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eWeek: Mac OS 9.2 coming soon

updated 12:55 pm EDT, Fri June 8, 2001

eWeek reports on the forthcoming release of Mac OS 9.2, code-named Moonlight, which is winding down its development cycle and expected to be released with little fanfare in the coming weeks. The update will improve its stability and performance when used as the Classic layer of Mac OS X, and will include a slew of bug fixes and support for new Apple hardware.

by MacNN Staff

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06/08, 12:56pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Yeah and...

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/zd/20010608/tc/apple_preps_mac_os_9_update_1.html

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06/08, 01:01pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
new OT?

I hope they release the new version of OT, clearly the worst part of the entire OS.

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06/08, 01:04pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
codenames

So, is it code-named Moonlight because they already did Sonata?
Or, is it because Apple is clearly "Moonlighting" with two OS's?

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06/08, 01:06pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
hmm

Some of those quotes sound suspiciously similar to those on the ThinkSecret.com web site.

Maybe eWeek should change it's name to ePlagiarism?

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06/08, 01:35pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: hmm

Check out the name of the Author of the web article, Nick dePlume the same guy that writes for ThinkSecret. That's why the quotes sound suspiciously similar. :)

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06/08, 01:37pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: hmm

The eWeek item is written by the same person who runs the ThinkSecret web site.

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06/08, 01:37pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: hmm

The info Think Secret published was not exactly at the highest level of secrecy. Any of their friends with a software seed key at Apple's Developer site could have given it to them. I hate when these rumor sites start haggling with each other over who is "reputable" and who isn't. Almost none of them have any real "insider" info,so they assemble stories from wish lists, educated guesses and whatever they can cull from each other's sites.

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06/08, 02:14pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Don't Expect Too Much

Don't expect too much from this update....trust me...

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06/08, 02:46pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Don't expect too muc

Who's expecting much? It's only bug fixes and additional hardware support, no new features.

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06/08, 03:00pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
RE: Don't Expect Too Muc

I don't trust you. Why should I trust you? Who the h*** are you?

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06/08, 03:41pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Moonlight

All in all the 'additional hardware support' is quite questionable. It's called Moonlight because the sun has set on Classic MacOS and night has fallen. It's time to put it to bed.

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06/08, 03:43pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
fixed my bug!

you can finally use the enter key in navigation services! whoo! now I can use my thumb instead of my pinky, a great improvement!

Note that this bug has been there since nav services 1.0, so I'm happy it made the cut :)

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06/08, 04:05pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
are pre-G3s supported?

This part really disturbs me:
"it will require an OS X-compatible Mac for installation"

Does this mean my 9500 is unsupported?

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06/08, 04:20pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: are pre-G3s supported

No it just means that once again an inaccurate rumour is leading people to wrong conclusions. That is why they're called rumours. To run as the classic invironment, it needs an OS X compatible computer 'cause that is the only place you can run the classic environment. It will run on any computer that will support OS 9

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06/08, 04:45pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
But ONLY for OSX?

The article said it would only be for OS X users,or at least that was my take. Accurate or no? I'd hate to think 9.1 was IT...

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06/08, 04:51pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
developers

If it's so close to GM, why isn't it released to developes like OS 9.1?

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06/08, 05:02pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: developers

it is released to developers

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06/08, 05:20pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
OS X Compatible Req.

You can bash "rumors" all you want, but it's hard to bash "fact." The EWEEK article is right. However, and the article never led me to believe otherwise (they got it right), it's not just for OS X. From the 9.2 read-me:

Compatibility information

IMPORTANT
� Mac OS 9.2 supports Mac OS X compatible computers
You can install this version of Mac OS 9.2 on any of the following computers: Power Mac G4, Power Macintosh G3, PowerBook G4, PowerBook G3 (except the original PowerBook G3), iMac, and iBook.

P.S. It's been released to developers since March.

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06/08, 05:56pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
I just want Aqua

All I care about is an OS9 update with an Aqua theme and OSX10.1. I have yet to find any Kaleidoscope theme that renders properly in classic. Maybe this 9.2 version will fix that, who knows.

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06/08, 06:01pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
new aqua theme

included with OSX 10.0

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06/08, 06:23pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
schemes..

The aqua schemes that Railhead Design did work great.. on 8.6 through 9.1. Unfortunately, Railhead got a letter from Crapertino and pulled them. Find someone who can send them to you.. they are super great, work great, seem to cause no problems or troubles..

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06/08, 08:51pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: OS X Compatible Req.

This is going to p*ss off a lot of people.

Myself included.

Macs used to have a long usable lifespan - one of the significant factors in calculating the Mac's lower TCO. I guess that's all out the window now. Perhaps Apple's reasoning is if everyone has to buy a new Mac every 4 years, they think they will sell more?

