last time this was posted? Look for an Airport Extreme card as USB dongles just do not work. Can always go back to your PC I guess.

Unfortunately for you, and quite a few others I suspect, you're the victim of simply not researching before you tried it. As Harry has said, there's another thread on this about 13 posts below yours.

The USB architecture in a Mac doesn't accommodate wifi dongles (it's not the software). I've spent about two hours searching for a solution, because I'm considering entering the wireless scene, but it looks like the only way is an airport card.

hughvane one wonders if we are being trolled as the OP was involved in this thread previously concerning the inability of USB dongles, slams Macs, refers to fanboys, not happy about memory, tried to tell us early eMacs did not have USB ports when they all sure do?

Yeah harry, seems like today the trolls are out in force. Several over in the Notebook forum. But anyway, it's good info you posted previously about the USB dongles not working.

I have even had problems with them on some notebook PCs. I have a Netgear WG111T that I wasted near $90 on some time ago. It's still sitting in my closet gathering dust.

Regards.

Yes Charlie Netgear dongles do not work on a Mac pure and simple. Despite claims of Mac compatability and drivers.