Legacy ADB Peripherals for Mac OS 9

Mac OS 9 marked the twilight era of the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), bridging the gap between legacy hardware and modern USB standards. While later PowerPC machines transitioned entirely to USB, many native ADB systems—such as the Beige Power Macintosh G3 and early PowerBook G3 models—ran Mac OS 9 natively, retaining full compatibility with classic ADB peripherals. This guide outlines the key categories of legacy ADB devices that remained functional and actively supported under Mac OS 9.

Keyboards

Apple and third-party ADB keyboards functioned seamlessly in Mac OS 9 without requiring specialized drivers, relying on the native ADB manager built into the Classic Mac OS.

  • Apple Extended Keyboard & Extended Keyboard II: Widely regarded for their mechanical Alps switches, these keyboards retained full keymapping and power-key functionality on compatible hardware.
  • AppleDesign Keyboard: The standard, cost-effective membrane keyboard shipped with mid-1990s Macs.
  • Apple Adjustable Keyboard: Apple’s early ergonomic split keyboard, including its separate numeric keypad and function keys.
  • Third-Party Keyboards: Models from manufacturers like Kensington and Datadesk continued to operate as standard text-entry devices.

Pointing Devices: Mice and Trackballs

Input pointing devices were fully plug-and-play under Mac OS 9, although advanced multi-button devices required vendor-supplied control panels for programmable features.

  • Apple Desktop Bus Mouse and Mouse II: Standard single-button optical-mechanical mice functioned reliably for core navigation.
  • Kensington Turbo Mouse: A staple trackball in professional publishing workflows. When paired with Kensington's MouseWorks control panel for Mac OS 9, users retained multi-button programming, chording, and acceleration curves.
  • Logitech MouseMan and TrackMan ADB: Multi-button ergonomics supported via Logitech's Mac OS 9 drivers.
  • MicroSpeed MacTrac: Popular three-button trackballs used in audio and video editing setups.

Graphics Tablets and Digitizers

Creative professionals working in print and design on Mac OS 9 frequently used ADB-based digitizer tablets.

  • Wacom Tablets (ArtPad, ArtZ II, and early Intuos series): Connected via the ADB chain to provide pressure sensitivity and programmable stylus buttons in software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
  • CalComp and Kurta Digitizers: Supported through system extensions and serial/ADB interface protocols for CAD and precision graphic work.

Gaming Controllers

Flight simulators and arcade titles under Mac OS 9 supported specialized ADB gamepads and joysticks.

  • CH Products FlightStick Pro and Combatstick: ADB flight sticks that mapped button combinations to standard keypresses or utilized dedicated control panels for flight simulators like Falcon 4.0.
  • Gravis GamePad: A classic directional pad and button controller that mapped controls directly to keyboard inputs via the ADB bus.

Hardware Security Dongles

Many high-end professional software suites common to Mac OS 9 required physical ADB security keys to run.

  • HASP and Sentinel ADB Keys: Pass-through dongles used to license applications such as QuarkXPress, Vectorworks, and high-end audio mastering tools. These devices plugged directly between the computer and an ADB keyboard or mouse, drawing bus power while authenticating software licenses.