Free software OS 8

Hi Dhenry,

Welcome to the forums. Check out http://www.versiontracker.com that's usually a one-stop shopping url.

You should definitely update to OS 8.5.1 (at least) because 8.5.0 was flaky. You can get it here 8.5.1 update

And according to the Mac OS 8 and 9 compatibility chart you can run up to OS 9.1 if you have enough RAM. Updating to OS 8.6 is free if you have 8.5

If you upgrade to 8.6 look at some of the other threads in this forum to see what other system components to upgrade at the same time.

Clarisworks 4 is a great app. I still use it even on my powerbook g4 (in Classic). The updates to 4v6 were free, but you had to install v5 update first. Here's the link to older software downlods.

For IM clients look for these versions.
* Yahoo IM (try downloading version 2.5 from the Yahoo Asia site)
* MSN Messenger client try Mac Messenger 3.0
* AOL Instant Messenger version 4.3

Here's some other useful apps that you'll find with a google search or off versiontracker.
* StuffIt Standard 7.0.3
* Fetch
* Mozilla 1.3.1
* Acrobat Reader 5.0
* Palm Desktop 2.6.3
* TechTool v1.1.7 or TechTool lite

Have fun!

That's odd about the .smi. Can you try opening it from within Disk Copy? or re-downloading a fresh copy? or dragging it onto Stuffit Expander?

I'm afraid I'm mostly running OS X nowadays and can't remember what to do next about the .smi. I'll keep thinking about it and hopefully others will be around with some advice too.

Here's some KB articles that may help (or not?) meanwhile.
* Software Downloads: Formats and Common Error Messages

* Software Downloads Online: Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of various software and URLs to check out for applications, which I've collected over the years. (Your question gave me a chance to consolidate them a bit!) Some of them are quite high end programs which have been made into freeware, such as WordPerfect, Audion, and Transmit, for example.

www.jagshouse.com
www.lowendmac.com
Games:
homepage.mac.com/giantmike/old.html
home.hawaii.rr.com/m68kg/links.html#OGA
mac.the-underdogs.org
www.fools-errand.com
http://w3.trib.com/~dwood/oldmac.shtml

www.stclairsw.com/stclairsw/

SmartKeys 3.4.1

<http://mes.emuunlim.com/mes/index.htm>
This in a Mac emulation site BUT, it contains links to all sorts of Mac software.
www.macorchard.com
http://www.kidsdomain.com/down/mac/
http://mirrors.apple.com/Mirrors/info-mac/
http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-software/utilities.html

http://www.eskimo.com/~pristine/
http://www.lowendmac.com
http://www.macorchard.com
http://accs-net.com/hosts/hostsformac.html
http://www.hairersoft.com/Amadeus.html
http://www.niftyneato.com/
<http://www.helsinki.fi/~pkamppur/typeschange.html>.

While not free, DiskWarrior 2.1 from www.alsoft.com is an almost essential program to have if one has a Mac. The DW 3.x is an OS X program only, but it comes bundled with DW 2.1; however, issues now have to be solved to create a suitable boot disk. See this thread:
<http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?128@@.68a99b01>
www.panic.com for the now freeware Transmit 1.7 and Audion 3.0; great programs.
WordPerfect 3.5e at

ftp://ftp.r8ix.com/WP-L_Stuff/ (second from bottom it seems)
It's called the WordPerfectKit.sit.

Here is a web page at Corel with patches, conversion files etc:
<http://www.corel.com/support/ftpsite/pub/wordperfect/wpmac/index.htm>

And the download is also at:
<http://acmfiles.csusb.edu/corel/wpmac.html>

Panorama demo from www.provue.com is fully operative for small databases and even exceeding the limit after a clever protection device encouraging one to purchase.

GraphicConverter from www. lemkesoft.de

iCab internet browser for Macs only,with versions especially all the way back to the early Macs, too. www.icab.de

Great and more functional alternative to SimpleText:
www.tex-edit.com

Best genealogy program, Mac only:
www.geditcom.com
(Read the website for important info about the GEDCOM standard.)

When you post, please explain exactly what you have done in detail. The MacOS files have a data fork and a resource fork. The PC will destroy the resource fork if you do anything to the Mac file on a PC other than just save it, if you are using the PC to download your Mac files. You need to have a working Stuffit Expander on your Mac, too; do you?

