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http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=1608
You can still boot a new PowerMac under OS 9, but options are limited
By Michael Flaminio, Insanely Great Mac
January 29th 2003
Apple keeps promis of keeping a few PowerMacs on the shelves that can still boot under
OS 9
January 2003 was said to be crunch time for OS 9. No more dual booting. OS X and
Classic. That's it.
But then, late last year, Apple relented. Some Ed and Pro systems would have to
continue to boot into OS 9. After all, Quark isn't expected to deliver XPress 6.0
until June. And flat-broke schools aren't about to lash out on piles of OS X software
upgrades. Apple may have been confronted with a choice, either continue to offer some
OS 9 computers for sale or not make any sales for a while.
So Apple has kept its promise: you can buy Macs that boot into OS 9. If they're what
you want or you can afford them.
Take yesterday's release of the revamped Power Macs. Sure, you can buy an OS 9 Mac.
Which one would you like? The Ultimate or the Not-Quite-So-Ultimate, at a near steal
at $3,799 or $2,699, respectively. (OS 9-bootable computers are listed via a button on
the right at the PowerMac Apple Store page) Note that these are the 1.25 GHz models,
lacking new goodies such as FireWire 800, 4x Superdrive and also support for Airport
Extreme and BlueTooth options. There's not even a BTO option for the new ATI Radeon
9700 graphics card. These are presumably "yesterday's PowerMacs" and do sell for a
slight premium over similarly equipped new 1.25 GHz PowerMacs. Keep in mind though the
new PowerMacs ship only with 1 MB of cache per CPU, while the old 1.25 PowerMacs have
2 MB, and also the new PowerMacs come equipped with all the new goodies noted above.
So it's a little give and take here.
Apple's position is that it takes too many resources to keep Mac OS 9 current for all
its new hardware. With each release of a new computer, Apple typically needs to update
OS 9 so that it can at least boot, but also support new technologies, such as Airport
Extreme and FireWire 800. Certainly there's a cost involved, but make no doubt that
there is also a bit of marketing. Apple want you to use OS X so that it can make good
on all the promises made to developers. Apple wants you to buy more of those OS X
apps, like MS Office, which, let's face it, hasn't exactly been flying off the
shelves, although certainly has been selling better under Apple/MS promos. The Mac
market is fragmented, between the old and new and Apple is shoehorning everyone into
the new, whether they're ready or not.
The question will be how long will Apple keep OS 9 bootable computers around? Likely,
Apple will only keep PowerMacs available. PowerBooks are already OS X only, and next
revisions to Apple's other products will likely make them OS X only also. For those
who need something else, there will certainly be an active second-hand market for OS 9
bootable machines, such as from long-time IGM sponsor Small Dog. Not only are they
more affordable than the new, but they can buy you a little extra time before making
the big jump.
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