On Jul 9, 2009, at 7:18 PM, Jed Rothwell wrote:
Edmund Storms wrote:
I have heard that Apple is more ruthless about backward
compatibility. Microsoft cannot afford to be, because if the new
Windows does not work with old hardware, people will eventually
throw away their hardware and buy a Mac!
I don't know what you mean about ruthless. Before OS10 came along,
all versions up to OS9 were backward compatible on the Mac.
So OS10 does not run on older machines? That's what I read. I don't
have a Mac so I don't know the details.
Wikipedia and other sources describe a sharp break between 9 and 10,
that you would not see in the PC world. That is, a situation where
the computer you bought a year ago (or even last week!) does not run
a new operating system. It seems the so-called "classic" Macs were
left high and dry when OS 10 came out. A newer machine could emulate
and older one, but an older one could not run the newer OS.
Actually there was a semi-sharp break. For awhile the new machines ran
both OS 9 and OS10, which allowed all of the older programs to run
along with any new programs that could be found. This was done because
many of the required new programs needed for OS10 were not yet
available. When these new program became available, the machines were
changed to run Windows plus OS10 rather than OS9 plus OS10. This
transition created problems because now I need two machines on my desk
to access the information that was based on OS9 or earlier.
Fortunately, I find this information is no longer important except
perhaps to historians.
The upcoming OS 10 version will only run on the Intel machines,
which is a big break from the past. I assume it will handle the
older peripherals, however. That is an easier task with the Mac than
with the PC.
Windows does not work on older machines without enough memory or
speed, but that can't be helped. There is no sudden break like there
is between OS9 and OS10, or between the Power PC and Intel.
In addition, all versions were plug and play and required very
little effort to attach new hardware.
I gather they use a well defined interface, so It is not as hard to
accommodate peripherals as it is the older internal hardware. With
PCs there are so many peripherals it is difficult to keep up with
them, but it is the peripheral manufacturer's responsibility.
That has been one of the major problems using a PC. Getting
peripherals to work was a real problem until the Wizards were
introduced in Windows. The Mac was always very easy.
Ed
- Jed
