yllan20 hours ago
I’m the author. This is an experiment of mine in figuring out how to let Mac OS 9 connect to modern network services and environments.
Since Mac OS 9 doesn’t have out-of-the-box support for modern secure networking protocols, you often have to go through a proxy, which is pretty painful. I wanted to make it possible for an old Mac to connect to modern web services on its own.
There are also two related projects for connecting to Bluesky and Mastodon:
https://yllan.org/software/PlatinumSky/ https://yllan.org/software/Palaeomastodon/
Those also add emoji text rendering, since emoji have become such an important part of modern internet culture. Mac OS 9 does support some early Unicode, but it is, after all, nearly 30-year-old software, so that support is naturally incomplete.
The main reason I chose Mac OS 9 is that these modern services are actually fairly demanding for old machines: parsing JSON instead of a more compact binary format, handling generally large images, doing cryptographic computations, and so on. I think 68k machines would probably struggle too much. If the goal is to run independently without relying on a proxy, you really need something with relatively modern specs.
BTW, I haven’t actually run this on real hardware either. I used QEMU during development. I do have an iBook G4 signed by Woz, but it stopped booting a few years ago.
I’d also like to thank bbenchoff’s MacSSL:
https://bbenchoff.com/pages/MacSSL.html
and cy384’s opentransport-mbedtls:
https://github.com/cy384/opentransport-mbedtls
Both were a big help.
Firehawke16 hours ago
Missed opportunity to call it OpenStreetMac or OpenStreetMac9.
habi11 hours ago
Very nitpick, but you might need to ask for exemption by the OpenStreetMap foundation for using such a name: https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Trademark_Policy#4._Special_u...
yllan15 hours ago
Nice one.
lampiaio19 hours ago
I absolutely applaud you. I'll try running it on a PowerBook G3. About the emoji support: is it something that could work system-wide?
yllan15 hours ago
No. It's very difficult to support Emoji system-wide. The native text system is not even unicode.
nxobject4 hours ago
I can't wait for the development postmortem ;)
Any hunches on why the iBook might not be working? I've been having hell with PRAM watch batteries recently.
CursedSilicon18 hours ago
As a retro enthusiast, these projects are all absolutely delightful!
I need to get a GPU for my MDD G4 and then I'd love to try them out on real metal
steve-atx-7600a day ago
Reminds me of this guy's solid work that includes an LLM integration that works on classic macs 68k and PPC https://www.macintoshrepository.org/68191-legacyai. Use it on my OS 9 PPC.
watersb16 hours ago
If anyone wants to buy a refurbished PowerPC Mac, I've had good luck in the past with Operator Headgap.
This is one of those hobby businesses that got out of hand and had to go full time.
But they seem to be selling old Macs, in 2026.
They were a great source for parts etc to keep my old Macs running.
WoodenChair16 hours ago
Self promotion but relevant:
I have a hobby business doing something very similar, except I focus on a specific model—pretty much the most power efficient PowerPC desktop Mac you can get that can still run Mac OS 9, the Mac mini G4. It's at https://os9.shop
watersb16 hours ago
Excellent!
This made me remember that I've still got a G4 Mac Mini! I was bringing up a current Linux on it, last time I had it running. 2019, perhaps.
I need to fire it up...
generalpfa day ago
16 MB RAM required, 32 MB RAM recommended... how refreshing! Great work.
VorpalWay20 hours ago
For the time when OS 9 was relevant that would have been a RAM hog. My iBook (first generation) had 32 MB RAM on board (plus an upgrade slot, how refreshing).
