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If there was any doubt that the Classic Mac OS is about to become the poor relation in the Macintosh family, it was erased on Tuesday by Steve Jobs not even mentioning in passing that the latest, and possibly the last version upgrade of Classic was being released that day along with the other cool new stuff. Indeed, if they had not been for the necessity of supporting the new Titanium PowerBooks, which require OS 9.1, one wonders whether there would have been a 9.1 release at all. However, to paraphrase Monty Python, "she's not dead yet," and for users of Power PC Macintoshes older then the beige G3s, and PowerBooks prior to the second generation (September 1998) WallStreet, Mac OS 9.1, AKA "Fortissimo," is an important release. Thanks to the fast, broadband, Internet pipeline at my son's place of residence, I have been using Mac OS 9.1 for several days now, and while there is nothing revolutionary about it, it seems to be a good, solid, incremental update of Mac OS 9 -- a lot better than Mac OS 9.0.4, which I found for all intents and purposes unusable on my PowerBook because of severe instability. I had to reinstall Mac OS 9.0 for relief from the constant crashing. Others have reported good luck with Mac OS 9.0.4, but I have also heard from several users whose experience was similar to mine.
Happily, No such problem with Mac OS 9.1, which seems to be every bit as stable, if not even more stable, on my WallStreet then Mac OS 9.0 is. As I write this, OS 9.1 has been running on my PowerBook for three days of a very heavy use week without a restart. A glance at my application switcher palette shows that I have twenty-one applications plus the Finder open, which is typical for me, and I've had several others open over the three days as well. There have also been a few program freezes and force quits using MacsBug. I installed Mac OS 9.1 over my none-too-fresh Mac OS 9.0 installation, which hasn't had a clean install since December 1999. I just dragged the entire Mac OS 9.0 System folder to the second level partition (of four) on my hard drive, so that if things did not go well, I could revert to OS 9 with nothing changed. Happily, things did go well, and OS 9.0 will now become my backup system. I have 192 MB of RAM, with a Virtual Memory turned on to its minimum setting for a total of 193 MB, and the About This Computer dialogue shows that there is still an unused block of slightly more than 20 MB. I would say that there are no worries about instability using virtual memory with Mac OS 9.1. I also tried booting with RAM Doubler enabled, but unfortunately, RAM Doubler , which I prefer to the built in Virtual Memory, has a conflict with Spell Tools, which I use as a spell checker for Tex Edit Plus, so Virtual Memory it is. Apple notes that: "Some third-party programs that extend or add features to the Mac OS may be incompatible with Mac OS 9.1. Examples include programs that change the way menus work, change how files are stored, or alter the way you work with files in the Finder." The only thing that I have noticed so far that has completely broken with Mac OS 9.1 is the handy little OT/PPP Strip Control Strip Module that I use for Internet dial ups. It just refuses to work. The other significant problem noted is that for some reason, large Tex Edit Plus documents now take forever to open, like about 15 or 20 seconds after you double click them. The same documents open instantly with Nisus Writer or Pepper, so it must be some little incompatibility Tex Edit Plus has with Mac OS 9.1. Otherwise, the program works fine. Programs like Conflict Catcher and TechTool Pro (neither of which I personally use) will probably need updating for Mac OS 9.1. Apple DOS Compatibility cards also do not work with Mac OS 9.1. If you install Mac OS 9.1, you will no longer be able to use your DOS Compatibility Card to run DOS or Windows software. Password Security is not supported on PowerBook 1400s with Mac OS 9.1. If you have Password Security installed on a PowerBook 1400, you should turn it off before installing Mac OS 9.1. If you are installing Mac OS 9.1 on a PowerBook 3400 running Mac OS 9.04, you must perform the installation without updating your hard disk drivers or you may experience a hang during installation. To prevent the Installer from updating your hard disk drivers, click Options in the Install Software panel of the Mac OS 9.1 Installer and deselect the option to update your hard disk drivers. AppleShareIP 6.3.3 is not compatible with Mac OS 9.1.You will have to downgrade to version 6.3.2. The most noticeable interface change in 9.1 is a new "Window" menu in the main menu bar that allows you to switch between open windows in the Finder. I've personally don't find this especially useful, it's I rarely leaves Windows open, depending instead on popup windows to hide (technically open) folders. However, it may be an attractive feature to some users.
