System 6 is well-loved because it was the defining system of the older Macintosh and was around for a long time (1988-1991). Even after System 7 came out many continued to use System 6 due to its speed advantages (compare it to System 7 on a Classic for proof), ability to fit on a floppy disk, and lower RAM requirements. In fact, System 6 was still in widespread use as late as 1995 among both individuals and schools in my neck of the woods. (I actually saw it up and running on computers in a school library in 2000). There is also a love for it due to the memories that many have had with System 6--whether it be at home, at work, or (most notably) at school. Anyone who has ever played Oregon Trail on a Mac LC running System 6.0.8 is sure to remember the experience, especially because many people didn't have computers with edutainment titles at home during that era (in fact, a lot of people didn't even have computers in their homes in the early 1990s).
System 7 was "the big upgrade" of the early 1990s. It also became the "reference release" and was around in some form from 1991-1997. I feel the nostalgia factor is greater with System 6 for most people, perhaps because it runs smoother on most of the iconic compact Macs. System 7 was big for two reasons--it was a huge upgrade (especially in terms of system requirements--you could forget running it on your dual-floppy SE with 1MB of RAM unless it was significantly upgraded) and was noted by most folks who knew their stuff as being the far superior alternative to Windows. When Windows 95 came out, System 7 lost its ground, as did the Mac (which had been in a free-fall for some time already due to poor management at Apple).
OS 9 was the final version of the Classic OS and is the last version that will run some of our great programs of old. Since it will run on newer equipment, many have dedicated themselves to further development of practical programs (such as Classilla) for the aging operating system.
Why no love for OS 8? It was released at a time when the Mac was struggling (1997), most people either run System 7 (for nostalgia) or OS 9 (for compatibility) on their machines, and was pretty much vaporware that didn't live up to the initial hype. Oldtimers like myself probably remember reading about Copland in the mid-1990s. Copland was supposed to be System 8 yet only a handful of the Copland features actually made it. Had Copland (and its successor, Gershwin) come around (and become our System 8 and System 9, respectively), we would have never had to depend on an operating system that is merely a shell running on top of Unix. As I have said before, the Mac lost its traditional identity when OS X was released. Copland and Gershwin would have prevented this from happening.
Since OS 8 wasn't all it was supposed to be when it was first proposed and people prefer older or newer systems for the aforementioned reasons, OS 8 has gone neglected. This is a shame--as some have pointed out, it is a very fine operating system. My favorite version is 8.1 since it runs on 68040s.
System 7 was "the big upgrade" of the early 1990s. It also became the "reference release" and was around in some form from 1991-1997. I feel the nostalgia factor is greater with System 6 for most people, perhaps because it runs smoother on most of the iconic compact Macs. System 7 was big for two reasons--it was a huge upgrade (especially in terms of system requirements--you could forget running it on your dual-floppy SE with 1MB of RAM unless it was significantly upgraded) and was noted by most folks who knew their stuff as being the far superior alternative to Windows. When Windows 95 came out, System 7 lost its ground, as did the Mac (which had been in a free-fall for some time already due to poor management at Apple).
OS 9 was the final version of the Classic OS and is the last version that will run some of our great programs of old. Since it will run on newer equipment, many have dedicated themselves to further development of practical programs (such as Classilla) for the aging operating system.
Why no love for OS 8? It was released at a time when the Mac was struggling (1997), most people either run System 7 (for nostalgia) or OS 9 (for compatibility) on their machines, and was pretty much vaporware that didn't live up to the initial hype. Oldtimers like myself probably remember reading about Copland in the mid-1990s. Copland was supposed to be System 8 yet only a handful of the Copland features actually made it. Had Copland (and its successor, Gershwin) come around (and become our System 8 and System 9, respectively), we would have never had to depend on an operating system that is merely a shell running on top of Unix. As I have said before, the Mac lost its traditional identity when OS X was released. Copland and Gershwin would have prevented this from happening.
Since OS 8 wasn't all it was supposed to be when it was first proposed and people prefer older or newer systems for the aforementioned reasons, OS 8 has gone neglected. This is a shame--as some have pointed out, it is a very fine operating system. My favorite version is 8.1 since it runs on 68040s.