Why don't you upgrade?
For many years, Mac OS 9 was well enough (had decent programming, paint, 3D software), and I had no idea how to upgrade.
Also, at one point I gained access to a PC, which was mostly good at surfing the net (Paint sucks).
It's only recently that OS 9's Internet support began to break dramatically (and, BTW, that GameMaker ceased to support it ^^) : 10.2 is my "first" OS X