System 1, 2, 3 and 4
These releases could only run one application at a time, though special application shells such as Servant, MultiMac, or Switcher (discussed under MultiFinder) could work around this to some extent. System 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 used a flat file system called Macintosh File System (MFS). The Finder provided virtual folders that could be used to organize files, but these were not visible from any other application and did not actually exist in the file system. System 2.0 added support for AppleTalk and the newly introduced LaserWriter to use it. System 2.1 (Finder 5.0) introduced the HFS (Hierarchical File System) which had real directories. This version was specifically to support the Hard Disk 20 and only implemented HFS in RAM, startup and most floppy disks remained MFS 400 K volumes. System 3.0 (Finder 5.1) was introduced with the Mac Plus, officially implementing HFS, 800K startup drives, support for several new technologies including SCSI and AppleShare, and Trash "bulging" (i.e., when the Trash contained files, it would gain a bulged appearance). System 4.0 was released with the Mac SE and System 4.1 first shipped with the Macintosh II—these new machines required additional support for the first expansion slots, the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), internal hard drives and, on the Mac II, color, larger displays and the first Motorola 68020 processor.
Changes in early Macintosh operating systems are best reflected in the version number of the Finder, where major leaps are found between 1.x, 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x.
| System Software Release | System Version | Release Date | Finder Version | LaserWriter Version | Release Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac System Software | 1.0 (.97) | January 24, 1984 | 1.0 | Initial Release | |
| Mac System Software (0.1) | 1.1 | May 5, 1984 | 1.1g | Maintenance Release, Added Mountain scene, About box, Clean Up Command | |
| Mac System Software (0.3 & 0.5) | 2.0 | April 1985 | 4.1 | Finder Update: Introduced multiple folders, "Shut Down" command, and installation of a "MiniFinder" application for quickly launching any of the chosen applications
System: Introduced screenshots using ⇧ Shift+⌘ Command+3 |
|
| System software
|
2.1 | September 1985 | 5.0 | Release for Hard Disk 20 support | |
| Mac System Software (0.7) | 3.0 | January 1986 | 5.1 | 1.1 | Introduced with Mac Plus |
| System Software 1.0 | 3.1 | February 1986 | 5.2 | 1.1 | |
| System Software 1.1 | 3.2 | June 1986 | 5.3 | 3.1 | Fixed problems with data loss, system crashes; updated Chooser and Calculator. |
| AppleShare 1.0 | 3.3 | January 1987 | 5.4 | AppleShare 1.0 Work Station Installer disk (for the Macintosh 512K) | |
| AppleShare 1.1 | 3.3 | 1987 | 5.5 | AppleShare 1.1 Work Station Installer disk (for the Macintosh 512K) | |
| AppleShare 2.0 | 3.4 | 1988 | 6.1 | AppleShare 2.0 Macintosh 512Ke Work Station Installer disk | |
| System Software 2.0 | 4.0 | January 1987 | 5.4 | 3.3 | Introduced AppleShare |
| System Software 2.0.1 | 4.1 | March 2, 1987 | 5.5 | 4.0 | Release for Macintosh II and SE. Updated LaserWriter Driver |
Read more about this topic: History Of Mac OS
Famous quotes containing the word system:
“To care for the quarrels of the past, to identify oneself passionately with a cause that became, politically speaking, a losing cause with the birth of the modern world, is to experience a kind of straining against reality, a rebellious nonconformity that, again, is rare in America, where children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)