Mac OS 9 Lives

Mac OS 9 Discussion => Hardware => Topic started by: nanopico on September 13, 2016, 12:41:57 PM

Title: Starlifter
Post by: nanopico on September 13, 2016, 12:41:57 PM

Does anyone know of a device or chipset that Apple used that they would have been called or code named Starlifter?

Title: Re: Starlifter
Post by: nanopico on May 25, 2017, 10:13:18 AM

Yeah I know it's an old post, but it's relevant now.

Starlifter first showed up in Mac OS ROM 8.4 from July 2001.
It would be for any system after that date.
Possibly an abandoned chip/controller for an OS X only system that may have had plans to be OS 9 compatible.
Based on how the unsupported machines have gotten running and to what level, I believe that starlifter is in one of the following, G4 PowerBooks from the TI Gigabit Ethernet and newer, G4 iMac, G4 iBooks, eMac and the Xserve.

Based on release dates and architecture differences I would guess the iMac or Xserve.  I'm feeling more the Xserve based on the release date and official OS 9 support of other machines.  Experimentation is to begin.  With the exception of the eMac I have at least one machine that falls within each of these categories.

Don't expect much.  I just wanted to share.

Title: Re: Starlifter
Post by: MacOS Plus on May 25, 2017, 08:36:22 PM

It would appear this codename was borrowed from a military aircraft:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-141_Starlifter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-141_Starlifter)

  Is it pure coincidence that at one point the organization it served went by the acronym of "M.A.C."?

Title: Re: Starlifter
Post by: Philgood on May 25, 2017, 11:42:24 PM

Scary...apple investing in military tech... ;)

Title: Re: Starlifter
Post by: nanopico on May 26, 2017, 06:10:04 AM

Did P.A. Semi have some sort of military contracts before Apple bought them?

Title: Re: Starlifter
Post by: WolfpackN64 on May 26, 2017, 06:31:54 AM

Yes they did.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/16/pasemi_apple_support/