

Mac OS Evolution: From System 1.0 to Snow Leopard - anderzole
http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/11/mac-os-evolution-from-system-1-0-to-snow-leopard-55-wonderful-images/

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ugh
Go to <http://www.guidebookgallery.org/screenshots> if you want to see more
(also: screenshots from many other operating systems of past times).

GUIdebook sadly only goes up to 10.3 Tiger – would be really great if someone
would pick up the work.

(I especially like GUIdebook’s comparisons of different system components like
here: <http://www.guidebookgallery.org/screenshots/splash> I would argue that
it’s immediately obvious which is the classy OS :)

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Poiesis
I feel old.

Up until a few years ago I had original, shrinkwrapped Copland (what was to be
the new Mac OS, pre-Next acquisition) demo disks. That isn't to say it was
working code or anything, it was more of a promo "here's what it's gonna look
like".

I'm so glad Copland didn't work out. Funny thing is, I actually have owned
only Windows machines since about Mac OS 7 or 8, so I essentially haven't
gotten to use the Mac since it's actually had the more modern architecture.

I do have an iPhone, though, so I guess that counts. :)

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NathanKP
The oldest Mac system that I remember using was System 7.0. The screenshots
took me back to the good old days when I was child in elementary school,
playing around with Kid Pix. I remember I used to love using the "explode"
tool.

Apple sure has changed a lot since then.

~~~
boucher
Oh No!

(I love KidPix)

~~~
stevejohnson
I'm slowly working on a similar app. It's not polished enough to even call it
a beta yet, but you can check it out at [1]. I've got a nice tool plugin API,
but my graphics system needs work. Improvements are in the works.

[1] <http://www.steveasleep.com/splatterboard>

~~~
boucher
It's been so long that recalling all the reasons KidPix made me happy would be
impossible. But I can remember spending hours using that app, doodling, making
little movies, and just enjoying everything about it. Little touches like the
"Oh No!" sound effect made the app so much fun to use.

The app was bought (along with the rest of Broderbund's IP) and resurrected a
couple years ago:

<http://www.mackiev.com/kid_pix.html>

Not sure if it lives up to the original.

~~~
stevejohnson
That incarnation of Kid Pix looks like a bit of a monstrosity, lacking the
spirit of the original.

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rbanffy
Actually, the System lineage died with MacOS 9. Rhapsody and OSX are really
direct descendants of NeXTSTEP and, thus, are a completely different family.
OS 9 lived on, for some time, as a subsystem of OSX for PowerPC.

~~~
blahedo
True, especially if you're looking at what's "under the hood". But visually,
there are a lot of continuities between the two, and of course the user base
largely transitioned as if 9->X were just another upgrade like going from
6.0.7 to System 7.

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rmason
Steve Jobs in his first meeting with execs after he came back said Apple
products had lost their sex appeal. Take a look at the leap Mac OS made after
he returned.

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ja2ke
This is a great reminder of what's stayed the same more than what's different.
Or, at least, how gradual the change has been. The jump from 9.x to 10.0 is
surprisingly subtle compared to the jump from 9.x to Snow Leopard.

~~~
treblig
Great point. Apple seemed to take the NeXT OS and try and mask it to resemble
the visual functionality of OS 9 as much as possible.

Anyone remember the OS X beta with the blue apple in the middle of the menu
bar? Yikes.

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adamc
Wow, that was really a trip down memory lane. The first mac I ever owned (a
Mac Plus) was System 6... inits and cdevs. I had a lot of fun learning to
program on one.

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city41
I went to art school and was a designer for a short stint, where Macs
completely ruled supreme. I learned and completely grocked the living hell out
of OS7, 8 and 8.5. Despite their incredibly archaic architecture under the
hood, they are still probably my favorite operating system. Interface wise,
OSX has actually been a step back in a lot of ways.

~~~
ax0n
Really? The menu bar at the top is basically the same, albeit squishier than
before. They added a dock, and a ton of chrome. I'm not seeing how anything
was "a step back" by any means. The only irk I really have is lack of keyboard
navigation on dialog boxen. I should be able to hit tab or arrow keys or
something to switch between buttons on dialogs (example: the shutdown menu) -
but that's _always_ been the case, it's nothing new. Care to elaborate, or
even take to task some of my assertions?

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dchest
Control+F7 (or System Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts > Full Keyboard Access:
All Controls). Then use Tab and Shift+Tab.

Also, for shutdown dialog (and other) navigation is not needed at all: Return
= default button (Shut Down), Space = alternate (focused) button (Cancel).

~~~
ax0n
That tip on full keyboard access is pure win. If I could up-mod this comment a
dozen times, I would! Many thanks! This has pestered me for about a decade
now.

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pc
This really drives home how bad the space-based ("Aurora"?) theme of 10.5 and
10.6 is: when we look at this in ten years, I think the screenshots of 10.5
and 10.6 will have aged the worst.

There's something timeless about the earlier Mac OS versions. 10.5 and 10.6
are just kitschy.

~~~
unalone
Really? I have the exact opposite reaction. Every development in OS X has made
itself more subtle. Gradients are lighter, windows are softer... The unified
10.5 theme got rid of what I felt was a kitschy plastic feel in the system,
and it created a much more intuitive menu set-up where buttons are a part of
the top bar. 10.6 takes steps even further — I love the new Dock menus and
hope that's the standard from which Apple develops its new look. Some things
moved backwards — the new iTunes got _more_ gradient-y and that's an issue —
but in general Apple's design is growing more and more subtle.

The default backgrounds are a little silly, yes, but I think when we look back
we'll view it like we view 60s typography — perhaps a bit gaudier than we
needed, but it was done in a sense of fun rather than a sense of self-
importance. The space-age design feels to me like a wink.

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jparise
According to Wikipedia
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mac_OS#System_1.2C_2...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mac_OS#System_1.2C_2.2C_3_.26_4)),
System 2.0 is from 1985, not 1987 as listed.

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duskwuff
At least one of those images
(<http://winmac.emuunlim.com/Images/Screenshots/OS8.jpg>) is a _terrible_
Photoshop job.

~~~
zephjc
It's WinMac (as evidenced by the URL) - some hacks that let your windows
machine look like various flavors of the classic MacOS

~~~
duskwuff
Aha... so, yes, a terrible Photoshop job. :) The progress bars are
particularly galling - they don't even line up with the frame properly.

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mark_l_watson
Wow, that brought back some memories. I wrote a commercial app for the Mac in
1984/85 but I had forgot how the original Mac screen looked.

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IsaacSchlueter
Looking over these things, I realized why the Mac platform is not properly
metal. Its volume only goes up to 7.

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catweasel
Gads! Those shots of Explorer 5 gave me some horrible flashbacks. My first
mac, Mac II System 7, fond memories

