Projects For Old Versions of OS X

Keeping alive the legacy of Apple's greatest creation.

In the fall of 2019, I came to a decision: it was time to leave modern macOS behind.

A decade prior, switching to OS X had been a revelatory experience, as though the software was working in perfect sync with my mind. That feeling had long since disappeared.

I surveyed the computing landscape. Windows was still fine, and Linux was still Linux. A normal person would have just picked one, but I was apparently not a normal person. I cared far too much about having the perfect computer, and I couldn't get that wonderful memory out of my head...

Fixed Dashboard Widgets

Weather

OS X 10.4 – 10.14

Apple's weather widget broke in 2019, when the APIs it used went offline. This version has been modified to use the HERE API instead.

Users are highly encouraged to add a personal API key to ensure continued functionality. Please see the included Readme for details.

Unit Converter

OS X 10.8 – 10.14

Apple's unit converter widget stopped recieving exchange rate updates in 2020, when Yahoo Finance was shut down. This version has been modified to use the Exchangerate.host API instead.

Translation

OS X 10.6 – 10.14

Apple's translation widget broke in 2019, when the API it used went offline. This version has been modified to use the Deepl.com API instead. A free Deepl account is required.

Some assembly required. Please see the included Readme for details.

Weather, Unit Converter, and Translation widgets are the property of Apple. Modified versions are redistributed in good faith to help Apple customers.

Web Browsing & Internet

Chromium Legacy Downloader

OS X 10.7 – 10.10

Easily update the Chromium web browser on old OS X.

Relies on the Chromium Legacy project maintained by Bluebox.

Legacy Mac Proxy

OS X 10.6 – 10.13

A proxy server designed to fix HTTPS problems.

Apple Mail Security Fix

OS X 10.6 – 10.12

A mail plugin which fixes CVE-2020-9922, a scary zero-click vulnerability.

Audio & Video

QuickTime 10.2 for Mavericks

OS X 10.9

Mavericks ships with QuickTime Player 10.3, which is incompatible with third-party codecs. Replace it with this modified vesion of QuickTime 10.2 from Mountain Lion.

QuickTime Player is the property of Apple. This modified version is redistributed in good faith to help Apple customers.

FFusion 2021

QuickTime 7.0 – 10.2

A component for QuickTime 10.2 and below which adds compatibilty with a variety of non-Apple video codecs including HEVC and VP9. Requires a powerful CPU!

Based on RJVB's version of FFusion, which was based on the Perian Project's version of FFusion, which was based on the original by Jérôme Cornen. Also incorporates code by MaddTheSane.

QuickTime Helper

OS X 10.9

A tiny app to open video containers that QuickTime X can't open by itself, including MKV and WebM.

App icon by Princess Cake.

Preview Helper

OS X 10.9

A tiny app to open images that Preview can't open by itself, including HEIC, WebP, and BPG.

Includes and relies on QuickLook generators by maxpozdeev, dethi, and emin.

Media Subscriptions Preference Pane

OS X 10.9 – 10.14

Your favorite podcast episodes and Youtube videos, automatically delivered to your Mac's Music and Movies folders. No app required, just add feeds and channels in System Preferences.

Games & Emulators

OpenEmu Lite

OS X 10.7+

A Mac-native emulator for NES, SNES, Genesis, NDS, and all flavors of Gameboy games. Based on OpenEmu, but with a stripped-down interface and no library functionality, so you can open a game in Finder and start playing right away.

Dolphin for Legacy OS X

OS X 10.9 – 10.13

A custom build of the Dolphin Wii and Gamecube emulator.

Based on Dolphin v5.18628
from February 12, 2023

Godot

OS X 10.9 – 10.11

A custom, Mavericks-compatible build of the Godot game engine.

Based on Godot v3.3.2

System Tweaks

SIMBL for Mavericks

OS X 10.9

A Mavericks-compatible version of SIMBL, a plugin system for Mac apps. A few of my favorite plugins are included.

Snow Leopard Window Controls for Mavericks

OS X 10.9

Replace Mavericks's small "traffic light" window buttons with the larger ones from Snow Leopard.

Emoji Update for Mavericks

OS X 10.8 – 10.9

Adds newer emojis to the Mavericks emoji picker.

Miscellaneous Apps

Wowfunhappy's SyncThing

OS X 10.9+

SyncThing keeps files in sync across multiple computers, like DropBox but without any size limits. This copy has been tweaked to play nicely with Finder's dot files, and has been bundled into an application with an integrated, simplified UI.

Based on SyncThing 1.3.1

Side Button Enabler

OS X 10.8+

Use the M4 and M5 side buttons on your mouse to navigate forwards and backwards in OS X.

Hold down the middle mouse button to disable.

Based on Sensible Side Buttons by Aarchagon.

Bugfixes for Other People's Apps

Pages '09 Cosmetic Fix

OS X 10.9

Once you see it, it can't be unseen.

CodeRunner Fixes

OS X 10.9

Modifies Coderunner 3.1 to work in Mavericks without constantly crashing.

CodeRunner is a paid application by Nikolai Krill which must be downloaded seperately.

Most downloads include source code. Where code was omitted for practical or aesthetic reasons, it is available upon request.