Take A Sneak Peak At The Movies Coming Out This Week (8/12) Music festivals are BACK and we’re ready for it; Hollywood history-making at the 2021 Oscars. On the other hand, one major advantage of MacOS is that you can run any machine in your environment from the same OS image (nowadays restricted to any Intel Mac, meaning any system Apple sold since since 2006), which can simplify initial system deployment considerably and makes it easy to reset any troubled machine to a known good state. Global Nav Open Menu Global Nav Close Menu; Apple; Shopping Bag +. oversight (or attack of indifference) Or smart business by reducing support and compatibility calls for outdated software that would only succeed in putting tamped down security holes back in play. I prefer that approach over your indifference to a modern and secure macOS.
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In all cases, successive versions of Mac OS and Mac OSX have incorporated 'under the hood' changes such as improvedperformance and stability, bug fixes, and in later releases, increasedPowerPC nativity. In addition, the major releases included moreobvious changes as described below:
Mac OS 7
Mac OS 8
Mac OS 9
Mac OS X
Mac OS 7.0.x
Mac OS 8.0
Mac OS 9.0.x
Mac OS X 10.0.x 'Cheetah'
Mac OS 7.1.x
Mac OS 8.1
Mac OS 9.1
Mac OS X 10.1.x 'Puma'
Mac OS 7.5.x
Mac OS 8.5.x
Mac OS 9.2.x
Mac OS X 10.2.x 'Jaguar'
Mac OS 7.6.x
Mac OS 8.6.x
Mac OS X 10.3.x 'Panther'
Mac OS X 10.4.x 'Tiger'
Mac OS 7.0.x (several releases) (1991)
32-bit addressing for access to more than 8 megabytesof RAM
Support for virtual memory on those computers that canuse it
Apple Events, a language used by applications to communicate witheach other
The MultiFinder, renamed the Finder, improved andsimplified
A Find utility incorporated into the Finder for locating files
Ability to create aliases of items
Ability to use File Sharing to share information between computerson a network
Introduction of Balloon Help
Introduction of Drag and Drop
Mac OS 7.1.x (several releases) (1992-1994)
Introduction of WorldScript for improved multilingual support
Fonts stored in their own Fonts folder rather thanwithin the System Folder
Introduction of Thread Manager for improved multitasking
Mac OS 7.5.x (several releases) (1994-1996)
32-bit addressing always turned on
Some user interface improvements such as a menu bar clock,WindowShade, hierarchical Apple menus, and Finder windows that becomeaccented when a file is dragged over them
The AppleScript scripting language for automating tasks
Improved Find File capability
Apple Guide for improved help
PC Exchange, which greatly simplifies working with DOSformatted disks
Macintosh Easy Open to help open files for which the originalapplication is not available
Introduction of Open Transport (7.5.2)
Comments in Info windows not removed when the desktopis rebuilt (7.5.3)
Mac OS 7.6.x (two releases) (Spring 1997)
Requires a 32-bit clean 68030 processor or better
Support for MacTCP removed
Many references to 'Macintosh' changed to 'Mac OS' in response tothe availability of Macintosh compatible clones
Mac OS 8.0 (Fall 1997)
Requires a 68040 or PowerPC processor
Numerous user interface improvements, including a revampedappearance, pop-up menus, custom folder views, desktop pictures,spring-loaded folders, contextual menus, sticky menus, andreorganized Finder menus; many of the control panels are reorganized,simplified, or incorporated into the Finder or System Folder
Finder now multithreaded, allowing it to perform more than onetask at once (e.g., emptying the trash while moving a file)
Internet setup assistant for simplifying the task ofsetting up an Internet connection
Mac OS 8.1 (Spring 1998)
Includes support for the Macintosh Extended File Format(HFS+), which increases the minimum and maximum file sizes
Support for DVD-ROM drives
Support for Windows 95 long filenames
Mac OS 8.5.x (two releases) (Fall 1998)
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Requires a PowerPC processor
Introduces Sherlock, a powerful volume and Internetsearching utility that replaces Find File
AppleScript rewritten to be PowerPC native, greatly improvingperformance
Ability to anti-alias all text on the screen
Built-in application switcher and 'tear off' Application menu
HTML-based help system
Interface enhancements such as smart scrolling, resizable Findercolumns, 32-bit icons, icon tags, themes, and URL 'aliases'
Mac OS 8.6 (Spring 1999)
Built-in nanokernel that improves performance and reduces CPUpower usage
Newer computers (e.g., iMac, 'blue and white' PowerMacintosh G3/G4, 'bronze' PowerBook G3, iBook) have thecapability to boot off the network if an appropriate server ispresent.
