Apple is notorious for dropping support for technologies it considers obsolete long before other platforms do the same: floppy disks, USB-A ports, Intel chips (param pam). But every once in a while the feature hangs for a long lifetime longer than expected, and then we’re all surprised to know that the Mac is still doing it.

In this case, “it” is the macOS help files for dial-up modems. 9to5Mac reports that the fourth developer beta of macOS Ventura will no longer have help files for the ancient way to connect to the Internet and online services. This doesn’t mean you can’t use dial-up modem anymore—that’s the sound you hear in old ’90s movies when people need to check their AOL mail. You can still plug in a USB tethering and Apple has related support documents online. Of course, these system help files don’t take up much space, so why get rid of them? 9to5Mac suggests:

With macOS Ventura, Apple has completely rebuilt the System Preferences app (now called System Preferences). This probably explains why the company is getting rid of dial-up references.

Apple

It’s safe to say that no one will miss these help files, but if you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, you can check out the dial-up modem on Mac documentation for yourself if you haven’t upgraded to the macOS Ventura beta. In Finder, click “Help” in the menu bar, and in the “Search” field, type “dialup”. Among the results, you’ll find “Connect your Mac to the Internet with a dial-up tethering”, “Change advanced settings for dial-up tethering on Mac”, and “Troubleshoot dial-up tethering on Mac”.