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[[image:macosxkernelpanic.jpg|right|230px|thumb|The [[Mac OS X]] [[kernel panic]] alert.]]
[[image:macosxkernelpanic.jpg|right|230px|thumb|The [[Mac OS X]] [[kernel panic]] alert.]]


In comparison to [[Microsoft Windows]], some critics point to the lack of ''upgrade pricing'' on Mac OS X; users of previous versions have to pay full price for a new version. This is in part a semantic argument, depending on whether a retail Mac OS X package is considered an "upgrade" or not. On one hand, it can only be used on a Mac, all of which were sold with some version of the Mac OS, so it is arguably an upgrade. On the other hand, no price distinction is made between upgrading version 9.0 or version 10.3 to version 10.4, suggesting that consumers are buying a full license in either case, or at least receiving no credit for intervening upgrades. Furthermore, customers who purchase a Macintosh between the time a new version of Mac OS X is announced and the time it starts shipping preinstalled on new machines have typically been given upgrades at a much smaller cost ($9.95-19.95 [[USD]]).
In comparison to [[Microsoft Windows]], some critics point to the lack of ''upgrade pricing'' on Mac OS X; users of previous versions have to pay full price for a new version. This is in part a semantic argument, depending on whether a retail Mac OS X package is considered an "upgrade" or not. On one hand, it can only be used on a Mac, all of which were sold with some version of the Mac OS, so it is arguably an upgrade. On the other hand, no price distinction is made between upgrading version 9.0 or version 10.3 to version 10.4, suggesting that consumers are buying a full license in either case, or at least receiving no credit for intervening upgrades. Furthermore, customers who purchase a Macintosh between the time a new version of Mac OS X is announced and the time it starts shipping preinstalled on new machines have typically been given upgrades at a much smaller cost (9.95-19.95 [[USD]]).


[[The Open Group]] has criticized Apple for use of the term "Unix" in advertisements for [[Mac OS X]] as Apple has not had the OS officially certified, and their use of the term could constitute a violation of [[trademark]]. Apple claims that they use the term as a [[genericized trademark]] and that the cost of certification would make the OS prohibitively expensive, although The Open Group has stated that there is a $110,000 USD upper limit on the cost of certification for one company. Though Mac OS X is "Unix-based" and features a [[BSD]] Unix compatibility layer, it is not compliant with the [[Single UNIX Specification]]. The reason for Apple not seeking "official" Unix branding may simply be that compliance is not a near- or medium-term goal for Apple instead of the potentially misleading cost claim.
[[The Open Group]] has criticized Apple for use of the term "Unix" in advertisements for [[Mac OS X]] as Apple has not had the OS officially certified, and their use of the term could constitute a violation of [[trademark]]. Apple claims that they use the term as a [[genericized trademark]] and that the cost of certification would make the OS prohibitively expensive, although The Open Group has stated that there is a 110,000 USD upper limit on the cost of certification for one company. Though Mac OS X is "Unix-based" and features a [[BSD]] Unix compatibility layer, it is not compliant with the [[Single UNIX Specification]]. The reason for Apple not seeking "official" Unix branding may simply be that compliance is not a near- or medium-term goal for Apple instead of the potentially misleading cost claim.


==Naming==
==Naming==

Revision as of 14:11, 7 January 2006

Mac OS X
File:MacOSX10.4.png
A screenshot of Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger
DeveloperApple Computer
OS familyBSD
Working stateCurrent
Source modelClosed source (Darwin foundation is open source)
Latest release15.2[1] (December 11, 2024; 20 days ago (2024-12-11)) [±]
Latest preview15.3 beta[2] (December 16, 2024; 15 days ago (2024-12-16)) [±]
Kernel typeXNU (based upon Mach)
LicenseAPSL and Apple EULA
Official websitewww.apple.com/macosx

Mac OS X is the operating system which is included with all shipping Apple Macintosh computers in the consumer and professional markets. Apple Computer also distributes the system as a separate software package for Apple-branded workstation-level computers with certain system requirements [1]

Mac OS X Server, although architecturally identical to its desktop counterpart, is designed to run on Apple's line of Macintosh servers. It includes workgroup management and administration software tools that provide simplified access to key network services, including a mail server, a Samba server, a directory server, and a domain name server.

