[Elleswood]

Can't print some files from Classic on my HP Deskjet 5550 printer. New iBook 14.1 G4 1.2GH with OSX 10.3.6, and "Classic" of course. Sometimes I get error "Print Error #-43" which Apple says is a printer problem and HP says is a Classic problem.
Other times I go to "Chooser" in Classic, click on the HP printer, but it won't migrate to the RH pane so I can Choose it.
HP describes "Classic" as an application inside OSX 10.3, far from being fully OS9.2. They recommend installing a full native OS9.2 (which I have), but Apple says the laptop will not accept OS9. Files I need to print are old, Managing Your Money financial files from years back, all written in OS9.1 or 9.2.2, including current year files I'll need at tax time (yeah, tax time is on the way).
Anybody know of a workaround or software to allow me to print? Anybody know of another printer that will work better with Classic?
Elleswood

[Elleswood]

Since I've had my problems trying to print in Classic mode from old applications, I've been wondering why Apple doesn't just "make" OSX allow printing of anything, including Classic apps. Would they (or could they, or should they) make Apple in general, and OSX in particular, just that much more usable and popular? Would seem like a profitable move. Perhaps it's just not financially feasible. Any comments from our experts, whom I genuinely respect and follow. The little cuplet below will tell you that I'm a child of the Great Depression.
Elleswood

Use it up or wear it out;
make it do or do without.

[Brad]

I'm not sure fully I understand your comment. If you're having driver problems for a third-party product like your HP printer, there really isn't much Apple can do.

On the developer side, Apple makes it easy for programmers to code printing abilities into their applications. Pretty much anything displayed on the screen can be coded to print.

Also, it's worth pointing out that the vast majority of users aren't using Classic any more. A lot of people probably haven't even seen Classic, let alone know what it does. Classic application development should have ceased some three years ago with the transition to Mac OS X. Anything newer, like your printer, probably won't be supported in Classic because drivers may never have ever been written by the manufacturer to run it in Classic.

No, I don't think it would be in Apple's best interests to find new ways of integrating features into Classic. Only a very tiny proportion of people regularly use Classic these days and Apple needs to focus its limited resources to the future, advancing new features and paradigms into the system, not fighting an endless battle with outdated, unsupported software.

[Elleswood]

Good reasoning, Brad. I believe I do understand and agree in part.
Yet, it seems that Apple could build their current computers so our older OSs (especially OS9) could be installed on them. That really would not (it seems to me) cost a bundle, yet it would befriend a lot of old customers (like me). You see, Apple assures me that I can't install OS9 or earlier on my iBook G4. I think OSX is great. But I've got archives in OS9 from as far back as 1994, and I can read them in Classic, but I can't print them. That's pretty small of Apple (it seems to me). You probably don't know that my G4 Flat Panel cratered and Apple couldn't fix it (it was under Apple Protection Plan), so they replaced it with my iBook G4 because they said they could not supply another G4 FP machine or G5 FP either (but that's another August through November story). And my G4 FP did have both OS9 and OSX, plus Classic on it. That's the reason I bought it in the first place - it really had OS9.2 on it. My name for Classic is "Crutch", and I consider it a broken crutch at that. Success follows quality, innovation and integrity, among other things.
Elleswood

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by Elleswood Good reasoning, Brad. I believe I do understand and agree in part. Yet, it seems that Apple could build their current computers so our older OSs (especially OS9) could be installed on them. That really would not (it seems to me) cost a bundle, yet it would befriend a lot of old customers (like me).

The problem isn't the hardware, it's OS 9. One writes an OS to run on specific hardware, and if the hardware changes, then the OS needs to change as well. To keep an old OS going, you have two choices: either never make any substantial changes to the hardware (no PowerMac G5, no PowerBook G4, no iMac G5, no iBook G4...), or you keep updating the OS indefinitely. Which would be um, silly.

So what Apple has done is create the Classic environment that emulates a specific hardware reference, so that OS 9 *thinks* it's running directly on a very fast older Macintosh. It's a neat bit of trickery. Of course, as you've found out, applications/drivers/etc that didn't adhere to the development guidelines closely, break.

So what application is it that you're trying to print from, and to what printer? Perhaps we can offer an alternative.

[Brad]

Kickaha speaks the truth. It would take an enormous investment for Apple to keep updating such an old and vastly architecturally different operating system running on current hardware. This would be directly analogous to Microsoft keeping, say, Windows 3.1 up to date to run on the Athlon 64. The cost would well outweigh the benefit to the tiny number of folks that need it.

Such a feat might not be so hard for Apple if Mac OS X was an evolution of Mac OS 9, but it's not. It's NeXTSTEP blended with some BSD and other goodies. Under the hood, OS9 and OSX are nothing alike.

Since this really started as just a twist on your previous thread and since the other has a few more details about your situation, I'm merging them.

[Elleswood]

Kickaha and Brad, thank you both for your constributions. They are appreciated, I assure you. Each explanation adds to my understanding. And it all adds up to my being able to make better decisions. It even helps me understand Apple.

I'm trying to print files from the old Andrew Tobias "Managing Your Money", which I've used since at least 1994. I'm using my fairly late model HP DeskJet printer Model 5550 with the iBook G4 1.2. I have an old Wall Street G3, 233 Power Book that's able to handle the printing using my just as old Apple Color StyleWriter 1500. They are both elderly mechanically, just as I am physically, so they won't continue much longer. In Classic, on the iBook, I can read, but I can't print.

What I have planned to do is take the dive and attempt to begin the calendar year with Quicken 2005, although I've tried earlier editions twice and simply gave up. I declare Quicken is the most complicated and difficult application ever devised by man, while MYM is simple, more than adequate, and I'd like very much to continue to use it until the end of the century at least.

So, if anybody has any help for me, please let me hear from you. If it's buying a new printer (I've already tried a new LexMark), or software, or even another (used) computer you might know about, I'd be glad to hear. My purse isn't deep, but it's available for anything I can pay for. Any help, anyone? And thanks again everyone.