68kMLA Classic Interface

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Bitcoin Mining on Mac Classic
Posted by: adespoton on 2026-01-31 17:45:29
Good questions!

I'm not really sure....

I think it would probably be mainly for older Power Macs (I don't think 68k Macs could really handle it), and it would allow for newer software to be ported over relatively easily, to an extent. Let's say it's mainly intended for OldWorld Power Macs up to the Beige G3, but it can boot on certain NewWorld Power Macs too.

It would be somewhat like Mac OS X in principle, but implemented totally differently, and much lighter on resources (it could run well in 32 MB of RAM, for example, and be capable of running in as little as 16).

The UI would basically be that of Copland and Mac OS 8.x (Apple Platinum), but with implementations of things like @Crutch 's Exposé integrated to modernize it a bit.

c
In my view, Haiku with AMS or MACE running in it would tick all the boxes. Assuming Haiku could be made to run on older PPC Macs as well as Intel and ARM systems.
Posted by: CC_333 on 2026-01-31 18:25:12
You mean like this?

Advanced Mac Substitute
Basically, yes! But itself running on an as-yet hypothetical OS with a Mac OS-like UI and all that other stuff I already mentioned.

In my view, Haiku with AMS or MACE running in it would tick all the boxes. Assuming Haiku could be made to run on older PPC Macs as well as Intel and ARM systems.
That would be interesting indeed.

As I'm typing this post, I realized that A/UX is conceptually very similar to what I'm describing (being able to run standard Mac OS applications within the Unix-based environment with a pretty Mac OS-like UI). Too bad the rumored PPC-ready A/UX 4 was never released, as that probably would've been it pretty much.

c
Posted by: joshc on 2026-02-01 06:31:14
I would've been happy if Classic Environment remained in macOS, it wasn't perfect but it did run most applications just fine. I completely understand why they didn't keep it in, but it's a shame it couldn't have been open sourced/shipped off to someone else to look after.
Posted by: robin-fo on 2026-02-01 06:38:30
I wonder how difficult it would have been to port it to intel
Posted by: jjuran on 2026-02-01 07:54:20
I would've been happy if Classic Environment remained in macOS, it wasn't perfect but it did run most applications just fine. I completely understand why they didn't keep it in, but it's a shame it couldn't have been open sourced/shipped off to someone else to look after.

At the first MacHack I attended, the keynote speaker was Eric Raymond, touting the benefits of open source. At the "Apple Handshake" session, I inquired about the possibility of releasing the code of HyperCard, only to be met with this dismissal from Steven Glass: "Open source will not be a dumping ground for dead products."

This article may shed some light here: https://www.loper-os.org/?p=568
Posted by: joshc on 2026-02-01 08:14:30
the possibility of releasing the code of HyperCard
The HyperCard code was released to CHM at the same time they got MacPaint and QuickDraw.

computerhistory.org

MacPaint and QuickDraw Source Code

The Apple Macintosh combined brilliant design in hardware and in software. The drawing program MacPaint, which was released with the computer in January of 1984, was an example of that brilliance both in what it did, and in how it was implemented.
computerhistory.org computerhistory.org

But for some reason they didn't release the HyperCard code.

There's a comment on the CHM page that says:

During an HyperCard 25th anniversary event in 2013, Bill Atkinson mentioned that the HyperCard source code was also donated to CHM at the same time as MacPaint/Quickdraw but he didn't know why it hidden't been released publicly like these two were. I'd like to know why as well.
Posted by: jjuran on 2026-02-01 09:10:16
The HyperCard code was released to CHM at the same time they got MacPaint and QuickDraw.

But for some reason they didn't release the HyperCard code.

Please forgive the semantic digression that follows.

MacPaint and QuickDraw weren't released — they were exhibited. (If the distinction is unclear, ask any resident of a zoo.)

The QuickDraw code is not free, at least not in any way that benefits me or my users. I don't ever look at it, for fear of compromising the intellectual independence of my own implementation of QuickDraw for Advanced Mac Substitute. As a consequence, exactly matching the original behavior is a steeper and more circuitous path than it needs to be, and I haven't yet managed to do so in all cases.

The HyperCard code wasn't even exhibited. It was merely transferred.
Posted by: robin-fo on 2026-02-01 09:23:50
If the distinction is unclear, ask any resident of a zoo
🤣
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