[G4] Need "handholding" while experimenting with OSX

[Doug McNutt]

At 10:45 -0800 12/27/05, Sy wrote:
>Several weeks ago I explained here that I have very
>old apps that work fine on 9.1 but surely won't run on
>OSX.  I would like to try the OSX evironment but an
>worried about screwing up my computer.

I had a G4 running 9.1 with essentially the same worries. It was 3 
years, or so, ago.

I restarted my old 8500 and put 9.1 on it. A Sonnet conversion to G3 
status brought up the speed and it's what I'm using to write this. 
Micro$oft Excel works fine just like it used to. MPW - a programming 
tool - works fine and iCab for a browser does almost everything. I 
consider the 8500 my "important" computer. Eudora 5.1 in use to 
prepare this.

My G4 sawtooth got Jaguar, then Panther, and then Tiger but I had to 
back out of Tiger because it refuses to talk to my SE/30 which is 
still in use too.

OS neXt is pretty nice and it's getting better though Steve's 
emphasis is too much, for my taste, into video, music, and other 
entertainment. It is UNIX and that's great. It's a good way to 
introduce yourself to the likes of Linux. I find the BBEdit editor on 
OS neXt a really good way to write scripts and stuff which will 
really run on a $10.00 pentium box that runs in the corner with a 
monitor I never turn on. The open software for Linux can mostly run 
on OS neXt. Perl and curl are fun. Some of the video software, VLC 
for instance, handle more formats than QuickTime does.

Browsers work better on the G4 even though Safari is taking a 
knocking by FireFox.

You have to buy OS neXt. Tiger is current and I doubt that you can 
even purchase Panther from Apple.

Classic on OS neXt is said to be pretty good but I never use it. 
Classic apps are for the 8500. Some, like MPW, work poorly on neXt 
because they have never been "carbonized".

So my suggestion is to find another Mac on the cheap to run classic 
apps. When Apple bought NeXT Inc., and Steve came back, things 
changed a whole lot. OS neXt  is UNIX and learning it is a fun ride 
well worth the time. You'll be happier though if your financial 
spreadsheet remains on a nice reliable OS 9 box at least until a real 
UNIX spreadsheet comes available - gnumeric anyone?

OS neXt is great for the internet. I doubt that it would mess up IP 
addresses and the like.

If you have multiple monitors on your G4 you may discover that your 
PCI video cards from ATI are not supported. I have a couple that work 
fine in the 8500 but will drive only monochrome in the G4 under OS 
neXt even though they did color in OS 9.1.

>Any advice will be appreciated.

Any???  If you hear a bit of bias, sorry. If my Apple stock wasn't 
doing so well I'd be mad at Steve.

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