Migrating docs under OS 8.6 to Mac Mini

Question

(I originally posted this on OS 8.6 area and got no responses. Am trying here.)
I wish to migrate to latest Mac Mini from my old, basic 9600 with OS 8.6 in the easiest and quickest way possible which is suitable for a novice on anything except my current system. Current system includes Viewsonic P815 monitor and HP LaserJet 5MP (Geoport connected). System is connected to Linksys router. I understand the monitor is migrateable but printer is not. The problem is software and docs, as follows.
(1) Have 1000s of docs made under Word 5.1a and need to have them open without change under a new Microsoft Word which I'm told won't happen.
(2) I need to have folders and contents of those in the current Outlook Express 5.0.6 in whatever is the new Mac's emailer.
(3) I need to have the Favorites file of the current Internet Explorer 5.1.5 in whatever is the new Mac's browser.
(4) My address book is under Hypercard Player 2.4.1 and this has to migrate to some other address book, but how and which one?
(5) I heavily use Deneba's Coach Pro, an integrated, super thesaurus, and way ahead of those in word processors. Any recommendations?
(6) I occasionally use Canvas 3.5.5 drawing program. Is there a quicky drawing program that can open these files, live?
(7) I plan to get a new laser printer but I also have an older HP PSC 500 printer/scanner that used to be on a Windows machine, now dead. Can both be on the Mac mini?
Thanks.

Answer 1

(1) Have 1000s of docs made under Word 5.1a and need to have them open without change under a new Microsoft Word which I'm told won't happen.
Hmm, yes, I recall the glory days of Word 5.1a, and have some of those files myself. It had never occurred to me that they can't be read anymore, but sure enough, nothing I try will do better than show me the raw text of the file. (It's kind of interesting to see the data tagging on at the end of the file... I'd forgotten about that old security vulnerability with Word files.)
If the 9600 is still functional, you may want to try writing an AppleScript to crank through opening all those files and saving them in another format.
(2) I need to have folders and contents of those in the current Outlook Express 5.0.6 in whatever is the new Mac's emailer.
Is it possible for Outlook Express to export mailboxes in mbox format? If so, that would be able to be imported into Mail.
(3) I need to have the Favorites file of the current Internet Explorer 5.1.5 in whatever is the new Mac's browser.
I don't know what format IE kept its bookmarks stored in, but try opening the bookmarks file in something like TextEdit. You'll probably need to do some manual work there, but this is probably a good time to review your bookmarks.
(4) My address book is under Hypercard Player 2.4.1 and this has to migrate to some other address book, but how and which one?
Oooh, Hypercard... I remember programming an employee database in Hypercard for a university computer lab back in the early 90s. Unfortunately, Hypercard is long dead. No way to run it on a system running Mac OS X 10.6, and there's no app I know of that can open Hypercard stacks. You'll probably need to export the data from Hypercard.
(5) I heavily use Deneba's Coach Pro, an integrated, super thesaurus, and way ahead of those in word processors. Any recommendations?
Have you checked out the built-in thesaurus in the Dictionary app? Seems pretty good to me.
(6) I occasionally use Canvas 3.5.5 drawing program. Is there a quicky drawing program that can open these files, live?
R C-R has you covered on this one far better than I could.
(7) I plan to get a new laser printer but I also have an older HP PSC 500 printer/scanner that used to be on a Windows machine, now dead. Can both be on the Mac mini?
You should be able to attach multiple printers via USB... the questions I'd ask about that older printer/scanner are 1) can it connect via a port that exists on a modern Mac, and 2) is it going to still be supported by HP? Depending on how old it is, HP may not have printer drivers for it that are compatible with Mac OS X 10.6. You could try to see if [Gutenprint|http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php] has you covered.
Good luck! Converting all these old file formats is not going to be easy.