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Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's "Classic" Mac OS
Mac OS

Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems....
. Introduced on October 23 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as iTools
.Mac

.Mac was a collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. Originally and collectively provided as a free service called iTools , .Mac became a subscription-based service with features applicable to users of all current, major computer Platform ....
, and improved Open Transport
Open Transport

Open Transport was the name given by Apple Computer to their implementation of the Unix-originated UNIX System V STREAMS, replacing MacTCP.Open Transport included STREAMS-based code for handling TCP/IP and serial devices based on Mentat Portable Streams....
 networking.

While Mac OS 9 lacks the functionality of a modern operating system, such as protected memory and full pre-emptive multitasking, lasting improvements include the introduction of an automated Software Update engine and support for multiple users
Multi-user

Multi-user is a term that defines an operating system or application software that allows concurrent access by multiple User s of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems....
.

Apple discontinued development of Mac OS 9 in 2002, transitioning all future development to Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
.






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Sherlock2 Os9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's "Classic" Mac OS
Mac OS

Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems....
. Introduced on October 23 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as iTools
.Mac

.Mac was a collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. Originally and collectively provided as a free service called iTools , .Mac became a subscription-based service with features applicable to users of all current, major computer Platform ....
, and improved Open Transport
Open Transport

Open Transport was the name given by Apple Computer to their implementation of the Unix-originated UNIX System V STREAMS, replacing MacTCP.Open Transport included STREAMS-based code for handling TCP/IP and serial devices based on Mentat Portable Streams....
 networking.

While Mac OS 9 lacks the functionality of a modern operating system, such as protected memory and full pre-emptive multitasking, lasting improvements include the introduction of an automated Software Update engine and support for multiple users
Multi-user

Multi-user is a term that defines an operating system or application software that allows concurrent access by multiple User s of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems....
.

Apple discontinued development of Mac OS 9 in 2002, transitioning all future development to Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
. Since that time, no updates have been released. The final updates to Mac OS 9 addressed compatibility issues with OS X while running in the Classic Environment
Classic (Mac OS X)

Classic, or Classic Environment, was a Computer hardware and software abstraction layer in Mac OS X that allowed Application software compatible with Mac OS 9 to run on the Mac OS X operating system....
 and compatibility with Carbon applications.

Features

Apple billed Mac OS 9 as including "50 New Features" and heavily marketed its Sherlock 2 software, which introduced a 'channels' feature for searching different online resources and introduced a QuickTime
QuickTime

QuickTime is a multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, media clips, sound, text, animation, music, and QuickTime VRs....
-like metallic appearance. Mac OS 9 also featured integrated support for Apple’s suite of Internet services known as iTools (later re-branded as .Mac
.Mac

.Mac was a collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. Originally and collectively provided as a free service called iTools , .Mac became a subscription-based service with features applicable to users of all current, major computer Platform ....
, which is now known as MobileMe
MobileMe

MobileMe is a Subscription business model collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc.. Originally launched on January 5, 2000, as iTools, a free collection of Internet-based services for users of Mac OS 9, Apple relaunched it as .Mac on July 17, 2002, when it became a paid subscription service primarily designed...
) and included improved TCP/IP functionality with Open Transport
Open Transport

Open Transport was the name given by Apple Computer to their implementation of the Unix-originated UNIX System V STREAMS, replacing MacTCP.Open Transport included STREAMS-based code for handling TCP/IP and serial devices based on Mentat Portable Streams....
 2.5.

