>... please explain the differences between OS 9 and OS9.1 >(and 9.2) insofar as performance on an older PPC-based laptop like a 3400c?
>I find OS9 very stable and fast and hear that subsequent updates to 9.1 and >9.2 simply add unnecessary layers of Carbon Lib and other compatibility to >run with OS X? Many kind thanks and regards for input on this issue. Bill Performance (speed? reliability?) will be similar. Some features will be different. 9.0 is alot like 8.5/8.6 but with added features and the artificial ability to use things like iTunes and Disk Burner. 9.1 is 9.0 tweaked and stroked. The swan song fer yer 6100, so to speak. If you have 9.0.4 I think that's a fine version. I understand that 9.0.x prior to that had some issues. Even 9.0 or 8.6 has lots of things that should be disabled for most beige-era Macs such as all the USB & FireWire stuff. It's all relative. 9.1 added some detail features, most of which I forget at the moment. I use 9.1's (and later) Shift-Command-Delete often to empty the Trash. Finder error messeges are now non-modal. Your Applications folder is now callled Applications (OS9), and the Utilities and Apple Extras are inside that. If you never put OS X on that same drive that'll really seem stupid, be remmeber this was early 2001, with X only a month or two away. Deal, or change them / move them back to what you're used to and lose the custom icons... Browse an OS 9 book at your local bookseller for 9.0/9.1 differences. My opinion is that one of the best things about these "point" kinds of updates is that they come with many of the partial updates you'd probably want sooner or later anyway. A good example is CarbonLib. Although the version that was released with 9.1 has long been superceded, it's the type of piece that generally gets better each time around. The various "point" updates will often come with newer versions of Open Transport and other pieces. Of course almost anything that either came with 9.1 or 9.2 can be installed as a separate piece for 9.0.x. If none of the more current software is valued to you, it then comes down to any added features 9.1 has. However, you already have OS 9 for a reason. If you purchased it or it came pre-loaded, 9.1 is still a better overall version of the same thing so why not use it? As far as CarbonLib goes, it's a necessary evil for running several OS 8.1-9.x apps that were designed for both 9 and X. OS X per se doesn't need it at all; it's there for you to play with some of the most modern of OS 9 apps, so get the latest version and don't lose sleep over it. Certainly your Software Update control panel has been admonishing you over the last few years to do so? If you run no Carbon apps (such as AppleWorks 6 or later versions of Stuffit Expander) by all means disable it. Think of Carbon apps as what existed in the very early 90s, a bridge where many apps ran fine in both Systems 6 and 7, and then later versions only ran well (or at all) in System 7. In some cases it can ease the complexity. When I was running both 9 and X on the same Mac it was handy to only need one copy of AppleWorks 6.2, Stuffit Expander 6.5.1 and Acrobat Reader 5.0. All Carbon, each was happy in either X or 9 (8.1 or 8.6 too of course.) The other types of pieces you mention --- that show up in your System Folder for the Classic compatibility environment in OS X --- are usually pretty easy to spot. Disable 'em, and you can still continue to enjoy the benefits of 9.x. Or leave them enabled, it won't hurt anything or cause "secret layers of trouble". Any version of the OS prior to OS X already has 17-18 years of that baked-in. If you can run it, get 9.2.1 and then 9.2.2 on there as well. I've never really noticed the performance increases many claim over 9.1. But 9.2 already comes with most of the updates you'd want to do to 9.1 anyway, so if you were to update to 9.1 you might as well go all the way to 9.2. -David -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
