4 ms·
OS9Map
- ktallett 3mo agoGreat 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.
- robot_jesus 3mo agoI 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!
- generalpf 3mo ago16 MB RAM required, 32 MB RAM recommended... how refreshing! Great work.
- ethanpil 3mo agoWow. 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.
- anthk 3mo agoFlorb (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.
- bitwize 3mo agoJS 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.
- VorpalWay 3mo agoFor 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).
- Mr_Minderbinder 3mo ago> ...many programs used far less than that... Maybe because those programs were not doing anything as graphically intensive as this. Or perhaps this programs caches more. When OS 9 was relevant were there any programs with comparable capabilities? Such statements are meaningless unless you have insight into how much memory this task should take (and even that is highly variable depending on how one wants to trade-off CPU vs memory usage). Only then can you determine the difference between a “RAM hog” and your computer being too small.
- ccamrobertson 3mo agoThis 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.
- chriscjcj 3mo agoThis 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?
- unleaded 3mo agoLLMs 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.
- nhubbard 3mo agoWould 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
- guerrilla 3mo agoHmmm. I wonder what the most beefed up OS 9 computer would be... I loved that OS so much.
- timw4mail 3mo agoOfficially? A single cpu G4 tower. Beyond that, I'm not sure.
- classichasclass 3mo agoCurrently 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.
- joao 3mo agoLaptop wise: it's a PowerBook G4 1Ghz 15', Titanium model. Desktop: PowerMac G4 Tower, MDD version.
- benj111 3mo agoQuite a lot. I remember my dad's SE(?) could be upgraded to 128mb ram or some ludicrous figure, compared to my 8mb 486.
- Lammy 3mo 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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_SE/30
- wpm 3mo agoIt'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.
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- steve-atx-7600 3mo agoReminds 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 https://www.macintoshrepository.org/68191-legacyai. Use it on my OS 9 PPC.
- analogpixel 3mo agoThe 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.
- sjmulder 3mo agoI 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.
- anonymousiam 3mo agoI was hoping this article had something to do with Microware OS-9, but it doesn't. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS-9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS-9
- watersb 3mo agoMC6809 forever! (The Hitachi clone is also quite nice.)
- anonymousiam 3mo agoAll of my OS-9 development was done on the 68k port. Years before that (mid 1980's), I did a lot of bare metal MC6809 embedded development, but I never did any OS-9 stuff on 6809.
- lproven 3mo agoIf you want something modern connected with OS-9, then I have good news! https://www.theregister.com/personal-tech/2026/06/25/foss-dev-builds-a-basic-compiler-using-llvm/5262171 https://www.theregister.com/personal-tech/2026/06/25/foss-de...
- erickhill 3mo agoI'll be trying this out on my 500Mhz Powerbook Pismo running 9.2 tonight!
- IgorPartola 3mo agoWait 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.
- yllan 3mo agoI’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/PlatinumSky/ https://yllan.org/software/Palaeomastodon/ 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 https://bbenchoff.com/pages/MacSSL.html and cy384’s opentransport-mbedtls: https://github.com/cy384/opentransport-mbedtls https://github.com/cy384/opentransport-mbedtls Both were a big help.
- lampiaio 3mo agoI absolutely applaud you. I'll try running it on a PowerBook G3. About the emoji support: is it something that could work system-wide?
- yllan 3mo agoNo. It's very difficult to support Emoji system-wide. The native text system is not even unicode.
- CursedSilicon 3mo agoAs 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
- maelito 3mo agoShameless plug : I'm working on https://cartes.app 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.
- noja 3mo agoThat screenshot would look so much better with the correct dimensions.
- kaizenite 3mo agoIncreasingly seeing retro/throwback projects even within AI systems. Love to see it
- watersb 3mo agoIf anyone wants to buy a refurbished PowerPC Mac, I've had good luck in the past with Operator Headgap. http://www.headgapstore.com http://www.headgapstore.com 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.
- WoodenChair 3mo agoSelf 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 https://os9.shop
- watersb 3mo agoExcellent! 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...
- lproven 3mo agoYes, I have one too. Mine has an external HDD and between the 3 of them it triple-booted OS X, the last PowerPC Ubuntu, and MorphOS. TBH neither Ubuntu nor MorphOS was a patch on OS X, IMHO. Never re-set the machine up after emigrating in 2014. But now, I badly want to get MacOS 9 running on it.... Sadly the machine is in my basement in another country, 1000 miles away, though. Last time I was there, I managed with great effort to find my iBook G4. It runs fine. But it needs a new reed switch and the replacement process looks horrendous... https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iBook+G4+14-Inch+1.42+GHz+Reed+Switch+Board+Replacement/735 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iBook+G4+14-Inch+1.42+GHz+Reed+...
- apgwoz 3mo ago16MB requirement! I wish all stuff was lightweight, like this! We’ve lost our way…
- meerita 3mo agoI 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.
- anthk 3mo agoSo software with an UI comparable to a modern GTK3/4 uses 50X less RAM. Take notes.
- NoSalt 3mo agoMan, I miss pre-OSX Macintosh operating systems. They just had more personality than most modern operating systems.