System 7 - Version History

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 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:

• An updated startup screen featuring a progress bar
• A new interactive help system called Apple Guide
• 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 Notes
• WindowShade (another former shareware control panel which provided the ability to condense a window down to its title bar)
• MacTCP was bundled, enabling any Macintosh to connect to the Internet 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)
• PowerTalk, a system-level email handling service and the originator of the Keychain system.
• The Launcher, a Control Panel containing shortcut buttons for frequently used programs (in a manner akin to the OS X 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 GX, a 2-D graphics rendering and geometry engine
• For the PowerPC only, an advanced, 3d Graphing Calculator, secretly developed at Apple by a former third party contractor
• support for OpenDoc

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.

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 and 24-bit ROM such as Macintosh IIcx. 7.6 and later required a 68030 processor and 32-bit ROM.