History

Main article: Mac OS X history

Despite its branding as simply "version 10" of the Mac OS, it has a history largely independent of the earlier Mac OS releases. It is based on the Mach kernel and the BSD implementation of Unix, which were incorporated into NEXTSTEP, the object-oriented operating system developed by Steve Jobs's NeXT company after he was forced from Apple in 1985. Meanwhile, Apple attempted to create a "next generation" operating system of its own (see Taligent and Copland), but with little success. Eventually, NeXT's OS—by then called OPENSTEP—was selected to form the basis for Apple's next OS, and the company purchased NeXT outright. Jobs was rehired, and later returned to the leadership of the company, shepherding the transformation of the programmer-friendly OPENSTEP into a system that would be welcomed by Apple's primary market of home users and creative professionals, as a project known as Rhapsody. After some missteps which threatened the loyalty of independent developers to Mac OS, and changes of strategy to ease the transition from Mac OS 9 to the new system, Rhapsody evolved into Mac OS X.

Description

File:Mac OS X Box.jpeg
The box for Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger"

Mac OS X is a radical departure from previous Macintosh operating systems, as its underlying code base is completely different from previous versions. Although the most significant architectural changes were under the surface, the Aqua graphical user interface was the most striking and visible new feature. The use of soft edges, translucent colors, and pinstripes (similar to the hardware of the first iMacs), brought more color and texture to the windows and controls on the Desktop than OS 9's "Platinum" appearance offered. Initially, this raised a great deal of controversy among users. Many older Macintosh users decried the interface as "toy-like" and lacking in professional polish, while others hailed the new interface as another revolutionary Apple innovation. The look was instantly recognizable, and even before the first version of Mac OS X was released, third-party developers started producing skins for customizable applications like Winamp that were designed to look similar to the Aqua interface. Apple has threatened legal action against people who make or distribute software which provides an interface which they claim is derived from their copyrighted design.

The core of Mac OS X is an open source Unix-like operating system, built around the XNU kernel with standard Unix facilities available from the command line interface. Shortly before the release of Mac OS X, Apple released this core as Darwin. On top of this core, Apple designed and developed a number of proprietary closed source components including the Aqua user interface, and the Finder (the file management system). The combination of the user-friendly Aqua interface and the power of their open-source Darwin/BSD core have made Mac OS X the best-selling Unix-like environment to date by number of systems shipped.

Compatibility

Mac OS X retains compatibility with older Mac OS applications by providing an emulation environment called Classic, which allows users to run Mac OS 9 as a process within Mac OS X, so that most older applications run as they would under the older operating system. In addition, the Carbon APIs for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X were created to permit code to be written to run natively on both systems. The OpenStep APIs are still available, but Apple now calls the technology Cocoa. (This heritage is visible in the Cocoa APIs, in which the class names mostly begin with "NS" for NEXTSTEP.) A fourth option for developers is to write applications in the Java platform, which Mac OS X has supported as a "first class citizen" — in practice this means that Java applications fit as neatly into the operating system as possible while still being "cross-platform", and that GUIs, while being written in Swing, look almost exactly like native Cocoa interfaces. Traditionally, Cocoa programs have been mostly written in Objective-C, with Java as an alternative. However, on July 11, 2005, Apple announced that "features added to Cocoa in Mac OS X versions later than 10.4 will not be added to the Cocoa-Java programming interface."[2]

Mac OS X can run many BSD or Linux software packages, as long as they have been compiled for the platform. Compiled binaries are normally distributed as Mac OS X packages, but some may require command-line configuration or compilation. Projects such as Fink and DarwinPorts provide precompiled or preformatted packages for many standard packages. Since version 10.3, Mac OS X has included X11.app, the company's version of the X11 graphical interface for Unix applications, as an optional component during installation. Apple's implementation is based on XFree86 4.3 and X11R6.6, with a window manager which mimics the Mac OS X look, closer integration with Mac OS X, and extensions to use the native Quartz rendering system and to accelerate OpenGL. Earlier versions of Mac OS X can run X11 applications using XDarwin.

For the early releases of Mac OS X, the standard hardware platform supported was the line of Macintosh computers (laptop, desktop, or server) based on PowerPC G3, G4, and G5 processors. Later versions of Mac OS X discontinued support for some older hardware; for example, Panther does not support "beige" G3s, and Tiger does not support systems that pre-date Apple's introduction of FireWire ports. However, free tools such as XPostFacto have enabled installation of Mac OS X on certain older systems not officially supported by Apple, including some pre-G3 systems. The operating system offers the same functionality on all supported hardware, with the exception of fundamental hardware limitations (e.g. CD-ROM drives cannot write to CDs) and performance enhancements possible only with more advanced equipment (e.g. graphics acceleration).

