Support Ending for Older Macintosh Operating Systems
Posted: 2004-05-31 19:00:00 Expiration: 2004-06-29 19:00:00
Disclaimer: This news item was originally posted on 2004-05-31 19:00:00. Its content may no longer be timely or accurate.
As of June 30, 2004 the DoIT Help Desk will offer technical support for only the latest and most widely used versions of the Macintosh Operating Systems: Mac OS 10.3.x, Mac OS 10.2.x, and Mac OS 9.2.2. Several upgrade paths are available for faculty, staff and students who are currently using older, unsupported operating systems.
- Users running a Mac OS prior to OS 9.x need to upgrade to 9.2.2. To do
this, users need to purchase a copy of OS 10 (older
versions of Mac OS are no longer available for sale). Once purchased, come
to the DoIT Help Desk with a blank CD-R and our staff will create a 9.2 CD.
- Mac OS 9.0 or 9.l users can upgrade to 9.2.2 for free. Navigate to
http://apple.doit.wisc.edu and under
Apple Software Updates, download the appropriate updates from the Mac OS
section. If you are currently running something prior to 9.x on your Mac and
want to update to 9.2.2- you need to purchase Mac OS X (). Then
- Mac OS 10.0.x or 10.1.x users are strongly advised to upgrade to 10.3.
10.3 is fully supported by the Help Desk and contains significant
improvements over 10.0.x and 10.0.x.
- Mac OS 10.2.x users are advised to upgrade to 10.3. If unable to upgrade, users should get the latest 10.2.x version, which is 10.2.8.
| Mac OS 6.0 thru 7.6.1... | Earliest versions of the MacOS- gradual improvements to file structure and user interface. | Not Supported |
| Mac OS 8.0 and 8.1 | Major overhaul of the user interface. Introduced 3D icons and the "Platinum" Appearance. Looks much nicer. Adds many other features. | Not Supported |
| Mac OS 8.5, 8.5.1 | Added the Sherlock type find and several other enhancements. 8.5.1 is a bug fix to 8.5 and should be installed. Mac OS 8.5 was the first version of System Software to NOT support older 680x0 series Macintoshes. | Not Supported |
| Mac OS 8.6 | A few bug fixes and a very large change to the nanokernel (core of the operating system), not much of a change from 8.5 otherwise. | Not Supported |
| Mac OS 9.0 thru 9.2.2 | Added multiple user support, encryption, file sharing over TCP/IP and many other features. 9.04 simply fixes a few bugs found in OS 9.0. 9.1 had major bug fixes and began support for Classic environment in OSX. 9.2 simply added further small fixes and better compatibility in the Classic environment of OSX. | Supported - update to 9.2.2 |
| Mac OS X (ten) Server (Versions 1.0 and 1.2) | This is Apple's Interim Server Operating System. It is really Unix with a Mac-like user interface. This is to be replaced by Mac OS X (ten) when it ships in the second half of 2000. | Not Supported |
| Mac OS X (ten) 10.0.x thru 10.1.x | A completely redesigned Mac OS. These first two versions (10.0 and 10.1) are buggy and are not supported by many applications. Upgrading to 10.2 or 10.3 is HIGHLY recommended and normally if your machine comfortable runs 10.0 or 10.1- you will be fine running 10.3. | Not Supported |
| Mac OS X (ten) 10.2 thru 10.3 | Major upgrades to OSX occurred with 10.2 and continued with 10.3. 10.2.8 is highly recommended if you are using 10.2- otherwise 10.3 is the latest major point release with some minor updates since its initial introduction. | Supported |
-- Jeff Wiltzius