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06/08, 08:59pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Startup needs fixing

I hope they will fix that thing where my computer seems to pause in about 15 seconds at startup. My friend had the same problem under 9.1 but switching to 9.0 fixed it, so its definitely a bug in 9.1 and should be fixed.

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06/08, 09:35pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
why do i need to upgrade?

i still run 9.1 on a powermac 8500/120 with 176 megs of ram and i use speed doubler to open apps with f keys and to make the windows open and close snapier. no complaints here. photoshop still puts out tight little graphics for the internet. u do run norton disk doctor and defragger do u? this keeps ur machines performance wicked wild!

why did u say "Apple's reasoning is if everyone has to buy a new Mac every 4 years, they think they will sell more?" is that because osX came out and isnt compatible with ur current comp. mine neither. i really dont care. im doing fine and even though osx is fun to play around with on my beefy boy (g3/400 blue and white) i still use os 9.1 for everything i do. OSX is nice. give it another year to "grow up" and then it will be tight.
berserkintosh@yahoo.com dont rag on os9 and dont talk s*** about 8.6

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06/08, 09:55pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Hardware Support

Just wondering if 9.2 will allow you to directly access hardware such as TV Tuners, Video-in etc under the classic environment. I'd love to get my ProTV card working in classic...... at least until the OS X drivers arrive. Also any word on OS X DVD support?

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06/08, 10:31pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
hw support

"Just wondering if 9.2 will allow you to directly access hardware such as TV Tuners, Video-in etc under the classic environment."

I hope not. why destabilize the entire OS for an interim solution?

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06/08, 11:06pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: HW support

A good OS should NEVER allow direct access to the hardware. That's what drivers are for. To directly access hardware, you need to know a lot of low level stuff, and any small mistake can cause freezes and crashes (hey, why do you think they turned that stuff off in OS X and NT), not to mention it prevents the OS people from making changes.

Remember what a pain it was when 9.0 came out and disabled some programs that were accessing the File structure blocks (or whatever the h*** you call it that controlled the total number of open files at one time). These were internal APIs, Apple tells them "Don't use this", but people do, so Apple is stuck for years not being able to change things because it will make the programs incompatible. FInally, they do change things, and people get upset because their programs don't work.

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06/08, 11:27pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Thanks MacOS

Farethee well, noble warrior. 9.2 will be a nice finish to MacOS.

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06/08, 11:27pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Thanks MacOS

Farethee well, noble warrior. 9.2 will be a nice finish to MacOS.

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06/09, 12:11am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Replies Aplenty

All I care about is an OS9 update with an Aqua theme and OSX10.1. I have yet to find any Kaleidoscope theme that renders properly in classic. Maybe this 9.2 version will fix that, who knows.

What a dumb idea. Firstly, Kaleidescope isn't supposed to be used with Classic. Furthermore, isn't it nice to tell if the copy of Expander you're running is Cocoa or Classic with just a glance? Lastly, OS 9 Aqua wouldn't be likely to support pop-up windows or window-shading in an Apple incarnation.

I hope they will fix that thing where my computer seems to pause in about 15 seconds at startup. My friend had the same problem under 9.1 but switching to 9.0 fixed it, so its definitely a bug in 9.1 and should be fixed.

It's probably an extension problem or a hardware check, moron, ever think of that?

Just wondering if 9.2 will allow you to directly access hardware such as TV Tuners, Video-in etc under the classic environment. I'd love to get my ProTV card working in classic...... at least until the OS X drivers arrive. Also any word on OS X DVD support?

Umm... that would be an update to OS X, not OS 9, you're asking for.

why do i need to upgrade?

For one, it would probably help your english skills. Secondly, you don't. People who want to run Classic in OS X or play around with iDVD on their G4/733 do. The world revolves around you, eh?

A good OS should NEVER allow direct access to the hardware. That's what drivers are for. To directly access hardware, you need to know a lot of low level stuff, and any small mistake can cause freezes and crashes (hey, why do you think they turned that stuff off in OS X and NT), not to mention it prevents the OS people from making changes.

Remember what a pain it was when 9.0 came out and disabled some programs that were accessing the File structure blocks (or whatever the h*** you call it that controlled the total number of open files at one time). These were internal APIs, Apple tells them "Don't use this", but people do, so Apple is stuck for years not being able to change things because it will make the programs incompatible. FInally, they do change things, and people get upset because their programs don't work.

I dub thee "King of All Moronia." No access to hardware?!? How exactly do you think you run any programs or play CD-ROMs or even save to disk? Some sort of hardware fairy? Duh, it's because (now pay attention) all OSs access hardware. [smashes forehead against desk] As for the revision between OS 8.6 and 9.0 regarding the file and process limits, changing these had nothing to do with compatibility or APIs -- it was a matter of massively overhauling the Finder code. Furthermore, the API structural changes that broke compatibility had more to do with OT and Carbon, as well as global widgets for the GUI, as well as memory management than Finder li

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06/09, 12:12am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Replies Aplenty (cont.)

