Kind of OS:
proprietary
Release Date:
Current Version: 9.2
and X (10.1) NOTE:
Mac OS X is not the same as traditional Macintosh, lacking the famous
ease of use
Cost: System X: $129; System 7.6
through 9: $99; System 7.5.5 and earlier: free
Hardware
Supported:
- System X:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC G3/G4
- System X Server:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC G3/G4
- System 9.2:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC
- System 9.1: IBM/Motorola
PowerPC
- System 9:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC
- System 8.6:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC
- System 8.5:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC
- System 8:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC, Motorola 68040
- System 7.6:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC, Motorola 68040, 68030
- System 7.0-7.5.5:
IBM/Motorola PowerPC, Motorola 68040, 68030, 68020, 68000
- System 1.0-6.0.8:
Motorola 68040, 68030, 68020, 68000
680x0 assembly language is discussed in the assembly
language section.
Maximum
Number of Processors: 4
Number
of bits: 32
Memory
map:
- Mac Plus memory
map
- Mac Plus video
memory locations
- Mac Plus sound
memory locations
Kernel:
proprietary for Mac OS 9 and earlier; BSD UNIX (MACH microkernel) for Mac OS X
POSIX: not
supported by Mac OS 9 and earlier: supported by Mac OS X
Peripherals: “all
current Mac hardware, some graphics equipment, and some PC PCI cards” —Kristian
Elof Sørensen
File Systems Supported: HFS+,
HFS, MFS (dropped in Mac OS 9), Pro-DOS, FAT, FAT32, VFAT, SMB, ISO 9660,
hybrid, CD-i, Video CD, Enhanced CD, Kodak PhotoDisk, audio CD, DVD-Video,
DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-R/W, DVD-RAM
Other Systems Emulated:
PowerPC only: MS-DOS (with third party Virtual PC), Windows 3.1 (with third
party Virtual PC), Windows 95 (with third party Virtual PC or SoftWindows95), Windows
98 (with third party Virtual PC or SoftWindows98), Windows ME (with third party
Virtual PC), Windows NT (with third party Virtual PC), Windows 2000 (with third
party Virtual PC), Windows XP (with third party Virtual PC), Red Hat Linux
(with third party Virtual PC) — see related software
Graphics Engine: QuickDraw
for Mac OS 9 and earlier; Quartz for Mac OS X
Text Command Shell: none
(although AppleScript provides some text command line capabilities)
User Interface (graphic): Macintosh ToolBox for Mac OS 9 and earlier; Aqua for Mac
OS X
Graphic Command Shell:
Finder
“On an innovative system like the Macintosh,
programs don’t look quite the way they do on other systems. For example,
instead of carrying out a sequence of steps in a predetermined order, your
program is driven primarily by user actions (such as clicking and typing) whose
order cannot be predicted.” —Inside Macintosh, Volume I, page I-4