[m3orange]

I am desperately trying to find some of the Classic (OS 9) features that no longer exist in OS X. Where can I find some? I am specially, SPECIALLY interested in finding the feature that allowed folders to be dragged all the way to the bottom of the screen and covert them into expandable/collapsable tabs. I relied heavily on those in order to keep my desktop organized. Would appreciate any help on this. Thanks!

[griffman]

NO NEED TO YELL! Really. Caps lock makes no friends /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.
I'm not aware of any replacement for OS 9's pop-up windows. Unsanity makes a version of Window Shade for OS X, but that's as close as I've seen.
-rob.

[Typhoon14]

Windowshade X can do this. However, you might try minimising windows. Windowshades can be awfully cluttering.

[d00d]

Caps lock. That was an OS 9 only feature, right? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[macnuke]

In reply to:

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Caps lock. That was an OS 9 only feature, right?

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errrr Derik. that was implemented with System 7 and the emergence of teh intarweb /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Randy_B_Singer]

In reply to:

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I am desperately trying to find some of the Classic (OS 9) features that no longer exist in OS X. Where can I find some? I am specially, SPECIALLY interested in finding the feature that allowed folders to be dragged all the way to the bottom of the screen and covert them into expandable/collapsable tabs. I relied heavily on those in order to keep my desktop organized. Would appreciate any help on this. Thanks!

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You are looking for:
Dragondrop (free)
http://occs.cs.oberl...son/Dragondrop/

or

StickyWindows ($15)
http://www.donellesc.../stickywindows/
You don't say what other features of OS 9 you are looking for. At one time I was going to write an article about turning OS X into a virtual OS 9. You can fairly easily turn OS X into about 85 to 90% of what OS 9 was. But after researching the article for a while, I came to the conclusion that folks should be trying to become familiar with OS X on its own terms rather than trying to make OS X something that it isn't.
That said, here are some utilities that you might be interested in.
Gives you an Application Switcher menu:
Zephr (free)
http://www.radicalbr...hyr/index.shtml

ASM (free)
http://asm.vercruesse.de
Gives you the functionality of both the Application Switcher and the classic Apple Menu:
X-Assist (free)
http://members.ozema.../~pli/x-assist/

Restores the classic Apple Menu:

Fruit Menu $10
http://www.unsanity....axies/fruitmenu
Xmenu (free)
http://www.devon-tec...load/index.html

YacaMenu (free)
http://www.macs.hw.a.../~rpointon/osx/

Make Open and Save dialogs easier to navigate:
Default Folder $35
http://www.stclairsw.com


Put Trash icon on the Desktop :

Wastebasket (free)
http://homepage.mac.com/andyspark/

Of course there are several ways to get rid of the Dock, and to change OS X's theme, but that's probably more than you wanted to know about.
I hope this helps.

[jmincey]

Randy, I'm not sure that tweaking the interface of an OS would retard the learning of it. The graphics environment and behavior one prefers is (theoretically) entirely unrelated to one's fluency in a platform or the way one uses it. For instance, I can imagine that a developer who lives in IDEs and who makes extensive use of the Terminal might still run GUI utilities to conform to his taste.
Also, a case could be made that some GUI tweaks actually lead one to learn more about the upper levels of an OS than one otherwise would learn. One example that leaps to mind in this regard is the "write defaults" command in GNU shells of OS X.
Leaving things exactly as they are and making the best of the defaults is the hallmark of an individual who doesn't wish to plumb the depths of an OS and who instead just wants to run his e-mail, web, word processing, etc., and be done with it. In contrast, the person who researches and installs any number of GUI enhancing utilities is someone who seeks to learn about the OS as a means of customizing it.
So all this to say -- write that book of yours. My only suggestion would be to focus less on OS 9 than on tweaking the UI of OS X in general. An OS 9 look and feel could be one or two chapters in the book.
By the way, Wastebasket hasn't been developed since 2002 and I suspect a number of these other utilities you cite are not Universal and offer no Intel support (if indeed they are compatible with Tiger at all). So it behooves an individual to look into these things as they are researching the options.

[macnuke]

Randy
nice list even if it's a bit dated.
and when replying and quoting, it's much easier to do so to the original poster.
and it's the easiest way to see that they get the info you are imparting. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[maczan1205]

I used to use those folders also and found it very convenient for projects that required frequent access to particular files.
As mentioned above there are several ways to do something similar depending on the version of OSX you are using.
Every time you open a finder window ( in OSX 10.4) the sidebar shows drives and select folders - you can add folders (drag) into the lower portion of the sidebar for easy / frequent access.
Also you can add (drag) folders to the dock in the area close to the trash, again for easy and frequent access.

[Randy_B_Singer]

In reply to:

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Randy, I'm not sure that tweaking the interface of an OS would retard the learning of it.

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In general I agree. But when OS X first came out many folks were very closed minded about the Dock, and many other new features of OS X. I just felt that it might be better for folks to give OS X a chance and get used to it instead of trying to turn it into OS 9.
And I think that I was correct in this assessment. Most Mac users at this point don't want OS X to be OS 9, and there is less demand for utilities that make things like OS 9. But that doesn't mean that modding OS X isn't a good idea. It is. It's just that now, doing so isn't a crutch for users who are stuck in the past.
Dan Frakes already has an excellent book on modding OS X:
OS X Power Tools
http://www.macosxpowertools.com/

[Nobody]

Here's one; is there a control strip like OS 9's, mod for OS X.3.9 also out there Randy?
Thanks,
mike
Oh, preferably a free one /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Randy_B_Singer]

In reply to:

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Here's one; is there a control strip like OS 9's, mod for OS X.3.9 also out there Randy?

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Here are a few that should serve as a replacement for the Control Strip:
Open Strip (free)
http://www.strout.ne...cdev/openstrip/

WorkStrip ($40), like some other utilities for OS X, combines the function of the old Control Strip and adds all sorts of other features:
http://www.softchaos...ts/ws3/ove.html
MenuStrip ($25) is sort of like the Control Strip, only it puts things in the menubar. (It's really kinda cool!)
http://www.macpoweruser.com/menustrip/
As always, the usual disclaimers apply. These may not work with every version of OS X, or with every Macintosh model. Be sure to check the software's requirements before ordering. Make sure to wear your seatbelt and other protective gear. Don't swim within half an hour of eating. Etc.

[Nobody]

Neat!
One more... Is there a mod/download to make your Sherlock 3.x or finder 10.3.3 more like a all in one like OS 9's Shelock 2? I like Sherlock 2, for OS 9.1. I'm crossing my fingers and wearing my seat belt.
Thanks, Randy.
Mike /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Randy_B_Singer]

I haven't spent any time looking for something like that. No one else has requested it.
Check out:
PocketLight (free) brings Spotlight-like searching to Panther
http://pocketlight.net/


Charolotte (free) for Tiger provides a quick and intuitive interface to multiple sources of information on the web.
http://www.web-infor.../Charlotte.html