Possibly I can suggest you to learn Apple history.
I was teenager to learn computer for my future education in college. My first computer was Apple IIGS. It is not Mac OS classic. The ProDOS and GS/OS power the Apple IIGS.
1. Apple IIGS, ProDOS and GS/OS
2. Strawberry iMac 266 MHz, Mac OS 9 and Current Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
3. iBook G3 800 MHz, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
4. PowerBook G4 1 GHz, Mac OS X 10.4.11 Tiger
5. My future Apple mmmm! Could be Mac SO X 10.6
New Mac OS X Leopard will release in October hopefully. I will update operating system in my PowerBook G4.
Mac OS 9 is old operating system. New Mac OS X arrived in 2000 like Vista arrived in 2006. Mac OS X is about few years technology ahead of Vista.
Review: Mac OS X Shines In Comparison With Windows Vista -- OS X vs. Vista -- InformationWeek
Apple - Mac OS X Leopard
Thanks for the poll. Cheer!