Other features new to Mac OS 9 include:

  • Integrated support for multiple user accounts without using At Ease
    At Ease

    At Ease was an alternative to the Apple Macintosh desktop developed by Apple Computer in the early 1990s. It provided a simple environment for new Macintosh users to help them to work without supervision....
    .
  • Support for voice login through VoicePrint passwords.
  • Keychain
    Apple Keychain

    Keychain is Apple Inc.'s Password manager in Mac OS X and Mac OS 9. It was introduced with Mac OS 8. A Keychain can contain various types of data: passwords , public-key cryptographys, Public key certificates and secure notes....
    , a feature allowing users to save passwords in protected keychains.
  • A Software Update control panel for automatic download and installation of Apple system software updates.
  • A redesigned Sound control panel and support for USB audio.
  • Speakable Items 2.0, also known as PlainTalk
    PlainTalk

    PlainTalk is the collective name for several speech synthesis and speech recognition technologies developed by Apple, Inc.In 1990, Apple invested a lot of work and money in speech recognition technology, hiring many respected researchers in the field....
    , featuring improved speech synthesis and recognition along with AppleScript integration.
  • Improved font management through FontSync.
  • Remote Access Personal Server 3.5, including support for TCP/IP clients over Point-to-Point Protocol
    Point-to-Point Protocol

    In Computer network, the Point-to-Point Protocol, or PPP, is a Data Link Layer Protocol commonly used to establish a direct connection between two Node ....
     (PPP).
  • An updated version of AppleScript
    AppleScript

    AppleScript is a scripting language devised by Apple Inc., and built into Mac OS. More generally, "AppleScript" is the word used to designate the Mac OS scripting interface, which is meant to operate in parallel with the graphical user interface....
     with support for TCP/IP.
  • Personal File Sharing over TCP/IP.
  • USB Printer Sharing, a control panel allowing certain USB printers to be shared across a TCP/IP network.
  • 128-bit file encryption
    Encryption

    In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key ....
     in the Finder.
  • Support for files larger than 2 GB
    Gigabyte

    Gigabyte is an SI prefix-multiple of the unit byte for Computer data storage. Since the giga- prefix means 109, gigabyte means 1,000,000,000 bytes ....
    .
  • Unix
    Unix

    Unix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of American Telephone & Telegraph employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson , Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna....
     volume support.
  • CD Burning in the Finder
    Macintosh Finder

    The Finder is the default application software program used on the Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems that is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications....
     (introduced in Mac OS 9.1).
  • Addition of a 'Window' menu to the Finder (introduced in Mac OS 9.1)


Mac OS 9 (System 9) and Classic


PowerPC
PowerPC

PowerPC is a RISC instruction set architecture created by the 1991 Apple Inc.?IBM?Motorola alliance, known as AIM alliance. Originally intended for personal computers, PowerPC CPUs have since become popular embedded system and high-performance processors....
 versions of Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
 prior to 10.5 include a compatibility layer called Classic
Classic (Mac OS X)

Classic, or Classic Environment, was a Computer hardware and software abstraction layer in Mac OS X that allowed Application software compatible with Mac OS 9 to run on the Mac OS X operating system....
, enabling users to run applications and hardware requiring Mac OS 9 from within Mac OS X. This is achieved through booting a full Mac OS 9 system. As a result, Mac OS 9 must be installed on the computer for Classic to function. Most Mac OS 9 applications run well in Classic, although some applications demonstrate screen redraw problems. In addition, scanner drivers and many other utilities no longer work.

In May 2002, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference
Worldwide Developers Conference

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, commonly abbreviated WWDC, is a business conference held annually in California by Apple Inc. The conference is primarily used by Apple to showcase its new software and technologies for software developer, as well as offering hands-on labs and feedback sessions....
 in San Jose, California
San Jose, California

San Jose or San Jos? is the List of cities in California city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States....
, Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs is an United States businessman and co-founder, Chairman, and Chief executive officer of Apple Inc.. Jobs is the former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios....
, accompanied by a coffin
Coffin

A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains ? either for burial or cremation....
, held a mock funeral
Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
 to announce that Apple had stopped development of Mac OS 9. Mac OS 9.2.2, introduced in December 2001, was the final version of Mac OS 9, and the end of the classic Mac OS.

In June 2005, Jobs announced that the Macintosh platform would be transitioning to Intel x86 microprocessors. Developer documentation of the Rosetta
Rosetta (software)

Rosetta is a lightweight binary translation for Mac OS X distributed by Apple Inc.. It enables applications compiled for the PowerPC family of processors to run on Apple systems that use Intel central processing units....
 PowerPC emulation layer revealed that applications written for Mac OS 8 or 9 would not run on x86-based Macs. The Classic Environment remains in the PowerPC version of Mac OS X 10.4, however x86 versions of OS X do not officially support Classic.

As a workaround for Intel-based Macs, Mac OS 9 can be emulated up to version 9.0.4 by using SheepShaver
SheepShaver

SheepShaver is an open source PowerPC Apple Macintosh emulator originally designed for BeOS and Linux. The name is a play on ShapeShifter , a Macintosh II emulator for AmigaOS , which is in turn not to be confused with ShapeShifter....
, a PowerPC emulator. It cannot emulate above 9.0.4 because SheepShaver does not emulate a memory management unit
Memory management unit

A memory management unit , sometimes called paged memory management unit , is a computer hardware component responsible for handling accesses to computer memory requested by the central processing unit ....
. The PearPC
PearPC

PearPC is an architecture-independent PowerPC platform emulator capable of running many PowerPC operating systems, including Mac OS X, Darwin and Linux....
 PowerPC emulator does not support Mac OS 9.

Support for Classic in PowerPC versions of Mac OS X was discontinued as of Mac OS X v10.5
Mac OS X v10.5

Mac OS X version 10.5 "Leopard" is the sixth Software version of Mac OS X, Apple Inc. desktop and server operating system for Apple Macintosh computers, and the successor to Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger"....
.

Version history


Version Release Date Changes Codename Computer
October 1999 Initial release Sonata
9.0.2 Shipped with Macs Bug fixes. N/A
9.0.3 Shipped with Macs Bug fixes. N/A
April 2000 Improved USB and FireWire support. Other bug fixes. Minuet iMac G3 (slot loading)
January 2001 Integrated Disc Burning within Finder. Implementation of Finder 'Window' menu. Improved stability. Fortissimo iBook 14 inch panel
9.2 Shipped with Macs G3 processor as minimum system requirement. Improved speed and Classic Environment support. Moonlight
9.2.1 August 2001 Minor bug fixes. Limelight
9.2.2 December 2001 Bug fixes relating to Classic Environment. LU1 eMac


Updates to Mac OS 9 include 9.0.4, 9.1, 9.2.1, and 9.2.2. Mac OS 9.0.4 was a collection of bug fixes primarily relating to USB and FireWire support. OS 9.1 included integrated CD burning support in the Macintosh Finder
Macintosh Finder

The Finder is the default application software program used on the Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems that is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications....
 and added a new Window menu in the Finder for switching between open windows. Mac OS 9.2, which required at least a G3 processor, increased performance noticeably.

Compatibility


Availability

Retail copies of Mac OS 9 are still available from several Internet businesses at varying prices. Mac OS 9 is no longer available from Apple. Mac OS 9 is not yet classified as abandonware
Abandonware

Abandonware refers to computer software that is no longer sold or supported, or whose copyright ownership may be unclear for various reasons. While the term has been applied largely to older games, other classes of software are sometimes described as such....
, as it is still in use by those who cannot upgrade to Mac OS X due to hardware limitations, or prefer it to Mac OS X. Mac OS 9 is also a popular choice for retrocomputing
Retrocomputing

Retrocomputing is a term used to describe the use of early computer computer hardware and computer software today. Retrocomputing is usually classed as a hobby and recreation rather than a practical application of technology; enthusiasts often collect rare and valuable hardware and software for nostalgia purposes....
 hobbyists. Mac gamers also sometime revert to classic in order to play some of the earlier, nonsupported games, for example, StarCraft
StarCraft

StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998....
 (and use its map editor, StarEdit), Civilization II
Civilization II

Sid Meier's Civilization II, a.k.a. Civ II, is a turn-based strategy computer game designed by Brian Reynolds, Douglas Caspian-Kaufman and Jeff Briggs....
, and the Marathon Trilogy
Marathon Trilogy

The Marathon Trilogy is a science fiction Video game series of first-person shooter computer games from Bungie Studios, originally released for the Macintosh....
.

External links

  • from apple.com