Mac Daniel's Advice

Appearance Manager Allows Internet Explorer 5.1.7 to Work with Mac OS 7.6.1

- 2007.05.23

Internet Explorer 5.1.7 works in OS 7.6.1!

Browsers and email clients are a problem in Mac OS 7.6.1, no matter how fine it is otherwise. I have had a hard time recommending it to my friends, as they are not interested in computers and just want things to work. The ability to get a secondhand Mac that is fast in 7.6.1 for a very low price or free and nicely working software does not count much for a person who cannot check emails or pay bills with it.

While waiting a delivery (still waiting) of a VPC3 to help with the browser/email client issue, I have been testing a bit. The answer is Internet Explorer 5.1.7 - no compatibility issues with the world any longer.

According to Microsoft, it should need Mac OS 8.1, but the Appearance Manager make it work, just like that. Magic!

Now I can recommend 7.6.1 also for persons who are not looking for a new hobby.

My Mac is fastish for an OS 7 machine with a 366 MHz G3 and 352 MB RAM. I have upgraded the OS with help from System 7 Today.

I have not had a single reliability problem because of the Appearance Manager, nor has it slowed down my Mac at all.

IE 5.1.7 for a browser and SweetMail for an email client and things just work! Both of these needs the Appearance Manager. SweetMail is the only client for 7.6.1 that can do authentication (and multiple accounts).

Unlike some people think, the Appearance Manager 1.0.4 does not change the look of 7.6.1. Everything looks exactly the same afterwards, but WindowShade and StickyClick are also included. Nice.

You can download IE 5.1.7, SweetMail 2.2r6 PPC and Appearance Manager 1.0.4 from Pure Mac.

All three are really easy to install, and this combo has brought me the speed and compatibility of OS 9 in Internet to OS 7.6.1. All other applications are already faster in 7.6.1 than in 9.1 - in my Mac anyway.

Join us on Facebook!, follow us on Twitter, use our Google+ page, or read our RSS news feed

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

OWC Legacy SSD Tested in Mystic Power Mac G4, Dan Knight, 2011.07.15. G4 Power Macs don't have built-in SATA support, and most SSDs are SATA devices. OWC's legacy SSDs work on the older Mac's IDE bus.
OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD Legacy Edition Tested in Blue & White Power Mac G3, Dan Knight, 2011.06.24. The Blue & White G3 has a slow ATA/33 data bus. Will OWC's Legacy SSD outperform a fast hard drive with that bottleneck?
OWC's Legacy SSD Tested in Mirrored Drive Door Power Mac G4, Dan Knight, 2011.05.18. G4 Power Macs don't have built-in SATA support, and most SSDs are SATA devices. OWC's legacy SSDs work on the older Mac's IDE bus.
More in the Mac Daniel index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Lisa, introduced 1983.01.19. The ancestor of the Macintosh had a mouse, a graphical interface, and a $10,000 price tag.
May 21 in LEM history: 99: Not censorship - 01: USB and FireWire drives - 02: Hooked by a PowerBook - Printer sharing for Mac OS X - 04: Less frequent OS X uprades: Good or bad? - 07: I won't get an iPhone this year - Can 262,144 colors be considered 'millions'? - Most durable 'Book - 3 GB in a Mac mini? - 08: Quadra a great server for vintage Mac network
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Low End Mac, LowEndMac, and lowendmac.com are trademarks of Cobweb Publishing Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Macsales Add 2nd Hard Drive or SSD to Mac mini, MacBook or MacBook Pro. 1TB of Hard Drive or SSD Capacity from $64.99! Video Guides Make it easy - OWC DataDoubler - Macsales.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Macpokeronline.com will show you how to download and play Poker on a Mac natively on your Mac in just minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay