System 7 (Macintosh)
Encyclopedia
System 7 is a single-user graphical user interface
-based operating system
for Macintosh
computers. It was introduced on May 13, 1991 by Apple Computer
. It succeeded System 6
, and was the main Macintosh operating system until it was succeeded by Mac OS 8
in 1997. Features added with the System 7 release included virtual memory
, personal file sharing
, QuickTime
, QuickDraw 3D
, and an improved user interface.
"System 7" is often used generically to refer to all 7.x versions
. With the release of version 7.6 in 1997, Apple officially renamed the operating system "Mac OS", a name which had first appeared on System 7.5.1's boot screen. System 7 was developed for Macs that used the Motorola 680x0 line of processors, but was ported to the PowerPC
after Apple adopted the new processor.
, System 7 offered:
. It was also the first Apple operating system to be available on CD although it shipped on floppy disks initially. System 7 itself did not come bundled with major software packages, but newly purchased Macintosh
computers were often bundled with software such as HyperCard
, ClarisWorks, At Ease
, Mouse Practice
and Power Pete
. Internet software such as MacTCP
, FreePPP
and Netscape
were not included at first, but was available on disk from internet service provider
s and bundled with books such as Adam C. Engst
's Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh. PowerPC
Macintoshes included Graphing Calculator
. System 7 also included networking and file sharing software in the form of system extensions and control panels.
The basic utilities installed by default with System 7 included TeachText
(superseded by the more flexible SimpleText
in later versions) for basic text editing tasks and reading readme
documents. Also available on the additional "Disk Tools" floppy disk
are Disk First Aid
for disk repair and Apple HD SC Setup
for initializing and partitioning disks.
Later versions of System 7, specifically System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6, came with a dedicated "Utilities" folder and "Apple Extras" folder including: AppleScript
, Disk Copy, QuickDraw GX
Extras and QuickTime
Movie Player. More optional extras and utilities could be manually installed from the System CD.
-based computers. 68k applications which had not yet been updated to run natively on these systems were emulated
transparently (without users' having to intervene) by a built-in 68k processor emulator
. Fat binaries
, which contained the code necessary to run natively on both PowerPC and 68k systems, became common during this time. This process was similar to the distribution of universal binaries
during Apple's transition from PowerPC
to Intel processors in 2006.
, which could access the contents of FAT
- and Apple II
-formatted floppy disks. System 7 Pro, System 7.5 and up shipped with PC Exchange
, previously a separate product, which allowed the system to mount FAT-formatted floppy disk
s on the desktop in the same manner as regular Macintosh disks.
OS/2
disks were read as PC-DOS disks, due to fact that OS/2 used the FAT file system. At this time, Macs could also read and write UNIX file systems with the help of extra software.
System 7 allowed users to access PC networks and allowed communication via TCP/IP and other compatible networking stacks. Actual PC software compatibility, however, required third party software such as SoftPC, which allowed some MS-DOS and early Microsoft Windows programs to run, or Connectix Virtual PC, which allowed the Mac to run Windows via full PC emulation.
Other PC compatibility solutions took a more native approach by running Windows and MS-DOS by using x86 expansion cards with an x86 chip on the card. Apple offered some systems configured this way, marketed as "DOS Compatible" — a card with dedicated x86 CPU and RAM was used, while the Mac hard drive, sound subsystem, networking and input provided services to the PC. The PC could run simultaneously with the Mac, and the user could switch between the two in a fashion similar to a KVM switch. The earliest of these systems were 680x0 based systems running System 7. System 7 provided the support for accessing the PC volume from the Mac through its own PC Exchange software, and actual control of the PC hardware was accomplished by way of control panels.
to System 7, though newer hardware soon made up for the speed differential. Another problem was System 7's large "memory footprint": System 6 could boot the system from a single floppy disk
and took up about 600 KB
of RAM, whereas System 7 used well over a megabyte
, and could no longer be usefully run from floppy-only machines without the aid of an external SCSI
hard drive. (Versions up to 7.5 could boot from a floppy, but there would be no room for other applications, although it was possible to access an AFP
server on an AppleTalk network.) It was some time before the average Mac shipped with enough RAM built in for System 7 to be truly comfortable. Offsetting this was the inclusion of a hard disk as standard in most Mac models; only the long-lived Macintosh Plus
and certain models of the Macintosh SE
did not ship with one.
System 7.0 was adopted quite rapidly by Mac users, and quickly became one of the base requirements for new software.
The engineering group within Apple responsible for System 7 came to be known as the "Blue Meanies", named after the blue index card
s on which were written the features that could be implemented in a relatively short time. In comparison, the pink index card features were handled by the Pink group, later becoming the ill-fated Taligent
project.
System 7.0 was the last version of the Macintosh operating system that Apple made available without charge and allowed to be freely redistributed. Although it could be purchased from Apple, the cost was nominal and considered to only cover duplication and media. It was perfectly legal to copy a friend's System 7 installation floppies, and it was common for Macintosh dealers to allow customers to use the store's demo machines to copy System 7 install disks for the cost of a box of floppies. Many CD-ROM magazines such as Nautilus
included System 7 on their disks. After Mac users downloaded thousands of copies of System 7 from the online services (AOL, Compuserve and GEnie), Apple surveyed the services and based on this popularity started selling the Mac OS as a retail product with System 7.1. (System 7.5.3r2 is now similarly available for free from Apple's web site, but was not posted until after it had been superseded. A System 7.5.5 updater is also available for free download.)
Soon after the initial release of System 7, the 7.0.1 minor update was released in October 1991. A patch called "System 7 Tune-Up" also followed, which fixed the "disappearing files" bug in which the system would lose files. In August 1992, the 7.1 update was released which introduced the Fonts folder. This replaced the often time-consuming method of dragging fonts to and from the System file, introduced in System 7.0; it also replaced the Font/DA Mover application from System 6, which could also be used with 7.0.
The first major upgrade was System 7.1.1, also known as "System 7 Pro". This release was a bundle of 7.1 with AppleScript tools, QuickTime
and Apple Open Collaboration Environment
(AOCE). While System 7 had some trouble running in slightly older machines due to memory footprint, System 7 Pro barely fit into any Macintosh computers at the time. It was most commonly used for its minor bug fixes rather than its new functionality.
Apple joined the AIM alliance
(Apple, IBM and Motorola) shortly after the release of System 7 in 1991, and started work on PowerPC
-based machines that later became the Power Macintosh
family. Support for these machines resulted in System 7.1.2.
System 7.1.2 was never offered for retail sale; it shipped with the first batches of the PowerPC Macs. Later shipments shipped with System 7.5 instead.
The next major release was System 7.5 (codenamed "Capone", a reference to Al Capone
and "Chicago", which was the code name for Microsoft's Windows 95
), which included bug fixes from previous updates and added several new features including:
System 7.5.1 was primarily a bug fix on 7.5, but also introduced a new "Mac OS" startup screen in preparation for Mac clones
.
System 7.5.2, released only for the first PCI
-based Power Macs, was notable for introducing Apple's new networking architecture, Open Transport
and also for being the most unstable version of Mac OS in recent memory.
System 7.5.3, a major bug-fix update that also included Open Transport
for other PowerPC-based machines as well as some 68k-based machines. 7.5.3 also made several improvements to the 68k emulator, and added translucent dragging support to the Drag Manager. It was also the first version of Control Strip
for all Macs. This was also the first version of Mac OS to support SMP
. (9500/MP)
System 7.5.3 Revision 2 included: performance enhancements; better reliability for PowerBooks using the third-party RAM Doubler program; improved reliability for PowerBook 500, 2300, and 5300 series computers with the PowerPC Upgrade Card; improved reliability when using the Startup Disk control panel; and improved reliability when copying files to 1 GB hard disks.
System 7.5.4 was pulled due to a mistake at Apple, in which some components were not included in the installer.
System 7.5.5 included significant performance improvements for virtual memory and memory management on PowerPC-based Macs, including the elimination of one type 11 error. Also included were a number of reliability improvements, such as fixes for Macs using floppy disks equipped with a DOS compatibility card, improved hard disk access for PowerPC PowerBooks and Performa 5400 through 9500 computers, fixes for Macs that included an Apple TV Tuner or Macintosh TV Remote Control, improvements to LocalTalk and networking (especially for the Performa 5400 and 6400), fixes to system startup for the faster 180 MHz Macs (which included PowerPC 604 or 604e processors), improved reliability when using sound intensive applications on Quadra or Centris computers that contained the PowerPC upgrade card, and improved stability when using multiple background applications and shared printers on a network. System 7.5.5 is also the last System 7 release that can run on 68000-based Macs such as the Macintosh Plus. 7.6 and later required a 68030 processor.
, including a revamped Extensions Manager, more native PowerPC code for Power Macs, more bundled Internet tools and utilities, and an overall more-stable Finder with increased memory allocation. In this version, the PowerTalk feature added in 7.5 was removed due to poor application support, and support for a large number of older Macintosh models was dropped.
The minor update to Mac OS 7.6.1 finally ported the 68k exception handling routines to PowerPC, turning dreaded type 11 errors into less harmful errors (type 1, 2 or 3, usually) as crashing applications would more often terminate safely instead of crashing the operating system.
Through this period, Apple had been attempting to release a completely new "modern" operating system, named Copland
. When the Copland project was abandoned in 1996, Apple announced plans to release an OS update every six months until Rhapsody (which would by 2001 evolve into what was released as Mac OS X
) shipped. Two more releases were shipped, now officially branded as the "Mac OS" — Mac OS 7.6 and the minor bug fix 7.6.1. Future versions were released as Mac OS 8–8.6
and Mac OS 9–9.2
.
downloads and Mac OS 8
updates. All of the diskette image files are in MacBinary
format and are accompanied by a descriptive .txt file.
System 7.5.3 and the 7.5.5 (US English) update can be downloaded for free:http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/System/ under Older_System
Other languages and English versions can be found at:
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
-based operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
for Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
computers. It was introduced on May 13, 1991 by Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
. It succeeded System 6
System 6
System 6 is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers. It was released in 1988 by Apple Computer and was part of the Mac OS line of operating systems. System 6 was shipped with various Macintosh computers until it was succeeded by System 7 in 1991. The boxed...
, and was the main Macintosh operating system until it was succeeded by Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems...
in 1997. Features added with the System 7 release included virtual memory
Virtual memory
In computing, virtual memory is a memory management technique developed for multitasking kernels. This technique virtualizes a computer architecture's various forms of computer data storage , allowing a program to be designed as though there is only one kind of memory, "virtual" memory, which...
, personal file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
, QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
, QuickDraw 3D
QuickDraw 3D
QuickDraw 3D, or QD3D for short, is a 3D graphics API developed by Apple Inc. starting in 1995, originally for their Macintosh computers, but delivered as a cross-platform system....
, and an improved user interface.
"System 7" is often used generically to refer to all 7.x versions
Mac OS history
On January 24, 1984, Apple Computer Inc. introduced the Macintosh personal computer, with the Macintosh 128K model, which came bundled with what was later renamed the Mac OS, but then known simply as the System Software....
. With the release of version 7.6 in 1997, Apple officially renamed the operating system "Mac OS", a name which had first appeared on System 7.5.1's boot screen. System 7 was developed for Macs that used the Motorola 680x0 line of processors, but was ported to the PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
after Apple adopted the new processor.
Features
Compared with System 6System 6
System 6 is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers. It was released in 1988 by Apple Computer and was part of the Mac OS line of operating systems. System 6 was shipped with various Macintosh computers until it was succeeded by System 7 in 1991. The boxed...
, System 7 offered:
- Built-in co-operative multitasking. In System 6, this function was optional through the MultiFinderMultiFinderMultiFinder was the name of an extension software for the Apple Macintosh, introduced on August 11, 1987 and included with System Software 5. It added the ability to co-operatively multitask between several applications at once – a great improvement over the previous systems, which could only...
; in System 7 it was mandatory. - Trash was now a formal directory, allowing items to be preserved between reboots and disk eject events instead of being purged.
- Personal File SharingFile sharingFile sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
. Along with various UIUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
improvements for AppleTalkAppleTalkAppleTalk is a proprietary suite of protocols developed by Apple Inc. for networking computers. It was included in the original Macintosh released in 1984, but is now unsupported as of the release of Mac OS X v10.6 in 2009 in favor of TCP/IP networking...
setup, System 7 also included a basic file sharing server allowing any machine to publish folders to the AppleTalk network. - Aliases. An aliasAlias (Mac OS)In Mac OS System 7 and later, an alias is a small file that represents another object in a local, remote, or removable file system and provides a dynamic link to it; the target object may be moved, and the alias will still link to it...
is a small file that represents another object in the file systemFile systemA file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
. A typical alias is small, between 1 and 5 KB. Similar in concept to UnixUnixUnix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
symbolic links and Windows shortcuts, an alias acts as a redirect to any object in the file system, such as a documentDocumentThe term document has multiple meanings in ordinary language and in scholarship. WordNet 3.1. lists four meanings :* document, written document, papers...
, an applicationApplication softwareApplication software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
, a folder, a hard diskHard diskA hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
, a network share or removable medium or a printerComputer printerIn computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
. When double-clickDouble-clickA double-click is the act of pressing a computer mouse button twice quickly without moving the mouse. Double-clicking allows two different actions to be associated with the same mouse button...
ed, the computer will act the same way as if the original file had been double-clicked. Likewise, choosing an alias file from within an "Open" dialog boxDialog boxIn a graphical user interface of computers, a dialog box is a type of window used to enable reciprocal communication or "dialog" between a computer and its user. It may communicate information to the user, prompt the user for a response, or both...
would open the original file. (Unlike the path-based approach of shortcuts and symbolic links, aliases also store a reference to the file's catalog entry, so they continue work even if the file is moved or renamed. Aliases have features of both hard linkHard linkIn computing, a hard link is a directory entry that associates a name with a file on a file system. . The term is used in file systems which allow multiple hard links to be created for the same file. This has the effect of creating multiple names for the same file, causing an aliasing effect: e.g...
s and a symbolic linkSymbolic linkIn computing, a symbolic link is a special type of file that contains a reference to another file or directory in the form of an absolute or relative path and that affects pathname resolution. Symbolic links were already present by 1978 in mini-computer operating systems from DEC and Data...
s found on UnixUnixUnix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
-based systems. All three are supported on Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
.) - Drag and drop. Document icons could be dragged with the mouse and "dropped" onto application icons to open in the targeted application. Under System 6, one either double-clicked on a document icon to open its associated application, or one could open the desired application and use its Open dialog boxDialog boxIn a graphical user interface of computers, a dialog box is a type of window used to enable reciprocal communication or "dialog" between a computer and its user. It may communicate information to the user, prompt the user for a response, or both...
. The development of the drag-and-drop paradigm led to a new concept for some applications—such as StuffIt ExpanderStuffIt ExpanderStuffIt Expander is a proprietary, freeware, closed source, decompression software utility developed by Allume Systems . It runs in Mac OS Classic, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux x86/UNIX.As of November 2010, the latest Macintosh version is 2011 , which requires Mac OS X v10.5 or later...
—whose main interactions were intended to be via drag and drop. System 7.5's Drag Manager expanded the concept system-wide to include multiple data types such as text or audio data. - "System extensionExtension (Mac OS)On the Apple Macintosh operating system prior to Mac OS X, extensions were small pieces of code that extended the system's functionality. They were run initially at start-up time, and operated by a variety of mechanisms, including trap patching and other code modifying techniques. Initially an...
s" (small pieces of INIT code that extended the system's functionality) were improved by relocating them to their own subfolder (rather than in the root level of the System Folder itself as on earlier versions), and by allowing the user to hold down the Shift key during bootup to disable them. Later versions of System 7 offered a feature called "Extensions Manager" which simplified the process of enabling/disabling individual extensions. Extensions were often a source of instability and these changes made them more manageable and assisted trouble-shooting. - "Stationery", a templateTemplate (file format)The term document template when used in the context of file format refers to a common feature of many software applications that define a unique non-executable file format intended specifically for that particular application....
feature that allowed users to save often-used document styles in special format. "Stationery-aware" applications would create a new, untitled file containing the template data, while non-aware applications would immediately show a Save As dialog boxDialog boxIn a graphical user interface of computers, a dialog box is a type of window used to enable reciprocal communication or "dialog" between a computer and its user. It may communicate information to the user, prompt the user for a response, or both...
asking the user for the file's name. - The Control PanelControl panel (Mac OS)Under Mac OS 9 and earlier, a control panel is a small application which enabled the user to modify software and hardware settings such as the sound volume and desktop pattern. Control panels differ from extensions in that they allow the user to specify options, whereas extensions provide the user...
desk accessory became the Control Panels folder (found in the System Folder, and accessible to the user from an alias in the Apple menu). The control panels themselves became separate files, stored within this directory. - Under System 6, Control Panels and Extensions were known as CDEVs and INITs respectively. System 7 presented the more user-friendly nomenclature in the interface.
- The Apple menuApple menuThe Apple menu has been a feature in Apple's Mac OS since its inception. It is the first item on the left hand side of the menu bar. The Apple menu's role has changed throughout the release history of Mac OS, but the menu has always featured a version of the Apple logo.-System 6 and earlier:In...
(previously home only to desk accessories pulled from "DRVR" resources in the System file) now listed the contents of a folder ("Apple Menu Items"), including aliases. Desk accessories had originally been intended to provide a form of multitasking and were no longer necessary now that real multitasking was always enabled. The desk-accessory technology was deprecated, with System 7 treating them largely the same as other applications. Desk accessories now ran in their own process rather than borrowing that of a host application. - The Application menu, a list of running applications formerly at the bottom of the Apple menu under MultiFinder, became its own menu on the right. In addition, Hide/Show functionality was introduced, allowing the user to hide applications from view while still keeping them running.
- Balloon HelpBalloon helpBalloon help was a help system introduced by Apple Computer in their 1991 release of System 7.0. The name referred to the way the help text was displayed, in "balloons", like those containing the words in a comic strip...
, a widget-identification system similar to tooltips. - AppleScriptAppleScriptAppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. and built into Macintosh operating systems since System 7. The term "AppleScript" may refer to the scripting system itself, or to particular scripts that are written in the AppleScript language....
, a scripting languageScripting languageA scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...
for automating tasks. While fairly complex for application programmers to implement support for, this feature was powerful and popular with users, and a version of it is still available to this day as part of Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. - AppleEvents. Supporting AppleScript was a new interprocess communication model for "high-level" events to be sent into applications, along with support to allow this to take place over an AppleTalkAppleTalkAppleTalk is a proprietary suite of protocols developed by Apple Inc. for networking computers. It was included in the original Macintosh released in 1984, but is now unsupported as of the release of Mac OS X v10.6 in 2009 in favor of TCP/IP networking...
network. - 32-bit QuickDrawQuickDrawQuickDraw is the 2D graphics library and associated Application Programming Interface which is a core part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system. It was initially written by Bill Atkinson and Andy Hertzfeld. QuickDraw still exists as part of the libraries of Mac OS X, but has been...
, supporting so-called "true color" imaging, was included as standard; it was previously available as a system extension. - Publish and Subscribe. This feature permitted dataDataThe term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
"published" by one application to be imported ("subscribed to") by another, and the data could be updated dynamically. Programmers complained that the APIApplication programming interfaceAn application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
was unwieldy, and relatively few applications ended up adopting it. - TrueTypeTrueTypeTrueType is an outline font standard originally developed by Apple Computer in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobe's Type 1 fonts used in PostScript...
outline fonts. Up to this point, all fonts on the Macintosh were bitmapped, or a set of bitmapped screen fonts paired with outline PostScriptPostScriptPostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
printer fonts; TrueType for the first time offered a single font format that scaled to any size on screen and on paper. This technology was recognized as being so important that a TrueType extension for System 6 was also released, along with an updated Font/DA Mover capable of installing these new kinds of fonts into the System 6 System file. - A newly colorized user interfaceUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
. Although this feature made for a visually appealing interface, it was optional. On machines not capable of displaying color, or those with their display preferences set to monochrome, the interface defaulted back to the black-and-white look of previous versions. Only some widgets were colorized — scrollbars, for instance, had a new look, but buttons remained in black and white. - A new Sound Manager APIApplication programming interfaceAn application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
, version 2.0, replaced the older ad hocAd hocAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
APIs. The new APIs featured significantly improved hardware abstractionHardware abstractionHardware abstractions are sets of routines in software that emulate some platform-specific details, giving programs direct access to the hardware resources....
, as well as higher-quality playback. Although technically not a new feature for System 7 (these features were available for System 6.0.7), Sound Manager 2.0 was the first widespread implementation of this technology to make it to most Mac users. - System 7 paved the way for a full 32-bit address space, from the previous 24-bit address space. This process involved making all of the routines in OS code use the full 32 bits of a pointer as an address — prior systems used the upper bits as flagsFlag (computing)In computer programming, flag can refer to one or more bits that are used to store a binary value or code that has an assigned meaning, but can refer to uses of other data types...
. This change was known as being "32-bit clean". While System 7 itself was 32-bit clean, many existing machines and thousands of applications were not, so it was some time before the process was completed. To ease the transition, the "Memory" control panel contained a switch to disable this feature, allowing for compatibility with older applications. - System 7.1 marked the advent of System Enablers, small extensions that were loaded at startup to support Macintosh models introduced since the last OS revision. Under System 6, Apple had to introduce a number of minor revisions to the OS solely for use with new hardware. Apple introduced an unprecedented number of new Macintosh models during the System 7 era, leading to some confusion over which System Enabler went with which computer(s).
Software
System 7 was the first version of the Mac OS that required a hard drive as it was too large to work comfortably from a floppy diskFloppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
. It was also the first Apple operating system to be available on CD although it shipped on floppy disks initially. System 7 itself did not come bundled with major software packages, but newly purchased Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
computers were often bundled with software such as HyperCard
HyperCard
HyperCard is an application program created by Bill Atkinson for Apple Computer, Inc. that was among the first successful hypermedia systems before the World Wide Web. It combines database capabilities with a graphical, flexible, user-modifiable interface. HyperCard also features HyperTalk, written...
, ClarisWorks, At Ease
At Ease
At Ease was an alternative to the Macintosh desktop developed by Apple Computer in the early 1990s. It provided a simple environment for new Macintosh users and young children to help them to work without supervision...
, Mouse Practice
Mouse Practice
Mouse Practice was a game-based computer tutorial aimed at teaching new users how to operate a computer mouse at a time when many were unfamiliar with this feature of a computer....
and Power Pete
Power Pete
Power Pete is a computer game developed by Pangea Software and published by the Interplay Entertainment Corporation under the MacPlay brand name. It was released in 1995 and packaged with Mac OS 7 on new Macintosh Performa computers. It is a third-person shooter game with a single camera angle...
. Internet software such as MacTCP
MacTCP
MacTCP was the standard TCP/IP implementation for the Macintosh operating system through version 7.5.1. It was the first application-independent implementation of a TCP stack for a non-Unix platform and predates Winsock by over 5 years...
, FreePPP
FreePPP
FreePPP is a Point to Point Protocol implementation for computers running Mac OS prior to Mac OS X. FreePPP was widely considered the first working and most stable version of PPP for Apple Macintosh and led many PPP internet service providers to support Macintosh users for the first time.Besides...
and Netscape
Netscape
Netscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
were not included at first, but was available on disk from internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s and bundled with books such as Adam C. Engst
Adam C. Engst
Adam C. Engst is a technology writer and publisher who resides in Ithaca, New York, United States where he was born and went to college at Cornell University....
's Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh. PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
Macintoshes included Graphing Calculator
NuCalc
NuCalc, also known as Graphing Calculator, is a computer software tool made by the company Pacific Tech. The tool can perform many graphing calculator functions. It can graph inequalities and vector fields, as well as functions in two, three, or four dimensions. It supports several different...
. System 7 also included networking and file sharing software in the form of system extensions and control panels.
The basic utilities installed by default with System 7 included TeachText
TeachText
The TeachText application is a simple text editor made by Apple Computer bundled with System 7.1 and earlier, and was one of the only applications included with the Mac system software, leading to its most frequent role as the application to open "ReadMe" files. It was named "TeachText" as a nod to...
(superseded by the more flexible SimpleText
SimpleText
SimpleText is the native text editor for the Classic Mac OS. SimpleText allows editing including text formatting , fonts, and sizes. It can be considered similar to Windows' WordPad application...
in later versions) for basic text editing tasks and reading readme
README
A readme file contains information about other files in a directory or archive and is commonly distributed with computer software. Such a file is usually a text file called README.TXT, README.1ST, READ.ME, or simply README, although some Microsoft Windows software may occasionally include a...
documents. Also available on the additional "Disk Tools" floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
are Disk First Aid
Disk First Aid
Disk First Aid is a free software utility made by Apple Inc. that is bundled with all computers running Mac OS either as a standalone application or as part of the Disk Utility...
for disk repair and Apple HD SC Setup
Apple HD SC Setup
Apple HD SC Setup was a small software utility that was bundled with various versions of the Mac OS made by Apple Computer. Introduced with Apple's first SCSI hard drive, the Hard Disk 20SC in September 1986, Apple HD SC Setup can update drivers and partition and initialize hard disks...
for initializing and partitioning disks.
Later versions of System 7, specifically System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6, came with a dedicated "Utilities" folder and "Apple Extras" folder including: AppleScript
AppleScript
AppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. and built into Macintosh operating systems since System 7. The term "AppleScript" may refer to the scripting system itself, or to particular scripts that are written in the AppleScript language....
, Disk Copy, QuickDraw GX
QuickDraw GX
QuickDraw GX was a replacement for the QuickDraw 2D graphics engine and Printing Manager inside the "classic" Mac OS. Its underlying drawing platform was a resolution-independent object oriented retained mode system, making it much easier for programmers to perform common tasks...
Extras and QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
Movie Player. More optional extras and utilities could be manually installed from the System CD.
Transition to PowerPC
System 7.1.2 was the first version of the Mac OS to support Apple's new PowerPCPowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
-based computers. 68k applications which had not yet been updated to run natively on these systems were emulated
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
transparently (without users' having to intervene) by a built-in 68k processor emulator
Mac 68K emulator
The Mac 68K emulator was a software emulator built into all versions of the Mac OS for PowerPC. This emulator permitted the running of applications and system code that were originally written for the 680x0 based Macintosh models. The emulator was completely seamless for users, and reasonably...
. Fat binaries
Fat binary
A fat binary is a computer program with code native to multiple Instruction sets which can consequently be run on multiple processor types. The usual method of implementation is to include a version of the machine code for each instruction set, preceded by code compatible with all operating...
, which contained the code necessary to run natively on both PowerPC and 68k systems, became common during this time. This process was similar to the distribution of universal binaries
Universal binary
A universal binary is, in Apple parlance, an executable file or application bundle that runs natively on either PowerPC or Intel-manufactured IA-32 or Intel 64-based Macintosh computers; it is an implementation of the concept more generally known as a fat binary.With the release of Mac OS X Snow...
during Apple's transition from PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
to Intel processors in 2006.
PC compatibility
System 7.0 through 7.1 offered a utility called Apple File ExchangeApple File Exchange
Apple File Exchange is a utility program for Apple Macintosh computers. It was included on the Apple "Tidbits" or "Install 2" disk in system versions 7.0 through 7.1...
, which could access the contents of FAT
File Allocation Table
File Allocation Table is a computer file system architecture now widely used on many computer systems and most memory cards, such as those used with digital cameras. FAT file systems are commonly found on floppy disks, flash memory cards, digital cameras, and many other portable devices because of...
- and Apple II
Apple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
-formatted floppy disks. System 7 Pro, System 7.5 and up shipped with PC Exchange
PC Exchange
PC Exchange was a utility program for Apple Macintosh computers. It was a control panel for the Mac OS that lets the operating system mount FAT file systems and mapped file extensions to the user-defined type and creator codes....
, previously a separate product, which allowed the system to mount FAT-formatted floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s on the desktop in the same manner as regular Macintosh disks.
OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
disks were read as PC-DOS disks, due to fact that OS/2 used the FAT file system. At this time, Macs could also read and write UNIX file systems with the help of extra software.
System 7 allowed users to access PC networks and allowed communication via TCP/IP and other compatible networking stacks. Actual PC software compatibility, however, required third party software such as SoftPC, which allowed some MS-DOS and early Microsoft Windows programs to run, or Connectix Virtual PC, which allowed the Mac to run Windows via full PC emulation.
Other PC compatibility solutions took a more native approach by running Windows and MS-DOS by using x86 expansion cards with an x86 chip on the card. Apple offered some systems configured this way, marketed as "DOS Compatible" — a card with dedicated x86 CPU and RAM was used, while the Mac hard drive, sound subsystem, networking and input provided services to the PC. The PC could run simultaneously with the Mac, and the user could switch between the two in a fashion similar to a KVM switch. The earliest of these systems were 680x0 based systems running System 7. System 7 provided the support for accessing the PC volume from the Mac through its own PC Exchange software, and actual control of the PC hardware was accomplished by way of control panels.
Miscellaneous
At the time of its release, many users noticed that performance suffered as a result of upgrading from System 6System 6
System 6 is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers. It was released in 1988 by Apple Computer and was part of the Mac OS line of operating systems. System 6 was shipped with various Macintosh computers until it was succeeded by System 7 in 1991. The boxed...
to System 7, though newer hardware soon made up for the speed differential. Another problem was System 7's large "memory footprint": System 6 could boot the system from a single floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
and took up about 600 KB
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
of RAM, whereas System 7 used well over a megabyte
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
, and could no longer be usefully run from floppy-only machines without the aid of an external SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
hard drive. (Versions up to 7.5 could boot from a floppy, but there would be no room for other applications, although it was possible to access an AFP
Apple Filing Protocol
The Apple Filing Protocol is a network protocol that offers file services for Mac OS X and original Mac OS. In Mac OS X, AFP is one of several file services supported including Server Message Block , Network File System , File Transfer Protocol , and WebDAV...
server on an AppleTalk network.) It was some time before the average Mac shipped with enough RAM built in for System 7 to be truly comfortable. Offsetting this was the inclusion of a hard disk as standard in most Mac models; only the long-lived Macintosh Plus
Macintosh Plus
The Macintosh Plus computer was the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of US$2599...
and certain models of the Macintosh SE
Macintosh SE
The Macintosh SE was a personal computer manufactured by Apple between March 1987 and October 1990. This computer marked a significant improvement on the Macintosh Plus design and was introduced by Apple at the same time as the Macintosh II....
did not ship with one.
System 7.0 was adopted quite rapidly by Mac users, and quickly became one of the base requirements for new software.
The engineering group within Apple responsible for System 7 came to be known as the "Blue Meanies", named after the blue index card
Index card
An index card consists of heavy paper stock cut to a standard size, used for recording and storing small amounts of discrete data. It was invented by Carl Linnaeus, around 1760....
s on which were written the features that could be implemented in a relatively short time. In comparison, the pink index card features were handled by the Pink group, later becoming the ill-fated Taligent
Taligent
Taligent was the name of an object-oriented operating system and the company dedicated to producing it...
project.
System 7.0 was the last version of the Macintosh operating system that Apple made available without charge and allowed to be freely redistributed. Although it could be purchased from Apple, the cost was nominal and considered to only cover duplication and media. It was perfectly legal to copy a friend's System 7 installation floppies, and it was common for Macintosh dealers to allow customers to use the store's demo machines to copy System 7 install disks for the cost of a box of floppies. Many CD-ROM magazines such as Nautilus
Nautilus
Nautilus is the common name of marine creatures of cephalopod family Nautilidae, the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in two genera, the type of which is the genus Nautilus...
included System 7 on their disks. After Mac users downloaded thousands of copies of System 7 from the online services (AOL, Compuserve and GEnie), Apple surveyed the services and based on this popularity started selling the Mac OS as a retail product with System 7.1. (System 7.5.3r2 is now similarly available for free from Apple's web site, but was not posted until after it had been superseded. A System 7.5.5 updater is also available for free download.)
Version history
|
Soon after the initial release of System 7, the 7.0.1 minor update was released in October 1991. A patch called "System 7 Tune-Up" also followed, which fixed the "disappearing files" bug in which the system would lose files. In August 1992, the 7.1 update was released which introduced the Fonts folder. This replaced the often time-consuming method of dragging fonts to and from the System file, introduced in System 7.0; it also replaced the Font/DA Mover application from System 6, which could also be used with 7.0.
The first major upgrade was System 7.1.1, also known as "System 7 Pro". This release was a bundle of 7.1 with AppleScript tools, QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
and Apple Open Collaboration Environment
Apple Open Collaboration Environment
Apple Open Collaboration Environment, or AOCE , was a collection of messaging-related technologies introduced for the Mac OS in the early 1990s...
(AOCE). While System 7 had some trouble running in slightly older machines due to memory footprint, System 7 Pro barely fit into any Macintosh computers at the time. It was most commonly used for its minor bug fixes rather than its new functionality.
Apple joined the AIM alliance
AIM alliance
The AIM alliance was an alliance formed on October 2, 1991, between Apple Inc. , IBM, and Motorola to create a new computing standard based on the PowerPC architecture. The stated goal of the alliance was to challenge the dominant Wintel computing platform with a new computer design and a...
(Apple, IBM and Motorola) shortly after the release of System 7 in 1991, and started work on PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
-based machines that later became the Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, was a line of Apple Macintosh workstation-class personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors that were developed, marketed, and supported by Apple Inc. from March 1994 until August 2006. The first models were the Power Macintosh 6100,...
family. Support for these machines resulted in System 7.1.2.
System 7.1.2 was never offered for retail sale; it shipped with the first batches of the PowerPC Macs. Later shipments shipped with System 7.5 instead.
The next major release was System 7.5 (codenamed "Capone", a reference to Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
and "Chicago", which was the code name for Microsoft's Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
), which included bug fixes from previous updates and added several new features including:
- An updated startup screen featuring a progress bar
- A new interactive help system called Apple GuideApple GuideApple Guide was Apple Computer's online help and documentation system, added to the Mac OS in System 7.5 and intended to work alongside Balloon Help. In addition to hypertext, indexing and searching of the text, Apple Guide also offered a system for teaching users how to accomplish tasks in an...
- A clock in the menu bar (based on the free "SuperClock" control panel by Steve Christensen)
- An Apple menu item called Stickies (formerly a third-party application called "PasteIt Notes") which provided virtual Post-It NotePost-it noteA Post-it note is a piece of stationery with a re-adherable strip of adhesive on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. Although now available in a wide range of colours, shapes, and sizes, Post-it notes are most commonly a square, canary yellow in colour...
s - WindowShadeWindowShadeWindowShade was a control panel for the Mac OS that allowed a user to double-click a window's title bar to "roll up" the window like a windowshade...
(another former shareware control panel which provided the ability to condense a window down to its title bar) - MacTCPMacTCPMacTCP was the standard TCP/IP implementation for the Macintosh operating system through version 7.5.1. It was the first application-independent implementation of a TCP stack for a non-Unix platform and predates Winsock by over 5 years...
was bundled, enabling any Macintosh to connect to the InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
out of the box for the first time. - The Control Strip (a fast way to change the system volume, control the playback of audio CDs, manage file sharing and printers and change the monitor resolution and color depth)
- The Extensions Manager (enabling the user to turn extensions and control panels on and off; also based on a formerly third-party control panel)
- PowerTalkApple Open Collaboration EnvironmentApple Open Collaboration Environment, or AOCE , was a collection of messaging-related technologies introduced for the Mac OS in the early 1990s...
, the predecessor to the KeychainApple KeychainKeychain is Apple Inc.'s password management system in Mac OS. It was introduced with Mac OS 8.6, and has been included in all subsequent versions of Mac OS, including Mac OS X...
system and also a system-level email handling service - The Launcher, a special Finder window containing shortcut buttons for frequently used programs (in a manner somewhat akin to the Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
Dock) - A hierarchal Apple menu (folders within the Apple Menu Items folder would expand into submenus showing their contents. Again, based on a third party control panel; HAM by Microseeds publishing)
- system-wide drag & drop for text and other data (selections could be simply dragged with the mouse and dropped to their new destination, bypassing the clipboard)
- A scriptable Finder
- QuickDraw GXQuickDraw GXQuickDraw GX was a replacement for the QuickDraw 2D graphics engine and Printing Manager inside the "classic" Mac OS. Its underlying drawing platform was a resolution-independent object oriented retained mode system, making it much easier for programmers to perform common tasks...
, a 2-D graphics rendering and geometry engine - For the PowerPC only, an advanced, 3d Graphing CalculatorNuCalcNuCalc, also known as Graphing Calculator, is a computer software tool made by the company Pacific Tech. The tool can perform many graphing calculator functions. It can graph inequalities and vector fields, as well as functions in two, three, or four dimensions. It supports several different...
, secretly developed at Apple by a former third party contractor - support for OpenDocOpenDocOpenDoc was a multi-platform software componentry framework standard for compound documents, intended as an alternative to Microsoft's Object Linking and Embedding ....
System 7.5.1 was primarily a bug fix on 7.5, but also introduced a new "Mac OS" startup screen in preparation for Mac clones
Macintosh clone
A Macintosh clone is a personal computer made by a manufacturer other than Apple, using Macintosh ROMs and system software.-Background:...
.
System 7.5.2, released only for the first PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect
Conventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer...
-based Power Macs, was notable for introducing Apple's new networking architecture, Open Transport
Open Transport
Open Transport was the name given by Apple Inc. to their implementation of the Unix-originated System V STREAMS. Based on code licensed from Mentat's Portable Streams product, Open Transport was built to provide the Mac OS with a modern TCP/IP implementation, replacing MacTCP...
and also for being the most unstable version of Mac OS in recent memory.
System 7.5.3, a major bug-fix update that also included Open Transport
Open Transport
Open Transport was the name given by Apple Inc. to their implementation of the Unix-originated System V STREAMS. Based on code licensed from Mentat's Portable Streams product, Open Transport was built to provide the Mac OS with a modern TCP/IP implementation, replacing MacTCP...
for other PowerPC-based machines as well as some 68k-based machines. 7.5.3 also made several improvements to the 68k emulator, and added translucent dragging support to the Drag Manager. It was also the first version of Control Strip
Control Strip
The Control Strip is a user interface component of the "classic" System 7 Mac OS which and remained until the Macintosh OS X system replaced the class Macintosh OS in December 2001.- History :...
for all Macs. This was also the first version of Mac OS to support SMP
Symmetric multiprocessing
In computing, symmetric multiprocessing involves a multiprocessor computer hardware architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory and are controlled by a single OS instance. Most common multiprocessor systems today use an SMP architecture...
