System 7.5.1 was the first to include the Mac OS logo (a variation on the original Happy Mac startup icon), and Mac OS 7.6 was the first to be named 'Mac OS'.īefore the introduction of the later PowerPC G3-based systems, significant parts of the system were stored in physical ROM on the motherboard. The early Macintosh operating system initially consisted of two pieces of software, called 'System' and 'Finder', each with its own version number. 10.6 and later versions support only Intel processors.

PowerPC and Intel processors are supported in version 10.4 ('Tiger', Intel only supported after an update) and version 10.5 ('Leopard'). OS X, which has superseded the 'Classic' Mac OS, is compatible with only PowerPC processors from version 10.0 ('Cheetah') to version 10.3 ('Panther'). Mac OS 8.1 was the last version that could run on a '68K' processor (the 68040). As Apple introduced computers with PowerPC hardware, the OS was ported to support this architecture. VersionsĮarly versions of Mac OS were compatible only with Motorola 68000-based Macintoshes. This simplicity differentiated the product from others. The user's involvement in an upgrade of the operating system was also minimized to running an installer, or simply replacing system files. The core of the system software was held in ROM, with updates provided free of charge by Apple dealers (on floppy disk). This would differentiate it from then current systems such as MS-DOS which were more technically challenging to operate. This includes tasks which required more operating system knowledge on other systems would be accomplished by intuitive mouse gestures and simple graphic controls on a Macintosh, making the system more user-friendly and easily mastered.

10 Mac OS on non Apple-labeled computersĪpple deliberately sought to minimize the user's conceptual awareness of the operating system.Both series share a general interface design, but have very different internal architectures. Mac OS releases have existed in two series, Classic Mac OS from 1984 to 2000 and Mac OS X from 2001 to present. This is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface concept. The original version was the integral and unnamed system software first introduced in 1984 with the original Macintosh, and referred to simply as the System software. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc.

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