Part 4: Connecting to the web

 How to get retro computers online in 2025 using only a £12 cable (and a smartphone) - part 4

Overview

• Part 1: using a retro computer as a terminal
• Part 2: connecting a retro computer to the internet
• Part 3: email
• Part 4: browsing the web
• Part 5: a full desktop

Connecting to the web

Running a TCP/IP stack will enable any client to connect to the internet. So a web browser should be able to access a few http websites that are still running, such as frogfind.com.

Connecting to anything more modern will require a proxy server that translates https into http and also simplifies the web code, removing javascript and modern CSS.

There are many available, but some simple examples that will run under Termux include:

•  macproxy - does a good job of simplifying websites, but doesn't do much to images
•  retro-proxy - can also translate images to lower resolution and older formats

Set these up to run in Termux, start the one you prefer, note the port it is running on and set your browser proxy to 10.0.2.2:port.