Pilotbob wrote:
>Where as Apple has twice (I think it was) abandoned older software by creating a whole new OS
Not abandoned, since there was always some effort at backwards compatibility (one could even move files from an Apple II disk to a Mac by way of its ProDOS support using a 3.5" floppy attached to an Apple IIGS).
Programs written for the 128K Mac continue to run on Apple's operating Systems all the way through Mac OS X 10.5 ``Leopard'' running Classic Environment on a PowerPC:
http://mrob.com/pub/comp/missile20.html
Mac OS X 10.6 on Intel will allow one to run PowerPC programs written for Mac OS X 10.0 (released about a decade ago) using Rosetta.
Hardly ``abandoned''.
William