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bryh28 · Mar 4, 2001, 06:49 PM

Why should I go for 9 when X is a few weeks away.

I am currently on an iMac350G3CD with 8.6 and I mainly use the machine surfing for mp3s, with my digital camera and occasionally producing documents in Appleworks.

Which of the new OS's best suits my needs, or is 8.6 sufficient for me.
Putting it another way, 8.6 is sufficient for me, but what am I missing out on? (Apart from iTunes).

Thanks,
BryH

WDL · Mar 4, 2001, 07:01 PM

If 8.6 is working well for you, why mess with success?

Wait a while before deciding about OSX - Apple announced
the version shipping 24th Mar is no complete - other parts will follow
summer '01.

Additionally, a lot of programming for OS X doesn't exist yet - it's
being promised for summer/fall '01 - why not see the proof before
you jump.

WDL

Cipher13 · Mar 4, 2001, 07:01 PM

Get OS 9.04 or 9.1.
They're awesome.
Don't worry about X...
Although for you it may be good. Its PPP support is much better than OS9 (if you use dial up - if you're on anything else then there's little difference).
Your digital camera may not work with OSX as of yet - that, you'll have to wait and see about...
Personally I'd stick with OS8 or 9 if I were you.
OSX adds some stuff, but it'd be more of a gimick, and OS9 will perform brilliantly for you.

Cipher13

WDL · Mar 4, 2001, 07:03 PM

Originally posted by WDL:
If 8.6 is working well for you, why mess with success?

Wait a while before deciding about OSX - Apple announced
the version shipping 24th Mar is not complete - other parts will follow
summer '01.

Additionally, a lot of programming for OS X doesn't exist yet - it's
being promised for summer/fall '01 - why not see the proof before
you jump.

WDL

Embermage · Mar 4, 2001, 07:03 PM

I would wait for X. 9 is $99 and X is $129. The best part is that X comes with 9, so for $20 more, you get two operating systems. You will probably need to boot in to 9 to use your camera (until there are OS X drivers), but Apple Works should be fine under classic, and iTunes will probably be carbonized by then too.

Hope this helps,

------------------
Embermage
[email protected]
http://www.mactavern.com

WDL · Mar 4, 2001, 07:05 PM

Don't know what the hell happened there -
tried to edit a typo and got a second post with
the correction!

WDL

Embermage · Mar 4, 2001, 07:05 PM

Wow, 3 people replied to this while I was typing my reply. That's scary... (yes, I was doing other things).

------------------
Embermage
[email protected]
http://www.mactavern.com

Cipher13 · Mar 4, 2001, 07:07 PM

Originally posted by Embermage:
I would wait for X. 9 is $99 and X is $129. The best part is that X comes with 9, so for $20 more, you get two operating systems. You will probably need to boot in to 9 to use your camera (until there are OS X drivers), but Apple Works should be fine under classic, and iTunes will probably be carbonized by then too.

Hope this helps,

The OS9 that will ship with OSX will be a stripped down version bundled on the OSX CD probably.
Or a mini-installer on another CD.
They won't give away a full-blown copy...

Cipher13

Cipher13 · Mar 4, 2001, 07:08 PM

Originally posted by Embermage:
Wow, 3 people replied to this while I was typing my reply. That's scary... (yes, I was doing other things).

Hehe, I'll say

Damn, WDL, you beat me!

Cipher13

mac freak · Mar 4, 2001, 07:30 PM

I read that OS X will be released on 3 CD's --

OS X CD
OS 9.1 CD
OS X Dev tools CD

And I think I read it here in the fora. But who knows, maybe I'm wrong.
Whatever the situation, I'm getting my grimy little hands on it as fast as I can!

------------------
Be Happy.

snodman · Mar 4, 2001, 11:08 PM

Quote: The OS9 that will ship with OSX will be a stripped down version bundled on the OSX CD probably.
Or a mini-installer on another CD.
They won't give away a full-blown copy...

Actually, Yes they will. Apple will ship the ACTUAL OS 9.1 CD with OS X. The reason is that OS X isn't feature complete yet and Apple understands that people WILL HAVE TO boot into OS 9.1 much of the time to get parts of their systems to work. Your printer will likely be supported within OS X on March 24, but I doubt your scanner (and certainly DVD playback) will be possible to use without booting directly into OS 9.1. I definitely recommend buying OS X (since it has the full 9.1 bundle) and as point releases and programs/drivers get updated you can migrate to X at whatever pace you are comfortable with. Buy lots'a RAM (it's cheap now).

[This message has been edited by snodman (edited 03-04-2001).]

nigeljedi · Mar 4, 2001, 11:16 PM

If you wait for OS X, it will have OS 9.1 with it. 9.1 is "required for classic compatibility."

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FireMac
Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. -Yoda

brown monk · Mar 5, 2001, 02:55 AM

If I were you, I would stick with 8.6. But if you wish to upgrade, upgrade to X in the summer or fall of '01.

Again, why mess with success?

Mar 5, 2001, 05:33 AM

Originally posted by Cipher13:
The OS9 that will ship with OSX will be a stripped down version bundled on the OSX CD probably.
Or a mini-installer on another CD.
They won't give away a full-blown copy...

I sure hope you're wrong. They're already gonna ship something that's more or less 'crippled' ( X lacking some functionality); It would be another bad move if they were also to only include a similarly 'crippled' version of OS 9.1 that didn't include all the tools people expected to have and still weren't in X yet.

Further more, a lot of people would wait to buy OSX if this were to happen, which would hurt Apple even more ($$ and in PR), plus it would invalidate the idea to have X out earier than when it was fully ready (why buy something that didn't give you all the functionality you now have?)

[This message has been edited by walter (edited 03-05-2001).]

Mar 5, 2001, 08:07 AM

My feeling is that OSX will come with the full version of 9.1. Apple made so little fanfare about 9.1 coming out at Expo - if they made a big deal about it and people shelled out $20-$100 for it then en masse, only to find out a couple of months later that their new OSX comes with it for "free" - bad PR move.

But, what do I know? I can never figure this company out!

-s'fit

slimshady023 · Mar 5, 2001, 10:03 PM

Go for the X, Bryh28! You can install 9 at your discretion, and be saved the extra cost should you decide to jump to OS X later this year.

That's my two cents anyway!
- Slim

Costique · Mar 6, 2001, 05:31 AM

Bryh28, I think that a choice of OS should be based on your personal needs.

Let's consider some advantages and disadvantages.

OS 8.6 takes much less RAM than OS 9.
OS 9 features Sherlock which I like far more than Find File in OS 8.6.
It seems to me (though I admit I may be very subjective) that OS 8.6 is a bit faster than OS 9.
OS 9 has file sharing over TCP/IP which is times faster than that in OS 8.6. So if you have a local network, OS 9 looks a preferred choice. OS X, however, should show even better network performance. Check www.wincent.org for OS X networking review.
OS X has a limited number of apps running natively, so if, for example, you use QuarkXPress, wait for a Carbonized version of it.
OS X GUI looks cool if you personally like it. Yet OS X requires more RAM than OS 9 because of Classic environment.
OS X is the most stable Macintosh OS ever.
There is such a tricky problem as system requirements. You should write down a list of your favourite software and check if it works well with a particular version of OS.

So you have to consider pros and cons and decide for yourself.
If these notes are not enough for you, go to www.Apple.com and read everything your eyes fall upon.

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Make no assumptions