At Last!
If you are going to put OS X on anything, without buying a new system, it would be the G4 and not the G3.
Leave the G3 running System 9.2.x and use it as the "Help Mumsie" machine. The G4 would be much more suitable for OS X, albeit a little slow now. 10.4.x would be as high as I would comfortably go with that machine.
I much prefer the option of getting a completly new machine. It will enable you to get staight into business, running OS X on a machine that is fully capable of doing so and that will allow you to catch up, both in speed and applications.
You are right in assuming that NONE of the System 9 programs will run on the new Mac. All is not lost though, there are free replacements for some of the stuff you were running. Take the case of Word. The System 9 version of Word will not run on any version of OS X. Currently, when you launch it, OS X tells System 9 to launch and run Word. Classic is a stripped down version of System 9.
But, and here's the good news, Word is available for OS X AND there are other alternatives to the Office Suite(Student/Teacher edition is around $135). OpenOffice or NeoOffice are both contenders and will open Word documents, and the other MS stuff like Excel and Power Point) that you have already created.
So, mull that lot over and let us know what you think.
Bye the way, it's about time! I was starting to turn blue here!
P
I have put it in this new thread that that you have a clean sheet to start your new conversation:
This post is by jennywren1420
Well, mrmacfixit and other wise ones, I need your help with questions about how best to make a transition from OS 9 only to either OS X only or both that and OS 9. (I still need to have some way to use OS 9 because that's what my elderly mother uses, and she needs my help at times with computer problems.)
At present, I have two moderately old but still well-functioning computers. One is a G4 tower, 450 Mhz with 384 MB RAM and 120 GB hard drive (pretty new, with 112.59 GB available). The other is a PowerBook G3, 400 Mhz, with 320 RAM and 10 GB hard drive (9.36 available). Both are running OS 9.2.2; neither has an Airport card; both have CD-ROM (G4 has DVD-RAM and G3 has DVD-ROM). The G4 has an internal ZIP drive, too. As I see the issue, here are my options:
Put a relatively old version of OS X that has the Classic environment on one or both computers (assuming that is possible for the G3), get compatible application software for OS X, new printer, etc., if necessary;
Put the newest version of OS X on one or both computers (if that will work without an Intel computer), with a view to someday getting an Intel-based computer,other compatible software, new printer and other hardware;
Keep OS 9 on one of the computers (so I can continue to help my mother) and get a new computer, new everything, including native software, where available.
I really am quite ignorant about what goes with what. I do know that OS 9 will not work without Classic, and that an Intel computer can't use OS 9-compatible anythings. Does that mean only that software (Word, etc.) made for OS 9 won't run on one (or work with the newest versions of OS X, wherever they are placed?) or that any *files* created with an OS 9-compatible application also will be consigned to the ash heap, archived on media or printed out? (I told you I am ignorant, right?)
I am not asking you to make the decision for me, but any advice about what the choices would entail would be very welcome. I haven't given you my questions, really, but they should be clear enough. Mostly, I am trying to compare the merits of my options, both for the present and with a view to the future. My ignorance about OS X (despite having read hundreds of pages of messages on CNET and Apple forums) leaves me still too incompletely informed and too confused to know, for example, what versions of OS X are even feasible for use on my old computers or on the new ones, what their limitations and strengths are, and so on.
I don't expect anyone to tackle all the questions (though as many as possible would be nice); even just a recommendation and the reasons for it would be very helpful. I know this sounds kind of muddle-brained. Well, it is. . . .
Hoping to settle this soon. I am being pressed hard by a client that uses a totally Web-based system to hurry up and get OS X in some form or other. And yes, mrmacfixit, you can stop holding your breath, too (though I hope you haven't been doing that, all this time).
Thank you, thank you. thank you,
jenny

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