On June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs announced in his keynote address at the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference that Apple will be transitioning from PowerPC to Intel processors over the following two years, and that Mac OS X will support both platforms during this transition. [3] Support for the PowerPC platform will remain in version 10.5, though it is unclear how long this dual-architecture support will be continued. Mac OS support for the original Motorola 68k architecture continued for about four years after the introduction of PowerPC systems. A new version of Xcode supports building "universal binaries" that will run on either architecture. PowerPC binaries will be supported on Intel-based Macs using an emulator called Rosetta. Jobs also confirmed rumors that Apple has had versions of Mac OS X running on Intel processors for most of its developmental life. Such crossplatform capability already existed in OS X's lineage — the predecessor of OS X, OPENSTEP, had been ported to many architectures, including Intel's x86, and a port to x86 of the core operating system of OS X, Darwin, has been available as a free download since OS X was first released. However, Apple has stated that OS X for x86 platforms will not support the Classic environment. Also note that Apple stated that MacOS would only run on Apple x86 systems, not PCs, but several people have been using a development version of the OS on x86 PCs (See links below).

Notable features

  • Uses a subset of the Portable Document Format (PDF) as the basis of its Quartz imaging model.
  • Full color, continuously scalable icons (up to 256x256 pixels).
  • Drop shadow around window and isolated text elements to provide a sense of depth.
  • Global application services - spell checker, special characters palette, color picker, font chooser and dictionary.
  • Anti-aliasing of widgets, text, graphics and window elements.
  • New interface elements including sheets (document modal dialogs attached to specific windows) and drawers.
  • Interweaving windows of different applications (not necessarily adjacent in the visible stacking order).
  • ColorSync color matching built into the core drawing engine (for print and multimedia professionals).
  • OpenGL (introduced in version 10.2) composites windows onto the screen to allow hardware accelerated drawing. This technology is called Quartz Extreme.
  • Exposé (introduced in version 10.3) Instantly display all open windows as thumbnails for easy navigation to different tasks, display all open windows as thumbnails from the current application, and hide all windows to access the desktop.
  • Pervasive use of Unicode throughout the operating system.
  • Straightforward architecture for localization of applications and other code, fully separating language dependencies from the core code of a program.
  • FileVault (introduced in version 10.3) encrypts the user's Home folder with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-bit keys.
  • Dashboard (introduced in version 10.4) supports small applications ("widgets") that can be called up and dismissed in one keystroke.
  • Spotlight search technology (introduced in version 10.4) allows rapid real-time searches of data files, mail messages, photos, and other information, based on item properties (meta data) and/or content.
  • Automator (introduced in version 10.4) an application designed to create an automatic work-flow for different tasks.
  • Smart Folders (introduced in version 10.4) allow for dynamically updated folders depending on a set criteria.

Criticisms

File:Macosxkernelpanic.jpg
The Mac OS X kernel panic alert.

In comparison to Microsoft Windows, some critics point to the lack of upgrade pricing on Mac OS X; users of previous versions have to pay full price for a new version. This is in part a semantic argument, depending on whether a retail Mac OS X package is considered an "upgrade" or not. On one hand, it can only be used on a Mac, all of which were sold with some version of the Mac OS, so it is arguably an upgrade. On the other hand, no price distinction is made between upgrading version 9.0 or version 10.3 to version 10.4, suggesting that consumers are buying a full license in either case, or at least receiving no credit for intervening upgrades. Furthermore, customers who purchase a Macintosh between the time a new version of Mac OS X is announced and the time it starts shipping preinstalled on new machines have typically been given upgrades at a much smaller cost (9.95-19.95 USD).

The Open Group has criticized Apple for use of the term "Unix" in advertisements for Mac OS X as Apple has not had the OS officially certified, and their use of the term could constitute a violation of trademark. Apple claims that they use the term as a genericized trademark and that the cost of certification would make the OS prohibitively expensive, although The Open Group has stated that there is a 110,000 USD upper limit on the cost of certification for one company. Though Mac OS X is "Unix-based" and features a BSD Unix compatibility layer, it is not compliant with the Single UNIX Specification. The reason for Apple not seeking "official" Unix branding may simply be that compliance is not a near- or medium-term goal for Apple instead of the potentially misleading cost claim.

Naming

The character X is a Roman numeral and is officially pronounced "ten", continuing the numbering of previous Macintosh operating systems such as Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9. However, it is a common mistake to read it as the letter X and pronounce it "ex". One possible reason for this interpretation is the tradition of giving Unix-like operating systems names that end with the letter "X" as an "ex" sound (AIX, HP-UX, IRIX, Linux, Minix, Ultrix, Xenix). Another possible reason is Apple's tendency to refer to specific versions in print (for example, "Mac OS X version 10.4").

