But it isn't like running 68000 code on a PowerPC. (Which is emulation) In this case, it is closer to running OS 9 within a sandbox. The newest hardware /can/ run it, but it just can't boot it (because the knowledge of the OF and hardware isn't in OS 9 for it to boot properly). The thing is, I don't see Apple getting rid of this anytime soon without some sort of announcement, as people do rely on it, and the sandbox app (Classic) does not actually take much space on an installation.

It just doesn't make sense to remove it without letting people know about the choice, in my mind. For y'all that were wishing for something that will show OS 9 in its own window, is working on it. For anyone not familiar with it, it's a sort-of emulator that runs in Linux and will allow one to run OS 9/OS X/Linux. I say it's a sort-of emulator because it doesn't really emulate the PPC - it's more of a sandbox like Classic, but it runs the whole environment in its own window. English to russian translation programs for mac os x download.

I've got it up and running, so here's a y'all can look at. Mac games for mothers. It's a 1600x1200 screen shot; just warning y'all (about 300K). I wouldn't get all fired up about it yet though - this is from a developer snapshot of the code. It doesn't have sound, and doesn't have internet. It only supports one mouse button, even if you do have a multi-button mouse.

It doesn't see installed hardware. It requires X11, as it uses it to display the actual window. Getting it to boot from a drive is somewhat of a pain, and you have to manually add drives to a config file before running it.

Do you use an Intel-based Mac but still have a few essential Classic (pre-OS X) Mac applications you want to run? Recent universal compiles allow you to use SheepShaver (SS) or Basilisk II (B2) to run Classic software in emulation on Intel Macs under Mac OS X directly -- or under Windows via dual-boot or Parallels virtualization. B2 emulates an old 68K Macintosh, while SS emulates a PowerPC Mac.

I also had to patch a few things before it would work (and locked my system up at least 10 times in the process). But it is up and running. Sooner or later, some of those issues will get fixed. It's actually kinda cool just to play around in OS 9 like I used to. I think, right now, it will only run OS 9, but once the code is finalized, it should be able to run Linux or OS X in it as well. A different version of OS X than your boot drive, of course, as that's not allowed (drive has to be unmounted for mol to be able to use it). Which could have a cool benefit of easily testing stuff out without messing up your main OS install.

If anyone's really that interested, I can give details about what needs to be patched (not much, really) so it'll run correctly. Two years ago, that post would have been accurate. Now, it's pretty much the other way around. Sure, there are lots of people who still use OS 9 on a full-time basis, but the VAST majority of software and support is for OS X nowadays. If by a switchable environment, you mean something like being able to boot into OS 9, well, that was taken out a couple years ago.

And Classic is pretty well-integrated as it is, since you can switch from OS X to OS 9 applications easily, their icons appear in the Dock, etc. I give Classic an estimated 5 years to live, if not less. 5 years from now, I don't think Apple will be building Classic support into their OS at all.