Well, since I finally got it working myself, I can put the font bit to rest for you. I have a 17", 800 MHz iMac G4 with Myriad typeface on the screen bezel. It boots OS 9.
The big determinant is screen size. The 800 MHz 17" screen can run OS 9, but good luck getting it working. It needs its own custom install disc (or, severe hacking of the NetBoot for OS 9 download image.) The 'early' / high-end-of-its-generation 800 MHz 15" model can as well, with slightly less hacking needed. The 'late' / low-end-of-its-generation 800 MHz 15" model can not.
The timing is odd, since the iMac G4 originally launched with only a 15" screen, at 700 and 800 MHz. Later came the 17" iMac, with no corresponding bump in 15" specs. Then a few months after that came an across-the-board spec bump, which is when OS 9 boot was removed.
I would assume that the typeface change was made at the 17" release. So for a 15" iMac, the typeface *MAY* be indicative. (I don't know if they would have changed it mid-run solely due to the 17" release with new typeface.
The other difference is that the OS 9-bootable models came with/can run OS X 10.1, whereas the non-OS 9-bootable models require 10.2. (Although, like with OS 9, the 17" model requires a special 10.1 - mine will not run an installed-as-10.1-then-upgraded-to-10.1.5, and I'm still hunting down the original restore discs so I can run 10.1 on it.)
The big determinant is screen size. The 800 MHz 17" screen can run OS 9, but good luck getting it working. It needs its own custom install disc (or, severe hacking of the NetBoot for OS 9 download image.) The 'early' / high-end-of-its-generation 800 MHz 15" model can as well, with slightly less hacking needed. The 'late' / low-end-of-its-generation 800 MHz 15" model can not.
The timing is odd, since the iMac G4 originally launched with only a 15" screen, at 700 and 800 MHz. Later came the 17" iMac, with no corresponding bump in 15" specs. Then a few months after that came an across-the-board spec bump, which is when OS 9 boot was removed.
I would assume that the typeface change was made at the 17" release. So for a 15" iMac, the typeface *MAY* be indicative. (I don't know if they would have changed it mid-run solely due to the 17" release with new typeface.
The other difference is that the OS 9-bootable models came with/can run OS X 10.1, whereas the non-OS 9-bootable models require 10.2. (Although, like with OS 9, the 17" model requires a special 10.1 - mine will not run an installed-as-10.1-then-upgraded-to-10.1.5, and I'm still hunting down the original restore discs so I can run 10.1 on it.)