I'm currently without home broadband access; I limp along with dial-up, on either a 2002 G4 iMac with an internal modem or more recently with an Apple external modem on a 2006 G5 iMac that doesn't have an internal modem. For my modest uses, limited to some web browsing and email, it's been ok, and we've got fast connections at work for when that's necessary.
A friend who upgrades his tech about as often as I change my socks just gave me a late 2009 27" iMac, with 16 GB memory, 2.8 GHz Intel quad Core i7 processor, and 1TB hard drive. It was running OS X 10.6 something, so I brought it to an Apple store for a check up and upgrade and they did a clean install and loaded OS X 10.9.2.
Problem is, I subsequently learned, any Mac OS X later than 10.6 (or perhaps early 10.7) doesn't support external modems and Apple dropped internal modems a number of years ago. Can I bring it back to the Genius Bar and have them load an earlier OS, one that will allow me to use the external modem for internet access, and ideally leaving 10.9.2 intact (I have plenty of memory and disc space) for a hoped-for switch to broad band, when and if? I called their (offshore?) help line and the fellow told me that Apple doesn't support (install?) older operating systems, but this machine obviously can run one since that's what was on it when I got it.
Any solid advice would be appreciated; the guy at the Genius bar was helpful but I don't want to hump this beast back down there (in the bowels of a shopping mall 40 miles away) unless I'm pretty sure in advance that they can hook me up, that this is doable.
Barring that, and assuming for the sake of argument that I'm stuck with dial-up for the foreseeable future, any other ideas on connecting my new machine to the internet?
Thanks in advance...
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