Do you care that Apple has now completely discontinued Classic/Mac OS 9 support in Leopard? So even if you had a machine that would run Classic (Mac OS 9) environment, you won't be able to under Leopard.

What works and what doesn't:
If you have a Mac that can still be booted into Mac OS 9. You can still boot that Mac in OS 9.
If you have a Mac that doesn't boot into OS 9, but can run OS 9 under Mac OS X in the "Classic" environment, it will no longer be able to do so if you run/boot into Leopard.
So you would have to keep a drive/partition that has Tiger on it in order to boot and then run Classic if you needed to.

I haven't run Mac OS 9 in years. I won't miss this. I don't even have Classic on any of my Mac OS X Macs now. I do still have my 20th Anniversary Mac which is forever stuck at Mac OS 9.1. I haven't booted that baby in a long long time either.

Do you care that Classic is gone in Leopard?

Nope.

Classic support ... I couldn't care less. Glad to see it gone

Apple supported classic for a long time to accomindate those people stuck in the past.....it was time for Apple to stop wasting resources on Classic

Can't remember the last time I used Classic. I finally deleted it from my iBook over a year ago.

I care, because I have some macintax programs dealing with years prior to 2000 which I am still dealing with and they need Classic to run. But, after I get that straightened out (within the next year I hope) I won't need any programs that don't run under X. I actually use Appleworks, and that runs under X fine.

It will matter to professional printers. You never know what old system or version of software that a client has with version specific extensions. My company still has some Macs with QuarkXPress 4.0. and pagemaker to handle these.

I also use MacInTax/TurboTax this is an important point if, God forbid, you get audited.
Are there many Mac's that had the ability to boot OS 9 that fit the requirements for 10.5?

Sure, some QuickSilver towers were 867 Mhz, and the Mirror Drive Door systems started at 867. Plus, while not supported, upgraded systems will work (I have a Cube with a 1.8 Ghz upgrade running 10.5 Server).

But really, if you are running such old software, should you be risking updating? If that software is critical to you, you should probably not update.

Re: Old Macs that will boot 10.5. The G4 ppcs that I own will run Classic, which will run my old MacinTax programs (Hi, IRS auditors). And they have the specs to run 10.5.

I agree about "But really, if you are running such old software, should you be risking updating? If that software is critical to you, you should probably not update."

If you have only machine, that would be very risky. Fortunately I have 3 machine that could run these programs, but I only have them installed on 2 (one is for redundancy). I would only go to Leopard on the third, if at all.

Glad it's gone even if I left it behind years a go. I am in the publishing industry and am amazed that SOME clients have OS9 still.

In this business i simply don't empathize with others in this industry still using OS9 - but that's just me.

I don't really care, but am planning to keep my "old" machines until I'm absolutely sure OS9 isn't needed. As Donna says, it's probably more of an issue for people with just one computer.

You just never know! Just this week, I had to access some 11-year-old WriteNow docs for business reasons. MarinerWrite or TextEdit, or TextWrangler could open them as text, but then I had to deal with a lot of code in addition to the content. Solution: I "reinstalled" WriteNow from a backup on my external drive (just dragged the folder over), then opened the document. Rather than try to get the Chooser to recognize my printer, I saved each document as a "file" (postscript). Then Preview or Acrobat opened the .ps files, and I saved them as pdfs.

Fortunately, didn't need very many docs, as this is cumbersome, but better than nothing.

Will definitely keep my Pismo for OS9 if nothing else, as it probably wouldn't sell for much anyway. - Mainly for the "surprises" (and my husband who is finally ready to learn "computers.")

Probably will get a new computer in a couple of months or so, with Leopard already installed. - Then migrate applications gradually to be sure everything "works."

One more thought: At this point it seems that Acrobat/pdf is the best solution for obsolescence. The WriteNow situation described above still required OS9 to open the files, but some time ago I started saving copies of all critical documents as pdfs. - Even reports from AccountEdge can be "printed to pdf."

Don't know about Turbotax, as we don't use it, but we should all think about a strategy for keeping access to important documents. For the time being, it seems to be pdf that will migrate most successfully to system upgrades over time.

I've used TurboTax/MacInTax for years, and I always save a printed copy of returns, schedules and all worksheets. Never pays to put all your eggs in one basket. Disks go bad, data gets corrupted, operating systems change.

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Jo Disler:
Don't know about Turbotax, as we don't use it, but we should all think about a strategy for keeping access to important documents. For the time being, it seems to be pdf that will migrate most successfully to system upgrades over time.

So much for the "paperless office."

(Phyl, I agree completely, but the irony is still interesting.)

quote:

Originally posted by Phyllis Evans:
I've used TurboTax/MacInTax for years, and I always save a printed copy of returns, schedules and all worksheets. Never pays to put all your eggs in one basket. Disks go bad, data gets corrupted, operating systems change.

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Jo Disler:
Don't know about Turbotax, as we don't use it, but we should all think about a strategy for keeping access to important documents. For the time being, it seems to be pdf that will migrate most successfully to system upgrades over time.

I have to say, I have some 'Classic' games I like to go back and play from time to time. Myst, Quake (original) and unreal 1.0. Last winter I went through Riven again. I forgot how hard some of those puzzles were in Myst and Riven. It's amazing how things have changed. I think I still have some SyQuest cartridges and 5.25" diskettes for a IIe. Doh!

If anyone wants a good laugh.... we're still using Quark 4.1.1 under classic.

Does anyone miss the "Easter eggs?" Haven't heard of any since OSX came out. Even Quark had one. They were part of the "Mac fun experience." OSX is great, but rather serious.

I found the following couple of links for Easter Eggs in OS X


Easter Egg Link 1

Easter Egg Link 2

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Jo Disler:
Does anyone miss the "Easter eggs?" Haven't heard of any since OSX came out. Even Quark had one. They were part of the "Mac fun experience." OSX is great, but rather serious.

Good point. That was part of the fun of Apple. Woz needs to add some of his magic back in to the OS.
I think quark 6 still had the little robot and monster, but I have rarely used Quark 6. Any one have Quark 7?

quote:

I found the following couple of links for Easter Eggs in OS X

Nice but not on the same level as the classic days.

I believe Bruce the Yak still hides in FCP.