Comparison of user features of operating systems: Difference between revisions

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The classic Mac OS {{efn|This is a [[retronym]] coined after the introduction of its successor, [[macOS|Mac OS X]]. It did not have a name until later, as explained below.}} ('''System Software''') is the series of [[operating system]]s developed for the [[Macintosh]] family of personal computers by [[Apple Inc.]] from 1984 to 2001, starting with [[System 1]] and ending with [[Mac OS 9]]. The Macintosh operating system is credited with having popularized the [[graphical user interface]] concept.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/useful-command-line-tips-for-programmers-and-mac-managers/|title=Useful command line tips for programmers and Mac managers|first=David|last=Morgenstern|website=[[ZDNet]]|access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref> It was included with every Macintosh that was sold during the era in which it was developed, and many updates to the system software were done in conjunction with the introduction of new Macintosh systems.

Apple released the [[Macintosh 128K|original Macintosh]] on 24 January 1984. The [[System 1|first version of the system software]], which had no official name, was partially based on the [[Lisa OS]], which Apple previously released for the [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]] computer in 1983. As part of an agreement allowing [[Xerox]] to buy [[Share (finance)|shares]] in Apple at a favorable price, it also used concepts from the [[Xerox PARC]] [[Xerox Alto|Alto]] computer, which former Apple CEO [[Steve Jobs]] and other Lisa team members had previewed.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Apple_Confidential_2_0/?id=mXnw5tM8QRwC |title=Apple Confidential 2.0 |last=Linzmayer |first=Owen W. |publisher=No Starch Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-59327-010-0 |page=75}}</ref> This operating system consisted of the [[Macintosh Toolbox]] ROM and the "System Folder", a set of files that were loaded from disk. The name '''Macintosh System Software''' came into use in 1987 with System 5. Apple rebranded the system as '''Mac OS''' in 1996, starting officially with version 7.6, due in part to its [[Macintosh clone#Licensed Macintosh clones|Macintosh clone program]].<ref name="versionhistory">{{cite web|title=Macintosh: System Software Version History|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|date=7 August 2001|url=https://support.apple.com/kb/TA31885|access-date=25 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310055815/http://support.apple.com/kb/ta31885|archive-date=10 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> That program ended after the release of [[Mac OS 8]] in 1997.<ref name="endofclones">{{Cite news|first=Galen|last=Gruman|title=Why Apple Pulled the Plug|magazine=Macworld|volume=14|pages=31–36|date=November 1997|issue=11}}</ref> The last major release of the system was [[Mac OS 9]] in 1999.<ref name="macos9release">{{Cite web|url=http://www.applematters.com/article/october-23-1999-mac-os-9-released/|title=October 23, 1999: Mac OS 9 Released|publisher=AppleMatters.com|access-date=28 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028093711/http://www.applematters.com/article/october-23-1999-mac-os-9-released/|archive-date=28 October 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

Initial versions of the System Software ran one application at a time. With the [[Macintosh 512K]], a system extension called the [[MultiFinder#Switcher|Switcher]] was developed to use this additional memory to allow multiple programs to remain loaded. The software of each loaded program used the memory exclusively; only when activated by the Switcher did the program appear, even the Finder's desktop. With the Switcher, the now familiar Clipboard feature allowed cut and paste between the loaded programs across switches including the desktop.{{fact|date=October 2021}}