Keyboard shortcuts associated with the new Windows menu:
Other changes include significant revamp of several control panels, including Sound, whose interface is now a more conventional vertical rectangle rather than the former horizontal one. 
Keyboard has now become quite useful, allowing you to easily program customized tasks to the Function keys.
The General Controls panel has a new look, and now allows each user in multi-user mode to set his or her own preferences for things like cursor blinking, speech, and the default folder for saving documents (and the Shut Down Warning and Folder Protection preferences have gone missing). [Update: Applelinks reader James Huston informs us that:
The Startup Disk control panel now shows which version of the Mac OS is bootable from respective volumes.
 OS 9.1's Startup Disk Control Panel can now also be employed to start the computer up as a NetBoot client with a Mac OS X Server host, and can select Mac OS X Public Beta. However OS 9.1 will not be able to support the Classic environment a Mac OS X until the letter goes final later this year. The Mac OS 9.1 update includes additional support for Multiple Users and iTools (iDisk is now included in navigation services, and “Connect To iDisk” is a new option under the network icon), and Sherlock 2 (version 3.0.2) has a new channel Entertainment. Under the hood are a new nanokernel, new process manager, and FireWire 2.7. the Process manager is now native, and is claimed to speed up event handling and switching between applications, especially with AppleEvents, as well as improving performance when running on battery power. Key file changes in OS 9.1:
Mac OS 9.1 does not appear to significantly reduce boot time compared with Mac OS 9, but My subjective impression is that the finder is slightly faster in responding. You must leave the AppleGuide Extension enabled in order to use the Modem and Remote Access control panels, which is unfortunate, because I find Apple Guide essentially useless, but this is not a big deal for me, because I use MacSpeech's iListen which also acquires AppleGuide to be turned on. Mac OS 9.1 also adds full support for all the keys on the Apple Pro keyboard when used with pre-Summer-2000 Macs, and will henceforth be bundled for free with new keyboards. Digging deeper, with a standard Mac OS 9.1 installation, the startup volume contains only three folders: System Folder, Applications (Mac OS 9), and Documents. On my update install, the installer dumped existing OS 9.0 stuff (ie: Utilities, Apple Extras, and Internet folders) into the catch-all "Applications (Mac OS 9)" Folder with OS 9.1's new stuff. Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer go in the Applications (Mac OS 9) folder as well (although I did not install them, since I already had both on my hard drive). The free, downloadable OS 9.1 update consists of a self-mounting Disk Copy compressed image of 72 MB. Download this software to your hard drive and then double-click it to use it. You do not need Disk Copy to access .smi files. A broadband connection is recommended. Hardware Required:
Affected computers:
The downloadable Mac OS 9.1 update available from Apple Software Updates (http://asu.info.apple.com) is not compatible with original (NuBus-based) Power Macintosh computers. The updater can be ordered directly from Apple on CD for $19.95. System requirements for the upgrade:
For the full install:
Note: The 6100, 7100, and 8100 class (NuBus) Apple computers require a Mac OS 9.1 full install CD to upgrade to Mac OS 9.1. Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X Public Beta The Mac OS X Public Beta and Mac OS 9.1 are not compatible. If you install Mac OS 9.1, the Classic environment in the Mac OS X Public Beta will no longer function. The Mac OS 9 to Mac OS 9.1 Software Upgrade program is available for anyone who has any version of Mac OS 9. To obtain the Mac OS 9.1 full install CD for $19.95, see http://www.apple.com/macos/ for more details. The full install CD is $99. For more information, visit:
In summary, this is a nice, if unspectacular, upgrade of the Classic Mac OS, that deserved more fanfare than it got from Mr. Jobs. I am particularly pleased to have a current version of the Mac OS with support for the latest bells and whistles, that does not crash my PowerBook incessantly the way that OS 9.0.4 did. If you are pleased with the way the current version of the Mac OS you are using is working, I don't see any compelling reason to upgrade to Mac OS 9.1, but on the other hand, if you already have a version of Mac OS 9 installed, and can afford the download time, there also seems to be no reason not to upgrade. Except for "one more thing." With regard to coughing up a hundred bucks to buy the full install CD, if you are running Mac OS 8.6 or earlier, which will not support the free updater, you should be aware that Gene Steinberg of the Mac Night Owl has reported that Apple product managers told him Mac OS 9.1 will be bundled with the final version of Mac OS X. Since that release is less than three months away, it seems sensible to wait, if you are planning on upgrading to OS X.
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