Northwest Nexus Frequently Asked Questions
Mac OS

Recommended Mac OS Internet Software

What Software Do I Need to Use the Internet with My Mac?

There's only a very little software that you really need to access the Internet with your Mac or Mac clone. Our recommendations follow; these are not firm, but have given us optimal results:

System Type

Mac OS Version

Network Software

Dialup Software

68k Mac with
< 12MB RAM

 System 7.5.5 Classic Networking FreePPP 2.5 or higher

68k Mac with
12+MB RAM

 System 7.5.5 or higher Open Transport 1.1.2 or higher Open Transport PPP

PowerMac
or clone

 System 7.5.5 or higher Open Transport 1.1.2 or higher Open Transport PPP

If you are using a version of MacTCP lower than 2.0.6, a version of Open Transport lower than 1.1, or Mac OS version 7.5.2, you must upgrade before we can support you. We cannot guarantee successful connections with those particular software versions; attempting to support you before you upgrade would be a waste of your time and ours.

What Internet Client Software Do You Recommend for Mac OS?

The variety of Internet software available to the Mac is huge, and much of it is excellent. Therefore, do not take our recommendations as gospel; the only important factors in deciding what client programs to use are:
  1. Does the software work?
  2. Do you like it?
The best thing to do is download a few different programs and try them out for yourself! If you like it and it does what you need it to, go ahead and use it.

Here is a list of common Internet software applications * = highly recommended:

Category

Name

Payment Type

URL

Email

 Eudora Pro * Commercial http://www.eudora.com/

Email

 Eudora Light * Freeware http://www.eudora.com/eudoralight

Email

 Claris Em@iler Commercial http://www.claris.com/products/claris/emailer/site/

FTP

 Fetch 3.03 * Shareware ftp://mirrors.apple.com

FTP

 Anarchie Shareware, $10 http://www.stairways.com/

FTP

 NetFinder Shareware, $15 http://w3.ime.net/~elf66/NFF/NetFinder.html

News

 NewsWatcher Freeware ftp://ftp.acns.nwu.edu/pub/newswatcher/

Web

 MacLynx Freeware http://www.lirmm.fr/~gutkneco/maclynx/

Web

 MS Internet Explorer * Freeware http://www.microsoft.com/ie/

Web

 Netscape Navigator * Commercial http://www.netscape.com/

Utility

 StuffIt Expander *
(Usually Bundled
with web browsers)		 Freeware http://www.aladdinsys.com/

Where Can I Find Other Mac OS Internet Clients?

The definitive source for all Macintosh applications, be they Internet clients, games, sounds, fonts, or whatever, is the Info-Mac Archive. There are many, many Info-Mac mirror sites from which you can FTP all the programs your little heart desires. Bookmarks to most of these sites can be found in both Anarchie and Fetch, the two major FTP clients for the Macintosh. A couple of URLs that will take you directly to the TCP/IP communications directory for Internet programs:  

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