Sure, that wasn't top of the line, but it would definitely restrict your ability to multi task with other programs at the same time. My memory is that many programs used far less than that, allowing you to easily have 5-7 programs open (I had a RAM upgrade for a total of 64 MB).
ethanpila day ago
Wow. As a comparison, I just opened a new Google Maps tab in Chrome. According to the Chrome Task Manager, the tab alone uses 433mb RAM and 34mb GPU memory footprint after first load.
anthk4 hours ago
Florb (an FLTK based map viewer similar to Dillo in specs) would use almost the same RAM as native Mac OS 9 software. And yet people say "JS software it's far better". Even a TCL/TK based viewer with TCCLib/TKLib it's far lighter.
bitwize3 hours ago
JS is easier to develop, easier to deploy cross-platform, and, more importantly from a business perspective, easier to hire for. So it makes complete sense to use JS in the commercial world.
meerita6 hours ago
I have a 2003 iBook sitting in one of my boxes, but I still haven’t had time to reinstall Mac OS 9. I tried with some CDs, but so far I haven’t been able to reset the volume, and Tiger loads automatically. I want to go back and keep using one of the most beautiful OSes Apple ever made.
NoSalt3 hours ago
Man, I miss pre-OSX Macintosh operating systems. They just had more personality than most modern operating systems.
ccamrobertsona day ago
This is really cool, time to dust off an old PowerPC. I've been thinking about building apps for old Mac OS versions for a while with the advent of LLMs, glad to see someone is doing it.
chriscjcj13 hours ago
This got me wondering if vibecoding might bring with it a newfound interest in developing apps for vintage computers. Are the LLMs that most people use trained as well on these older coding languages / platforms as they are on modern ones?
unleaded2 hours ago
LLMs are surprisingly good at dealing with ancient APIs, even terrifying things like VBScript and ActiveX in IE5 (usually with a condescending disclaimer at the end of the response). With a manual on hand to double check it can be helpful sometimes. Gemini (only one I really tried) is very knowledgeable about DirectX 5.
I don't like the idea of vibecoding esoteric stuff though. I feel it kind of ruins the magic of these things when you have Claude bang it out in an afternoon, especially if your project idea is more art than anything. There have been a few vibecoded weird doom ports posted on here before, obviously its just how i feel but it seems like a wasted opportunity.
nhubbarda day ago
Would love to see the source code for this and the underlying details like Classic or Carbon, and the libraries mentioned on Tinker Different for TLS, HTTP/2, and Unicode
noja8 hours ago
That screenshot would look so much better with the correct dimensions.
robot_jesusa day ago
I love stuff like this. Even though I don’t have a machine capable with running OS 9 natively, I’m glad this exists. Looks awesome!
ktalletta day ago
Great work developing for OS9 still. I had taken started developing in Think C for a few months as a fun side project to work , and it still has some interesting ideas for development. Plenty of communities for this nowadays still.
apgwoz15 hours ago
16MB requirement! I wish all stuff was lightweight, like this! We’ve lost our way…
maelito19 hours ago
Shameless plug : I'm working on https://cartes.app, a Web OpenStreetMap app.
Far less difficult as coding for an old OS obviously, but still a challenge !
The Web has plenty of potential, but constraints too, mostly because of dominant actors, such as Apple that hid the PWA install button... Or Firefox not having any install banner, whereas chrome does.
Can't post it yet as a proper subject, it can't handle top page load.
paulirish14 hours ago
God damn that sticks to your finger. Lovely touch latency.
maelito11 hours ago
Did you try it on an old device ? The experience on a less than 5 years old device should be quite fluid.
The mobile sheet maybe ? This one is hard : there is no good Web mobile sheet available yet...
anthk4 hours ago
So software with an UI comparable to a modern GTK3/4 uses 50X less RAM. Take notes.
kaizenite18 hours ago
Increasingly seeing retro/throwback projects even within AI systems. Love to see it
erickhilla day ago
I'll be trying this out on my 500Mhz Powerbook Pismo running 9.2 tonight!
guerrillaa day ago
Hmmm. I wonder what the most beefed up OS 9 computer would be... I loved that OS so much.
classichasclassa day ago
Currently my "big" native 9.2.2 system is a MDD G4 with a Sonnet 1.8GHz dual 7447A upgrade, 2GB RAM (1.5GB useable in OS 9) and an ATI Radeon 9000 Pro. I'm sure there's a config more extreme than that out there. It is a pleasure to use even though it's one of the windtunnel systems.
fleenoa day ago
I believe from Apple officially it would be the dual 1.25ghz MDD G4. I had one new, and still have it running today!
favorited19 hours ago
And, unofficially, MacOS9Lives can boot directly to OS 9 on FW800 PowerMacs, which have 1.42GHz processors with 2x the L3 cache. Officially, those machines only supported OS 9 via Classic.