. (9500/MP)
System 7.5.3 Revision 2 included: performance enhancements; better reliability for PowerBooks using the third-party RAM Doubler program; improved reliability for PowerBook 500, 2300, and 5300 series computers with the PowerPC Upgrade Card; improved reliability when using the Startup Disk control panel; and improved reliability when copying files to 1 GB hard disks.
System 7.5.4 was pulled due to a mistake at Apple, in which some components were not included in the installer.
System 7.5.5 included significant performance improvements for virtual memory and memory management on PowerPC-based Macs, including the elimination of one type 11 error. Also included were a number of reliability improvements, such as fixes for Macs using floppy disks equipped with a DOS compatibility card, improved hard disk access for PowerPC PowerBooks and Performa 5400 through 9500 computers, fixes for Macs that included an Apple TV Tuner or Macintosh TV Remote Control, improvements to LocalTalk and networking (especially for the Performa 5400 and 6400), fixes to system startup for the faster 180 MHz Macs (which included PowerPC 604 or 604e processors), improved reliability when using sound intensive applications on Quadra or Centris computers that contained the PowerPC upgrade card, and improved stability when using multiple background applications and shared printers on a network. System 7.5.5 is also the last System 7 release that can run on 68000-based Macs such as the Macintosh Plus. 7.6 and later required a 68030 processor.
Mac OS 7.6
Mac OS 7.6 (codenamed "Harmony") was the last major update, released in 1997. With 7.6, the operating system was officially called "Mac OS" instead of "System". Mac OS 7.6 introduced several features that were also included in Mac OS 8Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems...
, including a revamped Extensions Manager, more native PowerPC code for Power Macs, more bundled Internet tools and utilities, and an overall more-stable Finder with increased memory allocation. In this version, the PowerTalk feature added in 7.5 was removed due to poor application support, and support for a large number of older Macintosh models was dropped.
The minor update to Mac OS 7.6.1 finally ported the 68k exception handling routines to PowerPC, turning dreaded type 11 errors into less harmful errors (type 1, 2 or 3, usually) as crashing applications would more often terminate safely instead of crashing the operating system.
Through this period, Apple had been attempting to release a completely new "modern" operating system, named Copland
Copland (operating system)
Copland was a project at Apple Computer to create an updated version of the Macintosh operating system. It was to have introduced protected memory, preemptive multitasking and a number of new underlying operating system features, yet still be compatible with existing Mac software...
. When the Copland project was abandoned in 1996, Apple announced plans to release an OS update every six months until Rhapsody (which would by 2001 evolve into what was released as Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
) shipped. Two more releases were shipped, now officially branded as the "Mac OS" — Mac OS 7.6 and the minor bug fix 7.6.1. Future versions were released as Mac OS 8–8.6
Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems...
and Mac OS 9–9.2
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
.
Available versions
Apple created and published an "Older Software Downloads" page on their AppleCare Support website on July 17, 2001. Since then diskette images to install System 7.0, System 7.0.1, and System 7.5.3 as well as the System 7.5.5 Update have been available as free downloads for legacy Macintosh users and those who want to emulate the older Mac OS. In addition to System 7, related downloads are also At EaseAt Ease
At Ease was an alternative to the Macintosh desktop developed by Apple Computer in the early 1990s. It provided a simple environment for new Macintosh users and young children to help them to work without supervision...
downloads and Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems...
updates. All of the diskette image files are in MacBinary
MacBinary
Due to the metadata-rich nature of the Macintosh Hierarchical File System, transferring Mac OS files to platforms that do not support HFS can be problematic. MacBinary was developed as a means of preserving this structure without sacrificing portability. It combines the data and resource forks...
format and are accompanied by a descriptive .txt file.
System 7.5.3 and the 7.5.5 (US English) update can be downloaded for free:http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/System/ under Older_System
Other languages and English versions can be found at:
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/
See also
- A/UXA/UXA/UX was Apple Computer’s implementation of the Unix operating system for some of their Macintosh computers. The later versions of A/UX ran on the Macintosh II, Quadra and Centris series of machines as well as the SE/30. A/UX was first released in 1988, with the final version released in 1995...
- Inside MacintoshInside MacintoshInside Macintosh is the name of the developer documentation manuals published by Apple Computer, documenting the APIs and machine architecture of the Macintosh computer....
- List of Macintosh software
- Macintosh FinderMacintosh FinderThe 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...
- Mac OS historyMac OS historyOn January 24, 1984, Apple Computer Inc. introduced the Macintosh personal computer, with the Macintosh 128K model, which came bundled with what was later renamed the Mac OS, but then known simply as the System Software....
Further reading
- Harry McQuillen, 10 Minute Guide to System 7 (1991), ISBN 0-672-30033-8
- Stuple, S.J., Macintosh System 7.5 For Dummies Quick Reference (1994), ISBN 1-56884-956-7
- Bob Levitus, Macintosh System 7.5 for Dummies (November, 1994), ISBN 1-56884-197-3
- Apple Technote 1096: System 7.6.1 changes
External links
- System 7 Today
- System 7 Add-ons
- The Compact Mac Trio: System 6 or 7?
- System 7 Manuals from Apple
- System 7.0 and System 7.0.1 downloads from Apple
- System 7.5.3 download from Apple
- System 7.5.5 update download from Apple
- System 7 Flash Simulation in 1-Bit Black and White
- System 7 Flash Simulation in Color
- MacOS 7.5.3 with big software set, installed in emulator for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux (from OSvirtual)