Grrr... 3000 characters my @ss...

A good OS should NEVER allow direct access to the hardware. That's what drivers are for. To directly access hardware, you need to know a lot of low level stuff, and any small mistake can cause freezes and crashes (hey, why do you think they turned that stuff off in OS X and NT), not to mention it prevents the OS people from making changes.

Remember what a pain it was when 9.0 came out and disabled some programs that were accessing the File structure blocks (or whatever the h*** you call it that controlled the total number of open files at one time). These were internal APIs, Apple tells them "Don't use this", but people do, so Apple is stuck for years not being able to change things because it will make the programs incompatible. FInally, they do change things, and people get upset because their programs don't work.

I dub thee "King of All Moronia." No access to hardware?!? How exactly do you think you run any programs or play CD-ROMs or even save to disk? Some sort of hardware fairy? Duh, it's because (now pay attention) all OSs access hardware. [smashes forehead against desk] As for the revision between OS 8.6 and 9.0 regarding the file and process limits, changing these had nothing to do with compatibility or APIs -- it was a matter of massively overhauling the Finder code. Furthermore, the API structural changes that broke compatibility had more to do with OT and Carbon, as well as global widgets for the GUI, as well as memory management than Finder limitations.

As Always,
The Cute and Cuddly Moron Guy

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06/09, 12:18am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Replies Aplenty--addendum

...These were internal APIs, Apple tells them "Don't use this", but people do, so Apple is stuck for years not being able to change things because it will make the programs incompatible. FInally, they do change things, and people get upset because their programs don't work.

I believe that Infinite Loop can do just about anything they want to their OS, regardless of what a few fringe developers, or even the mainstream public complain about. Just be thankful that OS 9.2 won't include a default Flower Power GUI.

As Always,
The Cute and Cuddly Moron Guy

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06/09, 12:46am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re:Replies Aplenty--adden

God I hate these think-they-are-better-than-all-who-ask-questions-or-have-an-opinion-different-from-theres type of a******* even if they are smart enough to use macs. Why can't you just answer a question using your overwhelming knowledge rather then being a smartass dickhead and cut people down with childish antics?

I'm so sick of seeing geeks bash non-geeks. Get a life.

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06/09, 01:07am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Replies aplenty goof

S/he (I'd guess the latter) isn't exactly a geek, judging from the flawed understanding of OS essentials. So we have a wannabee geek bashing a doesn't-wannabee-geek. Which is probably worse on the whole. ;)

Still a smartass dickhead tho.

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06/09, 11:14am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Replies Aplenty

How exactly do you think you run any programs or play CD-ROMs or even save to disk?

Save to disk in an application means:
* application code tells Foundation to save to file
* foundation tells corefoundation to save to file
* corefoundation tells C-API to save to file
* C-API tells kernel to save to file
* kernel tells disk driver to save to file
* disk driver tells kernel to write data to firewire/ide/scsi device

and that's only part of the show!
So, applications *NEVER* access the hardware directly!

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06/09, 12:09pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Compatibility

You can bash "rumors" all you want, but it's hard to bash "fact." The EWEEK article is right. However, and the article never led me to believe otherwise (they got it right), it's not just for OS X. From the 9.2 read-me:

Compatibility information

IMPORTANT
� Mac OS 9.2 supports Mac OS X compatible computers
You can install this version of Mac OS 9.2 on any of the following computers: Power Mac G4, Power Macintosh G3, PowerBook G4, PowerBook G3 (except the original PowerBook G3), iMac, and iBook.

OK, so if eweek is right and you are right, then 9.2 can NOT be installed on any machines prior to the beige G3. Which very much means that it ONLY for machines that can run X. So the 70-85% of the market that can NOT run X don't get the benefit of any of the supposed bug fixes in 9.2.

Sa-weet! Way ta go to disenfranchise the large majority of your user base.

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06/09, 03:56pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Compatibility

This is Steve & Avie's way of forcing everyone to use NeXTStep 4 (sometimes called Mac OS X).

Apple knows that there are many users who prefer 9 over X, so 9 must not be allowed to survive. For better or for worse, Mac OS 9 is being killed, and some psychological warfare is necessary to twist the arms of all those people would happily use 9 forever - notice they never *ever* made any big announcement about 9.1. Notice that 9 and X have trouble sharing files. Now they are trying to remove another one of 9's main advantages over X - compatibility with more hardware, just like the rumors that they killed the memory protection and themes and preemptive projects from further development on 9 in order to make X seem much more advanced. Perhaps they will boost the memory requirements for 9.2 just to make it seem more bloated than X.

