Mac OS X and the Classic Environment
To help bridge the application gap between Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X,
Apple has built a
virtual machine
that enables you to run older Mac software under Mac OS X in
what’s known as Classic.
Classic (or the “Classic
environment”) looks and feels just like Mac OS 9.
The only exception is that the applications that are run in Classic
don’t benefit from the features of Mac OS X, such as
protected memory and advanced printing capability. Additionally, some
Control Panels (
→ Control Panels), such as Control Strip, Memory, and Remote Access, are disabled.[1] Basically, when you’re running Classic, you are running a slightly watered-down version of Mac OS 9 on top of Mac OS X with only a minor performance hit.
Until all Mac applications are compliant with Mac OS X, you will also
need to install a version of Mac OS 9 (9.2.2, to be exact). During
the installation process, you can install both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X
on the same partition (or hard drive), or you can use Disk Utility
(Installer → Open Disk Utility) to create a separate
partition for each. Basically, you’re creating a
dual-boot system
, which means you can boot your Mac
into either OS. However, if you don’t plan to run
Classic applications, you won’t need to install Mac
OS 9.
If your computer came with Mac OS X preinstalled, Mac OS 9 has been preinstalled as well. It’s worth noting that Apple ...
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