Q: Why was classic environment disabled?

Two words: Planned obsolescence

Gary

I agree with Gary and will add that there is no money in supporting older hardware. Gotta keep the stock price up.

I had a Pismo G3 laptop for years with both OS 10.4.11 and OS 9.2.2 on separate partitons. When it expired I bought a used 2004  iBook G4 for $150 which also has 10.4.11 installed and classic environment. It works perfectly and seems to out perform the Pismo which was running native OS 9.2.2. I can use all my ancient data created in Claris Works, Claris Draw, MacWrite, etc. I can even run Windows 95 with Real PC (an emulator in an emulator !) seamlessly. As Apple is not listening consider an older Mac that will run OS 9 either natively or via Classic Environment.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/by_capability/macs-that-support-macos-9-classic. html

>there is no money in supporting older hardware

I think this statement should actually be:

"there is no DIRECT money in supporting older hardware"

because a company's reputation is VERY important for customer loyalty. If a company becomes known for poor quality products (in WHATEVER form that may take), they will lose their customer base.

In MY case, I haven't purchased a new Apple product since 2002 due to the lack of Mac OS 9 support. And I convinced my doctor to buy a Google Chromebook rather than a new Mac after Apple told her that her 1 year old machine would be obsolete (ie unusable) after the next OS update. She showed off her new Chromebook to her colleagues and THEY bought Chromebooks too.

Gary

We are a bigger club than we may realize. 

I didn't want to give up Adobe PhotoDeluxe 1.1, or Eudora, or Appleworks. 

You're right, siren7400, it is very tricky to install SheepShaver, but not impossible.  Today I am using SheepShaver on top of Mt.Lion.  PhotoDeluxe 1.1 is working great.  I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, just very determined.  I used three different sources to figure out how to accomplish SS.  The man most responsible can be found at this link http://www.emaculation.com/doku.php/sheepshaver_mac_os_x_setup. He was very patient with me, which can't be too easy.   I also used two different youtube videos to help me understand. 

I have way more time than I have money, so if time is scarce for you, I think the option of purchasing an older Mac may be a good idea.  I doubt that I will totally give up my G5. 

I bought a Mac Mini 2012 (late) with Mt. Lion recently, but we bought my husband (on a G4/Tiger) a 2010 (mid) on ebay that's working pretty good; it came with SnowLeopard, still supporting Rossetta, which allows him to continue with AppleWorks and Eudora.  He doesn't use his computer like I do, so photodeluxe wasn't an issue for him.

I installed Parellels 8 and Server SnowLeopard on Mt. Lion, but so far, I'm not too impressed.  My husand's future problem is that when Apple and others stop supporting SnowLeopard and Firefox or Safarie, it opens the Mac up to NO new updates ie, adobe flash used with Youtube, and hackers. We just bought him some time, that's all.  Already there are various areas on PPC Tiger that I can not view on my G5.

But since Mac users have always been treated like the "ugly step children" in a Window's world, there are those Mac folks who forever come up with something new (third party) to save the day.  It's not that change is the enemy, it's that if it isn't broken why fix it?

KVM also makes a switch so you can use the same monitor/keyboard/mouse on two Macs.  And, they also make the same switch for dual monitors.  A bit pricy, but check it out at KVM's offical site.

Now I have to relearn how to increase the memory so QT will work.

Patt

RE: It's not that change is the enemy, it's that if it isn't broken why fix it?

Right on!

What's new is not necessariy needed and what's old is not automatically obsolete

Yea, your story about being Mac addicted and not wanting to climb into the murk and mire of the PC world, is most likely the reason we Mac users are stll Mac users.

Besides the site I offered above, here are two Youtube sites that I used.  As  you know, now all Youtubs are created equal.  This one will tell you where to download a necessary item called "New World Rom" 1. linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqgw4z_r2sE. 

First, what OS (operating system)are you going to install SS on?  It makes a difference. 

I was installing onto Mt. Lion; that took a special turn which the other OSs don't need.  I'm in no way an expert at this, but since I had to roll around in ti, smell it, and taste it (SS) before I could get it, I have been able to simplify some of the jargon that caused me difficulty in understanding.  So, if you'd like a few tips, please write back, and I will provide what I can.

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKSSON0nMdI  This youtube video is pretty good. 

These links are just to get you use to what is happening.  What I missed on Ron's site (http://www.emaculation.com/doku.php/sheepshaver_mac_os_x_setup) due to my inability to comprehend the written word (very visutal person here), I picked up from the videos.  One thing you will need for sure is a retail type CD of OS9 to make SS work.  There are some lower OSs, too that can be used.  Different OSs plug into different Roms, ie Old world Rom or New World Rom.

But, TMI for now, if you write back I will know you need my simple minded tips.  I don't want to under estimate your brain power.

If you decide that SheepShaver is your best option, consider its cousin, Chubby Bunny, which comes preinstalled with the Mac ROMs and OS 9 already installed. 

Here is a recent post I assembled on this subject:

With the newer Intel Macs, you have to run a Classic emulator such as SheepShaver, which requires you to extract the Mac ROMs from your older Classic Mac and then install Mac OS 9.

 

A related program is Chubby Bunny, which comes bundled with all of that included (google the term "Classic-On-Intel v 4.0.1 chubby bunny").

 

 

More information on SheepShaver:

 

http://www.emaculation.com/doku.php/sheepshaver_mac_os_x_setup

 

and

 

http://www.everymac.com/mac-answers/mac-os-9-classic-support-faq/run-macos-9-on- intel-macs.html

 

and more information about Chubby Bunny:

 

http://www.macwindows.com/OS9_on_Intel_Mac.html#092408b

 

and

 

http://hackthemac.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/chubby-bunny-old-virtual-machine.html

Here is the Classic version of RISK II running in SheepShaver on my Lion Mac:

 

                              [click on image to enlarge]

 

I don't have any experience running Mac Classic games on OS X with an emulator, but I was able to successfully install and configure SheepShaver on our two Intel iMacs at work. We use a bar code creation app that was never updated for OS X. In fact, the Mac version of this app was totally abandoned and they only support and update the app for Windows. Anyway, we still need to use this app and I was determined to find a way. It runs perfectly using SheepShaver, so this was a viable solution to continue using an OS 9 app.

I'm glad you have a successful experience with SheepShaver. This info can encourage others to try it with their Mac Classic programs.

If you do want to still get a Mac with OS 9 on it, there are great ones on eBay. I got a slightly-broken-but-fixable iBook for only $70! I couldnt get sheepshaver to work right, so I got this.

Long story short; old games that wont load on newer Mac - "Classic environment not supported".  I have WAY MORE Mac than I can ever use, but ... trying to learn to become a better user. 

Specs:

     MacBook Pro, Retina 15", mid 2014 (Apple Refurbished 06/2015)

     OS X El Capitan, v 10.11.3

     Processor  2.2 GHz Intel Core 17

     Memory  16GB  1600 MHz DDR3

     Graphics Intel Pro 1563MB

SheepShaver?  Will this cause smoke to come out of my Mac or just my ears?  Sounds complicated, but I'm game to learn. No PC bad habits, but also no Mac experience; an old newbie.  Will SheepShaver do the job AND NOT freeze up my machine, etc...? 

Bearlyalive wrote:

 

Will SheepShaver do the job AND NOT freeze up my machine, etc...? 

Yes!

I have not tried to run it on El Capitan yet...

Go for the Chubby Bunny package; much easier to install.

What Classic apps are you trying to run?