I used it to install OS 9 on my G4 Mac mini, and, aside from an annoying bug where the USB mouse is completely unresponsive after booting 50% of the time, it works great.
amatecha19 hours ago
The fastest I could find is the G4 "MDD" tower: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g4/specs/powerma... ... Though the 800mhz iMac G4 is a nice alternative (which I happen to have): https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_800_17_fp... Makes for a great Mac gaming machine since it is pretty fast, looks great, is a fully self-contained computer with display, and can run both OS 9 and OS X.
Looks like the most truly-OP upgrade you could do is a dual-1.8ghz G4 upgrade card which is kind of crazy to consider: https://www.sonnettech.com/publicfiles/pdfs/pdf_datasheets/d...
CursedSilicon18 hours ago
You can get a 1.67Ghz G4 Mac Mini on eBay with OS 9 preinstalled. It's wicked fast (especially with an IDE SSD adapter)
There's faster single thread accelerator cards that were made for a while by a guy on the 68kMLA forums, but that was many years ago. I think Action Retro on YouTube has one that broke 2Ghz
WoodenChair16 hours ago
> You can get a 1.67Ghz G4 Mac Mini on eBay with OS 9 preinstalled. It's wicked fast (especially with an IDE SSD adapter)
The fastest Mac mini G4 topped out at 1.5 GHz, not 1.67. I'm the guy selling many of those Mac mini G4s upgraded with SSDs on eBay... just a hobby business. Also sell on my website at https://os9.shop where there's a FAQ where you can read more about it and why it's a good model/upgrade to buy or build yourself.
CursedSilicon10 hours ago
Huh. I thought it was 1.67 for some reason. My mistake!
I actually bought one a year or so ago from your eBay store though, looking at my records! Have recommended to retro friends in the Seattle area, too
WoodenChairan hour ago
Thanks, much appreciated.
JeremyHerrmana day ago
My OS 9 battlestation is a G4 tower (Digital Audio) with a Sonnet dual 1.6GHz upgrade, 1.5GB RAM and a nvidia GeForce4 Ti which is one of the best OS 9 graphics cards available.
joaoa day ago
Laptop wise: it's a PowerBook G4 1Ghz 15', Titanium model. Desktop: PowerMac G4 Tower, MDD version.
timw4maila day ago
Officially? A single cpu G4 tower. Beyond that, I'm not sure.
benj111a day ago
Quite a lot. I remember my dad's SE(?) could be upgraded to 128mb ram or some ludicrous figure, compared to my 8mb 486.
Lammya day ago
>SE(?) could be upgraded to 128mb ram
Probably an SE/30; vastly different internally than the original 68000 SE, more like a MacⅡx wearing a classic Mac shell. Great machine <3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_SE/30
wpm15 hours ago
It's a shame so many of them killed themselves with leaking batteries, hard to find even a non-working SE/30 now for a reasonable price.
analogpixela day ago
The cool thing isn't so much os9map (yes it's cool) , but the fact that the data wasn't locked behind some wall and they were able to do whatever they wanted with it. There are a lot of cool ideas out there that are thwarted because the data is just locked away behind something only a very limited web gui can access, and you are at the mercy of people who's greatest ideas are ways to make the most horrible money extracting experience they can.
sjmulder11 hours ago
I agree that OSM is amazing, but
> The cool thing isn't so much os9map (yes it's cool)
OS9Map is absolutely the cool thing here, especially if you consider the platform lacks basics such as TLS and JSON parsing.
anonymousiama day ago
I was hoping this article had something to do with Microware OS-9, but it doesn't.
watersb17 hours ago
MC6809 forever!
(The Hitachi clone is also quite nice.)
IgorPartola21 hours ago
Wait but why isn’t it an Electron app? I thought visual apps like this required at least 1-2GB of RAM to run. How can it possibly only need 16MB?! Must be vaporware.