How long will Apple support classic?

addisonaddison
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
We know that new models can no longer boot to OS9 and by June it won't be possible to buy any new Macs that can boot to OS9.



So how long do we expect Apple to continue to support Classic. I don't know for a fact, but I would assume that there are some compromises in OSX to keep the legasy support.



Will 10.3 modify the bios to prevent older machines booting to OS9?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    People have been assuming since the death of 9 announcement that some future firmware would prevent current machines from booting into 9...



    I *SERIOUSLY* doubt it. a) Not necessary. b) Doesn't generate new sales for Apple. c) 9 will die out on its own, with the new machines not being supported by it.



    As for Classic, until the very lowest guts of the system (Mach, IOKit, etc) undergo a significant change, Classic will continue to run just fine. Again, it will die out on its own, as developers migrate to X, and users find replacements for Classic apps.



    There's no reason to knife 9 on older machines or Classic on any machine, they will eventually go away on their own.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    I'd give it anohter year and I'd bet the 970 machines wont run classic at all.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    stunnedstunned Posts: 1,096member
    OS 9 will not die, it will just simply fade away......
  • Reply 4 of 7
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    [quote]Originally posted by Scott:

    <strong>I'd give it anohter year and I'd bet the 970 machines wont run classic at all.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I'll take that bet. Without a major shift in the underlying kernel (and I mean *MAJOR*), there's no reason for Classic not to work in MacOS X. It's just another process, after all.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    I say in another 2 or 3 years, Apple won't supply Classic with a default OS X install. To tell you the truth, aside from the default install thing, I don't see a reason why they wouldn't have Classic available for the life of OS X.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Agreed. Now what we very well might see is Classic not being able to interoperate with new hardware like FW800 devices, where support for the hardware was never put into OS 9 in the first place. *That* I completely buy. But as far as the main mobo pieces are concerned, the kernel buffers Classic from changes.



    Of course, FW800 devices will probably show up as FW400 devices in Classic, and just throttle back. *OR*, heh, just show up as a device class (hard drive, etc), with the entirety of the hardware support being handled by OS X, and just giving a more abstract view of the device to Classic.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    nebagakidnebagakid Posts: 2,692member
    it will fade away, i bet, people will stop to use it, but Apple will always include it... there is no reason not to, really, i mean, it runs 9 stuff faster than 9 does... <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" /> <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" /> <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" />
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