To be fair to OS 9, if not to Apple, some of the extra 'bloat' with each increment of System/OS number is occasioned by the attempt at backward (hardware) compatibilty. As one tiny example, how many Ethernet extensions does one need: NuBus, PCI, LC PDS, &c., &c? TokenRing hangs on in the OSs long after most people (especially those under 50 years of age) have ceased to remember it. Remedy? Kill! Kill! Let Extensions Manager be your friend. Department of Silly Voices, bite the dust! Personal Web Sharing, get thee hence! And so on. It's possible to get OS 9 lean enough that the real advances can begin to shine through. Judicious excision should not result in OS instability.
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