Apple Macintosh OS’s - Which one for Me?

By Kevin P Murphy

What's the best operating system for your Mac for music? The answer to that depends mostly on the Macintosh you have, since the basic concepts of the Mac OS have not been changed much in the last 10 years.

Here are some suggestions for what operating system you should be using for your current power Macintosh or with your older Macintosh. For all systems and OS's, be sure and check the compatibility information with your software program in addition to checking hardware driver compatibility.

January 15, 2002

Mac OS X - Not (yet for music)

Apple has been making much ado about OS X (a.k.a. "OS 10") as a replacement for their operating system. At present, all new Macintosh models ship with OS X, but most have OS 9.x also installed so that you can choose which OS to boot up into. OS X has a lot of cool features but that doesn't mean it is a good time to switch for music applications.

To take advantage of all of the features and speed increases of OS X, programs must be rewritten. At present, there are only a few music programs that have been released that take advantage of the new OS and its Unix base.

Classic Layer (Software)

The "Classic Layer" for OS X allows a program to run in an OS 9 environment (in a similar fashion to how Virtual PC can run Windows programs on a Mac). Most programs will run in this classic mode, with the notable exception of any program that needs to directly access hardware (such as FireWire or USB).

Classic Layer (Hardware)

There is no such thing as a classic layer for hardware. This means that every device that is connected to the computer must have a natively written OS X driver in order to work. All audio cards must have newly written drivers.

But that is only the half of it, since most audio programs will not know how to access those drivers from the classic layer, most programs that require hardware will not be able to run at present. Although the program may not have to be completely rewritten to take advantage of those drivers, a patch file or minor update might be necessary just to run.

More and more drivers are being released with OS X compaibility though, and it is just a matter of time before most, if not all hardware has OS X Drivers.

OS X and Apple's Future Plans

One of the problems of the last few years for music has been the industry's reliance on OMS. Normally using a standard program for routing MIDI on your computer would be a good thing, but since Opcode's demise (the creators of OMS), no new development on OMS has taken place. And while people for the most part have been able to continue using OMS, it hasn't been an easy road, especially with emerging technologies such as USB, which isn't fully supported by OMS,

As of right now, OMS's replacement (which is rumored to be incorporated into Mac OS X, possibly as a part of QuickTime) doesn't yet exist. So most programs that relied on this technology must be rewritten.

Apple is also said to be making a commitment to Music and Audio programs that include a "Core Audio" system for developers that will include an extremely low latency system that will provide a common drivers/audio setup similar to OMS. This could signal the demise of many driver related issues, but again, we will have to wait to see how this pans out.

0S 9.2 - G3 or Better

OS 9.2 has been a mostly painless upgrade to OS 9.1 (which was a mostly painless upgrade to OS 9.04) and it is my choice for anyone running a G3 or G4 computer. The differences between 8.6 and the 9 series are very slight (personally I think it should have been called 8.7, not 9) so most programs written for OS 8.6 will run just fine.

OS 8.6 - Non-G3 Power Mac

Although there are several nice upgrades with OS 9, most people who are using Non-G3/G4 Macintoshes may find that this OS is the best OS. Most programs that will run on OS 9 will also run on OS 8.6 (the same can not be said for OS 8.5).

OS 7.6.1 - Pre Power Macintosh (608040 Processor)

OS 7.6.1 is the last stable OS from Apple for non-power Macintosh computers. If you are using one of these older computers, update to this version for the last and best OS that your computer can run.

Keep in mind, though, that the many of latest versions of software will not run on OS 7.6.1 or on any non-power Macintosh. Check with the system requirements for the program you are interested in before purchasing.

OS 6.x - Pre Power Macintosh (608030 Processor or earlier)

Whatever OS you have on your 608030 Processor Mac will probably be fine. However, most programs won't run on this system. Consider donating your computer to a local school for a tax write off or turn your classic Macintosh into a fishtank.*

Seriously though, the only way you will be able to keep this system running is by using "legacy" programs: programs that have been superseded by newer versions. If you can get this system running and it works for you, then you are probably doing everything right.

System Requirements Chart

These system requirements are for running the OS only. These are not the amounts that Apple says for memory and storage, but rather amounts based on our experience is necessary. Please keep in mind this is only a guide and some programs may require more.

* After I wrote this article and made my flippant remark about turning your Mac classic into a fishtank, someone wrote to ask if it was indeed possible to turn a Mac Classic into a fishtank. While I myself have never tried, it IS possible and many people have done so. If you are interested, keep in mind that this ruins the computer permanently (so don't come complaining to me when you can't put it back together again), but does make a nice conversation piece.