Dhenry,

It sounds like you need to read up on Mac OS to get a little understanding of how it works. Here's 2 books to look for in your library. If your local branch doesn't have it, ask for a inter-library loan.

* Macs For Dummies, Eighth Edition, by David Pogue

* Beyond the Little Mac Book, by Robin Williams and Steve Broback

Also, familiarize yourself with the applications that
1) come bundled with your OS as utilities or desk accessories (e.g. Disk Copy)
2) may already be installed (e.g. Stuffit Expander)

An easy way to find out if Stuffit Expander is installed is to open Sherlock either from the Apple menu or by calling it up with CMD-F (CMD is the key with the apple on it). Then search for it. Another thing you can do with Sherlock is switch the search criteria to find items whose kind is application. It will return a list off all the different kinds of applications and show you where they're filed.

Double-click the icon to launch applications. If the application is already in the Apple menu you can launch it by selecting it there. To quit the application you must quit it from the File menu, or use the keyboard commands CMD-Q. Closing windows doesn't quit an application like on Windows.

Mac OS is much easier to use than Windows once you get oriented.

Hey Dhenry,
Do you have any versions of Mac OS 8 on a CD by themselves, not the recovery CDs? If so, I would like to have a copy of the newest one. I am 15 and I have a Performa 631CD running 7.5.5. I would like to upgrade it. Let me know - bkw212007@gmail.com. Thanks.

Hi Dhenry
For OS 8.6 update you ,too,need:
Quoted
"There are two essential updates needed for OS 8.6:

Font Manager Update

Drive Setup 1.7.3

Download and install the font manager update. Then download Drive Setup 1.7.3 and choose the option to update your disk driver (Do NOT choose the "initialize" option as that will completely erase your hard drive.)".
If you've got a PC you can download needed files with it.
Search for "Ian Hedlund" will deliver all you need!

If you get .smi files you must transport them without using Stuffit to your Performa(.smi means self mounting image).

Addendum
font Manager Update
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60444
Drive Setup 1.7.3
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58303
Sorry for that mistake

Dhenry
you can download Disk Copy at:
http://download.info.apple.com/AppleSupport_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/Utilities/D iskCopy/
You should have PC Exchange on your Performa(needed to read MS-DOS-Disks).There should be a version of Stuffit ,too.
Otherwise, you can make a MAC-disk on your PC with Stuffit 4.0.1 on it
Quoted from Ian Hedlund:
"The general rule is to keep MacBinary (.bin) and BinHex (.hqx) unaltered on PC disks. Use StuffIt Expander for the decoding once on the Mac (drag each file onto the program icon). A suitable StuffIt Expander version for Macintosh can be obtained like this: Download MACDISK.EXE (here)( http://rrzs42.uni-regensburg.de/Macintosh/files/macftp.html )onto a PC. Prepare an empty PC-formatted 1.44 MB diskette via the Full formatting option under Windows (or the FORMAT A: command in DOS). Launch the MACDISK.EXE application on the PC. Follow the on-screen instructions. The result will be a Mac ⚠ floppy, complete with a StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 installer.

Otherwise, you could try HFVExplorer on a PC.

Dhenry
Some more stuff(sorry,had to sort out first!)
PC to Mac file transfer:
http://home.earthlink.net/~gamba2/pc2mac.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=13463

Download HFVExplorer:
http://www.chip.de/downloads/c1downloads12995045.html
Better version for MACDisk.Exe:
Go to this web page. Download the MACDISK.EXE file onto your PC. Prepare an empty 1.44 MB PC-formatted diskette via the FORMAT A: command in DOS or the "Full" formatting option under Windows (this is an important step). Run the MACDISK.EXE program on the PC (you may have to temporarily unload any anti-virus software to do this). Follow the instructions on screen. When ready, immediately eject the floppy (now automatically in a Mac format, ready for use in a Macintosh computer) and move it to the Classic. Drag-copy the StuffIt Expander installer onto the hard disk. Run the installation program.
You've got the adress(web page)already.

Hey Apple][freak check this out.A VERY Interesting Mac hack here
http://www.uneasysilence.com