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[Knezzen]

Bolkonskij is helping me with a forum theme and new webpage that houses both the old content and adds lots of space for new stuff. The idea is to make it THE place to link to if somebody asks "What's Mac OS 9"? and "What can I do with it in 2024?".

Since I want the info to be top-notch and from folks who know what they're talking about, I'm looking for people who would like contribute information, guides and how-to's in whatever segments that are relevant to Mac OS 9. If you've written good content that are buried in the forum structure, now is the time to dig it out

The new site and forum theme will of course be retro compatible (the aim is Classilla and iCab 3) and it will be more light weight than the current forum theme. The current forum theme will of course still be available for those who want to stick with what we have now, so nothing will change if you don't want it to.

The idea, aesthetically, is to capture the Apple and Mac OS 9 spirit from the turn of the century and bring in some new features for everyone to enjoy

Right now we're looking for contributions in the following categories:

• DAW & music
• Games
• Drivers
• Utilities
• Writing & Calc
• Video Editing
• Emulators on OS9

Know of a thread from the forum that should be posted as a tutorial on the new website? Please post it below!

If all of this sounds interesting and you want to contribute new and unpublished content, reach out to me through PM, email or right here in this thread!

[aBc]

Visual sample / example of just what this new forum theme / webpage might look like?

[Knezzen]

Visual sample / example of just what this new forum theme / webpage might look like?

Sure! I bet Bolkonskij will chime in as soon as he wakes up from whatever he's doing. And as I mentioned above, the new forum look is optional, Fury

[aBc]

Visual sample / example of just what this new forum theme / webpage might look like?

Sure! I bet Bolkonskij will chime in as soon as he wakes up from whatever he's doing. And as I mentioned above, the new forum look is optional, Fury

This it?

[Knezzen]

This it?

Haha, yes. That's the current work in progress. Cool that you found it
See it as work in progress. The logo is not the final one. Any input is greatly appreciated.

[IIO]

The logo is not the final one.

it is already much better than the very first one from this theme, which kind of caused eye cancer.

overall the new theme works well.

[DieHard]

Thumbs Up !!

* Like *

etc.

[Jubadub]

I'm using this theme for now, really liking it so far! I particularly enjoy the "System Folder" icon for unread sections and sub-forums as opposed to regular folder icons, that approach really clicks well!

If the logo isn't final, maybe it will get an MDD upgrade?

[Bolkonskij]

One of the spoils of having three kids in kindergarden / school is that you get free home delivery of whatever this season's virus is. So after the kids were down with 40 C (100F) fever I got a nice bronchitis too, hence my late reply. Sorry!

Well, the surprise is gone :-) I nonetheless want to add a few thoughts. Knezzen approached me asking to code a light theme to add to the forum (as opposed to the original darker theme we already have), so users will have a choice. Then he asked me to have the same for the website and then make both look like one (the man's wishlist never ends )

The design is actually Apple's from the early 2000's, so not really much creativity on my part. Kudos to the nameless Apple webdesigner! My challenge was rather to write a theme and website that will look & feel like "one", as Mr. Knezzen would put it :-)

I'm trying my best to keep requirements for both forum theme and website low - Classilla is my target and any machine Classilla runs on should be able to handle it Because if the new software no longer runs on the old hardware, it is worse than the old software :-)

Anyway, since you're already dabbling with the forum theme, I'm attaching a few more screenshots from the website. All taken with Classilla on OS 9 at 1024x768, the basic requirement.

First and foremost, there'll be a news section on the front page. Less intended as a "breaking news" but rather as an archive of news for those returning / semi-following developments. And of course it's a great way to show how much life there is still left in OS 9 to outsiders!

There's sections on application-specific stuff, from games to spreadsheets, which should give newbies and returning OS 9 users a good starting point. Might be useful to either link to some tutorials here in the forum or even placing them on the website.

I think this is the part that Knezzen needs your help - I'm helping with the web dev stuff but I really suck at writing English (not my native language) and won't be much help writing guides and stuff.

Coughing and out ...

Note: I stopped at 90% due to getting sick, so there's definitely inaccuracies in margins and (quite obvious) in font colors and stuff. This will get fixed.

[Greystash]

It looks great, nice work!! Also works much better in IE5 than the current theme.
Get well soon Bolkonskij!

[Jubadub]

First and foremost, there'll be a news section on the front page. Less intended as a "breaking news" but rather as an archive of news for those returning / semi-following developments. And of course it's a great way to show how much life there is still left in OS 9 to outsiders!

I love this part particularly!

"ChatGPT becomes available to Mac OS 9 before iOS"

"Like Torrents? MacTorrent just released"

Etc.

All the other parts are also great! Not just the sections themselves, but also the content already in some of them. "There is no class in 'Classic'!" Native booting FTW!

I just bought and got a 17" DELL CRT monitor, too, and the resolution I'm using is precisely 1024x768, @75Hz, and the new website theme just looks stunning. Higher resolutions are also fine!

Incredible job, a lot of work clearly went/is going into this.

Get better soon, @Bolkonskij! (Maybe you can have some propolis, I source my own straight from bee keepers, which will always beat anything with a bar code on it.)

