System Profiler

System Information (previously known as System Profiler) is a software utility derived from field service diagnostics produced by Apple's Service Diagnostic Engineering team, at that time located in Apple satellite buildings in Campbell, California, that has been bundled with the Mac OS since Mac OS 7.6 (until OS X it was called Apple System Profiler). Sometime between 10.6.8 and 10.7.2, System Profiler had its named changed to System Information.

It compiles technical information on all of the installed hardware, devices, drivers, applications, system settings, system software programs and kernel extensions installed on the host computer. It can export this information as plain text, RTF or in the plist XML format. This information is used to diagnose problems. System Profiler can be extremely useful if attempting to diagnose a hardware problem. A user can send the information directly to Apple if the user desires. It has support for scripting automation through AppleScript and some limited support in Automator.

System information can also be accessed by using the "system_profiler" command through a Terminal application. For more information, execute man system_profiler or "system_profiler -h" in an OS X terminal application.

OS X

Versions

Server 1.0 "Hera"
Public Beta "Kodiak"
10.0 "Cheetah"
10.1 "Puma"
10.2 "Jaguar"
10.3 "Panther"
10.4 "Tiger"
10.5 "Leopard"
10.6 "Snow Leopard"
10.7 "Lion"
10.8 "Mountain Lion"

Applications

Automator Calculator Calendar Chess Contacts Dashboard Dictionary DVD Player FaceTime Finder Grapher iTunes Mac App Store Mail Messages Notes Notification Center Photo Booth Preview QuickTime Reminders Safari Stickies TextEdit

Discontinued	Front Row iChat iSync Sherlock

Utilities

Activity Monitor AirPort Utility Archive Utility Audio MIDI Setup Bluetooth File Exchange ColorSync Console Crash Reporter DigitalColor Meter Directory Utility DiskImageMounter Disk Utility Font Book Grab Help Viewer Image Capture Installer Keychain Access Migration Assistant Network Utility ODBC Administrator Remote Install Mac OS X Screen Sharing Software Update System Preferences System Information Terminal Universal Access VoiceOver

Discontinued	X11.app

Technology and user interface

AirDrop Command key Option key Apple menu Apple Push Notification Service AppleScript Aqua Audio Units Bonjour Boot Camp BootX Brushed metal Carbon Cocoa ColorSync Core Animation Core Audio Core Data Core Foundation Core Image Core OpenGL Core Text Core Video CUPS Cover Flow Darwin Dock FileVault Gatekeeper Grand Central Dispatch icns Inkwell I/O Kit Kernel panic Keychain launchd Launchpad Mach-O MacRuby Menu extra Mission Control OpenCL Preference Pane Property list Quartz QuickTime Quick Look Smart Folders Spaces Speakable items Spotlight Stacks Time Machine Uniform Type Identifier Universal binary WebKit Xgrid XNU

Discontinued	Classic Environment Rosetta

Mac OS

Applications	Calculator Chooser Drive Setup DVD Player Finder Graphing Calculator Keychain Access PictureViewer PowerTalk QuickTime Player Network Browser Scrapbook Sherlock Software Update Stickies Apple System Profiler SimpleText

Developer	MacsBug Macintosh Programmer's Workshop ResEdit

Technology	Alias Apple menu Balloon help Bomb Error Command (⌘) Control Panel Control Strip Creator code Hierarchical File System HFS Plus Keychain Labels Macintosh File System Option (⌥) OSType PICT QuickDraw QuickTime Resource fork Special menu Startup Screen System Folder System suitcase Type code WorldScript

Related articles	Manager Toolbox Memory Management Old World ROM New World ROM EFI

Famous quotes containing the word system:

“Exploitation and oppression is not a matter of race. It is the system, the apparatus of world-wide brigandage called imperialism, which made the Powers behave the way they did. I have no illusions on this score, nor do I believe that any Asian nation or African nation, in the same state of dominance, and with the same system of colonial profit-amassing and plunder, would have behaved otherwise.”
—Han Suyin (b. 1917)