Special menu (Mac OS)
Encyclopedia
The Special menu was a feature of Apple's Mac OS
from its inception until the last release of "Classic" Mac OS, Mac OS 9.2.2. This menu
was responsible for managing the hardware and other system functions. It was always the rightmost menu on the menu bar
in the Finder
. In prerelease version of Classic Mac OS, the Special menu had its name changed to other terms beginning with the letter S, such as Snowman or SneezeSeason as a way of determining the development version from a screenshot.
at boot time. This feature was replaced in System 7 by the Startup Items folder in the System Folder.
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
from its inception until the last release of "Classic" Mac OS, Mac OS 9.2.2. This menu
Menu (computing)
In computing and telecommunications, a menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer or communications system. A menu is used in contrast to a command-line interface, where instructions to the computer are given in the form of commands .Choices given from a menu may be selected...
was responsible for managing the hardware and other system functions. It was always the rightmost menu on the menu bar
Menu bar
A menu bar is a region of a screen or application interface where drop down menus are displayed. The menu bar's purpose is to supply a common housing for window- or application-specific menus which provide access to such functions as opening files, interacting with an application, or displaying...
in the Finder
Macintosh Finder
The Finder is the default file manager used on Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems; it is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications...
. In prerelease version of Classic Mac OS, the Special menu had its name changed to other terms beginning with the letter S, such as Snowman or SneezeSeason as a way of determining the development version from a screenshot.
System 6
In System 6 the Special menu allowed the user to choose an alternate startup program to be run instead of the FinderMacintosh Finder
The Finder is the default file manager used on Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems; it is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications...
at boot time. This feature was replaced in System 7 by the Startup Items folder in the System Folder.