[IIO]

Know of a thread from the forum that should be posted as a tutorial on the new website? Please post it below!

 - disassembling PPC hardware
 - optical upgrade options
 - mass storage upgrade options
 - silent fan upgrades
 - GPU upgrade options
 - CPU upgrade options
 - MacOS9 system components upgrades (ATI, QT...)
 - overview over programming languages
 - filesharing and desktop remote options between OS9 and OS9, OSX PPC, intel, ARM, windows, linux
 - the netboot project
 - installing a complete protools system
 - audio plug-in developement
 - how to use a disassembler
 - general OS9 / general hardware operations tutorial for beginners
 - repairing PSUs
 - bluebox, classic, emulators,
 - attaching HFS+ in windows, linux, 10.15 - sonoma
 - using OS9 on unsupported hardware (older as well as newer)
 - everything about our mini OS
 - mini specific upgrade options
 - file handling for beginners (sit, zip, iso, toast, what is a resource fork, t/c, bndl/desktopdb)
 - virtual PC & co, nostalgia
 - a guide to open firmware
 - display calibration
 - multi monitor setup options
 - everything about PCI breakout boxes
 - apps that use dual processing and the dual processing extension
 - OS9 cluster computing
 - SSH, telnet options
 - http, ftp and youtube options
 - preserving software authoriations with the ASR method
 - formatting options in OS9, 10.4 and 10.5, differences between O9 disk formatter versions
 - backup and archival strategies, automatic backup and sychronisation software
 - mini hardware - breeding and care (there´s already guides about thermal paste and others)
 - scanner, printer, plotter, cutter, touch display, wacom etc options

[Knezzen]

Many many things etc...

With links!

[Greystash]

- using OS9 on unsupported hardware (older as well as newer)

I'm not sure if it's necessary but if I'd be happy to write a condensed guide for installing Mac OS 9 on unsupported PowerBook G4s if needed?

[ssp3]

Know of a thread from the forum that should be posted as a tutorial on the new website? Please post it below!

 - display calibration

LOL. I think I'm the only one here who does it on a regular basis.

I wrote about it in the past here:
http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=4726
and here
http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=6582.msg49764#msg49764
and here
http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=3481.msg50307#msg50307
and here recently
http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7061

Not much of an interest, I have to say.

P.S. All the displays that I tested in Mini display oddities thread were calibrated too.

P.P.S. I have a feeling that all the newcomer user base is mostly interested in getting cheap G3/G4, slapping OS9 onto it, playing a retro game or two and then putting the machine back in the corner. All the tutorials will be "für die Katz".

[Knezzen]

I'm not sure if it's necessary but if I'd be happy to write a condensed guide for installing Mac OS 9 on unsupported PowerBook G4s if needed?

Sounds like a wonderful idea! Would be a great addition to the site!

Things

Do you feel like condensing everything down to an article about calibration that we can publish on the new website?

[smilesdavis]

I have a feeling that all the newcomer user base is mostly interested in getting cheap G3/G4, slapping OS9 onto it, playing a retro game or two and then putting the machine back in the corner.

Well to be fair, os9 as daily driver in 2024 isnt really an option

We would profit if we enter a mindset where its just a hobby rather
Than for professional use

[Knezzen]

Well to be fair, os9 as daily driver in 2024 isnt really an option

We would profit if we enter a mindset where its just a hobby rather
Than for professional use

Well, let's not jump to conclusions and dismiss use cases. I for one use my TiBook every day and more often than my MacBook Air M1. In the studio my MDD is king and I make my music with Logic 6 and Pro Tools TDM 5.1.3. Using Mac OS 9 for professional and daily use in 2024 is viable, but I think we need to highlight how one would do "modern stuff" in Mac OS 9.

[IIO]

LOL. I think I'm the only one here who does it on a regular basis.

some things are listed because they are essential, others are optional, and then there are things which i only included because somebody wrote such a post already.

btw, often the überspecialist for topic XYZ himself is not the best candidate to write a good, short but complete explanation for newbies and the general public.

so everyone who is good in writing structured texts is asked to join and write something - you do not need to be the hacker, theorist or user who knows about things yourself, rather you can do it together with such a person..

an article about calibration for eaxmple would start with explaining what it is, when a software is mentioned the software should indirectly be linked, i personally would enjoy if we can agree upon a fixed picture size and so on.

several of our topics do include assumptions or open questions because the things are a work in progress, that should also be correctly reflected.

[Mat]

Well to be fair, os9 as daily driver in 2024 isnt really an option

We would profit if we enter a mindset where its just a hobby rather
Than for professional use

I also have to strongly disagree! My 9-machines are still my main computers, and wouldn´t we have this ugly TLS-situation I would never boot into Linux at all.

So, no; "hobby" is the opposite of what I use Mac OS 9 for, and I would apreciate if people would benevolently respect that there are still others around who do not do any hobby or retro or just-for-fun with Mac OS 9. Of course I know that my situation (no smartphones around, no interrest in any "social"-media at all, etc.) is very special, and a small minority is acting like me. But we are in existance, and we have very good reasons.