Creatives in particular speak about some of OS 9’s biggest technical shortcomings in favorable terms. These users stick around purely because they can and because they think classic Mac OS offers a more pleasant experience than OS X. Computers are prohibitively expensive where they live, and these people would also need to spend thousands on new software licenses and updated hardware (on top of the cost of a new Mac).īut many more speak of a genuine preference for OS 9. There are some OS 9 subscribers who hold out for cost reasons. He mentions the top reasons for people still using OS 9, and said:

In 2016, Richard Moss wrote an article, titled, An OS 9 odyssey: Why these Mac users won’t abandon 16-year-old software. What if you still had an even older Mac capable of running its predecessor, Mac OS 9? Unlike some early versions of OS X (with the exceptions of 10.4 and 10.6 in my humble opinion), OS 9 is a delight to work with. Let’s get back to talking about classic Macs from the twentieth century. In some cases you can use a third-party patcher to run the latest macOS version on Macs that Apple no longer supports.īut all of that has more to do with Mac OS X and subsequent macOS versions on Mac hardware from the twenty-first century. Even when your hardware can no longer support the latest OS, you can choose to stick with the OS you currently have for many more years of use (albeit with inherent security risks Apple doesn’t fully patch all known vulnerabilities in previous macOS versions). Thanks to the way Apple builds its operating systems, you can keep your hardware around for many years.

Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger – Runs on 1999–2007 Macs (both PowerPC and Intel).Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard – Runs on 2002–2009 Macs (both PowerPC and Intel).Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard – Runs on 2006–2012 Macs.macOS 10.13 High Sierra – Runs on 2009–2018 Macs.macOS 11 Big Sur – Runs on 2013–2021 Macs (both Intel and Apple silicon).macOS 12 Monterey – Runs on 2013–2022 Macs (both Intel and Apple silicon).For example, the following OS versions can run on certain Mac models originally released in the following years: Hardware support was excellent: Macs from 1994 to 2003, with the oldest being the Workgroup server 6150 and the latest being the PowerMac G4 MDD, were able to run Mac OS 9 natively.Īpple has historically done a good job of keeping its Mac operating system (OS) light enough to run on older hardware. While not as aesthetically pleasing compared to present-day operating systems, Mac OS 9 was sleek, super responsive, and a joy to use. Long before modern macOS versions, and even predating Apple’s use of the “OS X” and “Mac OS X” monikers, there was Mac OS 9. Apple + Intego + Recommended + Software & Apps Mac OS 9: Some Love for the Classics!

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