Game Sprockets included with the operating system (formerly aseparate install)
Improvements to Sherlock, LaserWriter 8, DVD-RAM,FireWire, Speech Recognition, and other components
Mac OS 9.0.x (two releases) (Fall 1999)
Support for multiple users, storing individual preferences foreach and with several levels of access
Improved security with the Keychain (stores passwords),voiceprint authentication, and encrypted file transfers
File sharing via TCP/IP with another Mac OS computerwithout the need for AppleShare IP
Sherlock, dubbed Sherlock 2, updated for performance andcapability
Ability to automatically download software updates from theInternet and install them
Support for Carbon and Carbonized applications
Mac OS 9.1 (Spring 2001)
Several changes for improved compatibility with Mac OSX, including a slightly reorganized folder structure, OS X-awareStartup Disk control panel
USB printer sharing over TCP/IP
Apple File Security increased to 128-bit encryption
Finder shortcuts to empty the trash, add to favorites, and showfolder view options
Mac OS 9.2.x (three releases) (Fall 2001)
Improved performance in the Classic environment of MacOS X
Mac OS X 10.0.x 'Cheetah' (four releases and numerous updates)(Spring 2001)
Completely new operating system based on technologies acquiredfrom NeXT, Inc.; features include protected memory, preemptivemultitasking, multithreading, and symmetric multiprocessing
Aqua, a new graphical user interface
Darwin, the operating system's Unixfoundation; built on the Machmicrokernel
Quartz, the PDF-based engine for renderingtwo-dimensional entities such as icons and windows
Carbon, Cocoa, and Java, the three types of nativegraphical applications for Mac OS X
Mac OS X 10.1.x 'Puma' (five releases and numerous updates) (Fall2001)
Improved performance, stability, and functionality
Reintroduced missing OS 9 features: DVD playback, CDburning, AppleShare over AppleTalk, keyboard shortcuts fordisplay brightness and sound volume
The ability to connect to WebDAV and Windows file servers
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Mac OS X 10.2.x 'Jaguar' (eight releases and numerous updates)(Summer 2002)
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Improved performance, stability, and functionality
Quartz Extreme, which uses your video card to improve performanceof window moves, resizes, and the like; Quartz Extreme is notsupported on older computers.
Reintroduced missing OS 9 features: universal access,spring-loaded folders, USB printer sharing, AirPort andAirport Extreme software base station
Built-in support for connecting to VPN servers via PPTP
Rendezvous, for accessing resources via TCP/IP withoutconfiguration
Inkwell, handwriting recognition using a graphics tablet
Sherlock enhanced and refocused as an online tool
Find utility integrated into the Finder
Mac OS X 10.3.x 'Panther' (five releases and numerous updates)(Fall 2003)
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Improved performance, stability, and functionality
Reintroduced missing OS 9 feature: labels
Exposé, to easily navigate through a cluttered desktop bydisplaying open windows as selectable thumbnails
Fast user switching, which allows for multiple accounts to belogged in at the same time
FileVault, which encrypts the entire contents of home folders
Built-in support for connecting to VPN servers viaIPsec
Font Book, for improved font management
Improved support and integration for sending and receiving faxes
Mac OS X 10.4.x 'Tiger' (Spring 2005)
Unix-based architecture, for increased stability and security
Spotlight, to instantly locate anything (e.g., images, emailmessages, applications) on your computer
Dashboard, a readily accessible collection of mini-programs called'Widgets' that provide information about weather, stocks, and more
Safari RSS, a new version of the popular webbrowser that includes a built-in RSS reader
iChat AV, with the added ability to hold multi-party audio andvideo conferences
Automator, to automate repetitive computing tasks withoutprogramming knowledge
Mail, with integrated Spotlight searching and Smart Folders tohelp you manage your email