I'm new to Macs so here's a simple one

[ChunkyBustout]

Is OS 9 considered "Classic"? I'm hearing Mac Classic being talked about (here and elsewhere) and I'm not understanding this fully. Could someone elaborate?
I find the wikis on the subject to be just as ambiguous.

[Jeffo]

basically, yes, classic is OS 9.

When the computer is booted in OS 9 it is referred to as OS 9, but when the computer is booted in OS X and running an OS 9 application, that is referred to as the classic environment.

[sgould]

OS 9 is what is referred to as Classic by most people.

But I think that ,if you are being really correct, Classic is the emulator that allows you to run OS9 applications in the newer OSX environment.

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Originally Posted by sgould

OS 9 is what is referred to as Classic by most people.

But I think that ,if you are being really correct, Classic is the emulator that allows you to run OS9 applications in the newer OSX environment.

Eh, sort of.

OS 9 is OS 9 as long as the machine you're running it on actually booted OS 9 natively. In this case, "Classic" means nothing. If you're booted into OS 9, then you're running OS 9, and the word "Classic" should not leave your lips.

"Classic" only comes into your vocabulary when you're running OS X.

The "Classic" environment is the description of the emulator that allows you to run OS 9 in an emulated environment under OS X, not just OS 9 applications. OS 9 actually boots as an operating system in the Classic Environment, and the full-blown OS is running in an emulated environment (for the most part).

Never is an OS 9 application running in the OS X environment -- all OS 9 applications are running under OS 9, which is, in turn, running under OS X. The "Classic" environment just does a decent job of making "Classic" applications appear to be running alongside native OS X applications, but they're really not.