Predictions: within a year, there will be OSX-only Macs and QuickTime 6 will require X. Mac OS XII will require a G4.

Apple's message: we don't offer backwards compatibility anymore under either of our two OSes - if you want backwards compatibility, use Windows or Linux. Or NetBSD. Or just about any other OS.

Dink Thifferent.

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06/09, 05:18pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Pre-G3

Even if the whole 9.2 update cannot be installed on Pre-G3 machines, you can always use Tome Viewer to extract the individual updates. All I care about is the newer ATI drivers. F**K the rest!

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06/10, 03:34am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Re: Replies Aplenty

Excuse me... I have been programming and working on Mac (internal) hardware for 13 years.

So, applications *NEVER* access the hardware directly!

Well, if you read the original and the quote, it was said that the OS should not access hardware -- that would make life difficult. Classic is an application which emulates an OS, but that was not the issue at hand. (And Classic should have hardware access, so long as it serves as a bridge between old and new OS paradigms.)

What broke most of the compatibilty with previously compatible software (mainly legacy SW from 7.5-era) was the introduction of the Carbon APIs and the associated changes within the finder. Furthermore, massive overhauls of the OT APIs also broke a number of networking utilities. The changes made to the File Manager and the HFS+ API created a number of legacy issues, particularly the 119 error from the massive structural changes to the FCB tables (which, yes, was tangentially related to the open file limit).

BTW, in case Guy wasn't an obvious clue, I have a Y chromosome, thank-you.

As Always,
The Cute and Cuddly Moron Guy

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06/10, 05:29am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Don't slag off people wh

"I dub thee "King of All Moronia." No access to hardware?!? How exactly do you think you run any programs or play CD-ROMs or even save to disk?"

Don't you think its a bit harsh critising someone when you clearly don't know your arse from your elbow. In 'old fashioned' operating systems (like Mac OS 9 and Ms-DOS) the programmer accesses hardware directly by talking to the memory area in which the hardware driver lives.

In well designed operating system's each process runs in its own virtual memory area which is mapped to physical memory when the process is actually running on the CPU using a hardware memory management unit. Any access to hardware has to be through the operating system. In UNIX devices are files in /dev and are written to using file io. Because the applications have to go through the OS, as long as the OS is stable so are the applications.

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06/10, 07:19am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Wow

There are some really tense, angry people out there. Always remember to breathe deep three times and relax before posting replies.

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06/10, 12:27pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
A Solution, Perhaps

Maybe MacNN should set-up editable comment boards. I never understood why they have a dual board system, anyway, when their UBB boards could suffic for both.

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06/11, 01:34pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Dual Boards

Maybe its becauser their UBB boards are so freakin' slow...

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06/11, 08:39pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Don't Expect Too Mu

I used a Mac in the White House for 8 years. Trust me.
I didn't have s** with that woman. Trust me.
I paid for those 76ers tickets. Trust me.
B.C.

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06/11, 10:38pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
RE: Dual Boards

They are going to Athalon 1Ghz within a week.

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06/12, 01:08am | report spam | close Reply | delete
9.2

I've looked at it. There is nothing really new. Some updated nVidia drivers., OT 2.77, URL access 2.4.1. A few minor changes. But the OT is still flaky on a Dual 533 and it seems to be nothing more than a bug fix for a few other things. Still no FSAA for nVidia. It is solid but a little disappointing. Oh yes, it won't install on anything that won't run OsX natively. Take this all to the bank. I'm running the f5 candidate right now.

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eWeek: Mac OS 9.2 coming soon

updated 12:55 pm EDT, Fri June 8, 2001

Related Articles

Recent Articles

Yeah and...

new OT?

codenames

hmm

re: hmm

Re: hmm

Re: hmm

Don't Expect Too Much

Re: Don't expect too muc

RE: Don't Expect Too Muc

Moonlight

fixed my bug!

are pre-G3s supported?

Re: are pre-G3s supported

But ONLY for OSX?

developers

re: developers

OS X Compatible Req.

I just want Aqua

new aqua theme

schemes..

re: OS X Compatible Req.

Startup needs fixing

why do i need to upgrade?

Hardware Support

hw support

Re: HW support

Thanks MacOS

Thanks MacOS

Replies Aplenty

Replies Aplenty (cont.)

Replies Aplenty--addendum

Re:Replies Aplenty--adden

Replies aplenty goof

Re: Replies Aplenty

Compatibility

re: Compatibility

Pre-G3

Re: Re: Replies Aplenty

Don't slag off people wh

Wow

A Solution, Perhaps

Dual Boards

Re: Don't Expect Too Mu

RE: Dual Boards

9.2

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