Mac OS X versions are named after big cats. Prior to its release, version 10.0 was code named "Cheetah" internally at Apple, and version 10.1 was code named internally as "Puma". After the immense buzz surrounding Version 10.2, codenamed "Jaguar", Apple's product marketing began openly using the code name to promote the operating system. 10.3 was similarly marketed as "Panther". Version 10.4 is marketed as "Tiger". "Leopard" has been announced as the name for the next release of the operating system. Apple has also registered "Lynx" and "Cougar" as trademarks.

Apple faced a lawsuit from a computer retailer named TigerDirect regarding its use of the name "Tiger". However, on 16 May 2005 the Florida Federal Court ruled that Apple's use of the name "Tiger" does not infringe upon TigerDirect's trademark.

Versions

File:All boxes of apple os x releases.jpg
Box artwork for Mac OS X versions Cheetah/Puma, Jaguar, Panther, and Tiger.

Internally, Apple uses a "build number" to identify each development version of Mac OS X. There may be many development versions each week. Under Apple's guidelines, the first development version of a product starts with build 1A1. Minor revisions to that are 1A2, 1A3, 1A4, and so on; the first major development revision becomes 1B1 (and minor revisions to that would be 1B2, 1B3, etc.), the next major revision would be 1C1, and so forth. The next major revision after the last 1_ series would be 2A, followed by 2B. The transition from one letter to the next occurs with changes in the minor release number. For instance, the first build of Panther (10.3) was 7A1. The first public release was 7B85; the last, 10.3.9, was 7W98. But the next build of OS X was 10.4, 8A1. When a build is chosen as the next public release of Mac OS X, it is given a public version number. Build 4K78 was chosen to be Mac OS X version 10.0, build 5G64 became 10.1, build 6C115 became 10.2, build 7B85 became 10.3, and build 8A428 became 10.4.

The current version of Mac OS X is version 10.4.3 (released on October 31, 2005) build 8F46. Apple is also working on an Intel version of Mac OS X. Build 8F1111A has Altivec support for Rosetta. 8F1111 is the Intel build version 10.4.3.

Mac OS X v10.0 (Cheetah)

Main article: Mac OS X v10.0

On March 24, 2001, Apple released Mac OS X v10.0 (internally codenamed Cheetah). The initial version was slow, not feature complete, and had very few applications available at the time of its launch, mostly from independent developers. Many critics suggested that while the OS was not ready for mainstream adoption, they recognized the importance of its initial launch as a base for which to improve upon. Simply releasing OS X was received by the Macintosh community as a great accomplishment, for attempts to completely overhaul the Mac OS had been underway since 1996, and delayed by countless setbacks. Following a few minor bug fixes, kernel panics became much less frequent, and Mac OS X began garnering praise for its stability at an early point in its development. It was criticized for being slow, with performance not much improved over the previous September's release of Mac OS X Public Beta.

Mac OS X v10.1 (Puma)

Main article: Mac OS X v10.1

Later that year on September 25, 2001, Mac OS X v10.1 (internally codenamed Puma) was released, increasing the performance of the system as well as providing missing features, such as DVD playback. Because of the poor reputation of 10.0, Apple released 10.1 as a free upgrade CD for 10.0 users, in addition to the US$129 boxed version for people running only Mac OS 9. It was discovered that the upgrade CDs were actually full install CDs that could be used with Mac OS 9 systems by removing a specific file; Apple subsequently re-released the CDs in an actual stripped-down format that didn't facilitate installation on such systems.

Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar"

Main article: Mac OS X v10.2

On August 24, 2002, Apple followed up with Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar" (the first release to publicly bear its cat name), which brought profound performance enhancements, a newer, sleeker look, and many powerful enhancements (over 150, according to Apple), among them:

Mac OS X v10.2 was never officially referred to as Jaguar in the United Kingdom due to an agreement with the automobile manufacturer Jaguar, although boxes and CDs still bore the Jaguar-skin logo.

Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther"

Main article: Mac OS X v10.3

Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther" was released on October 24, 2003. In addition to providing much improved performance, it also incorporated the most extensive update yet to the user interface. The update included as many or more new features as Jaguar the year before. On the other hand, support for some early G3 computers such as "beige" PowerMacs and "WallStreet" PowerBooks was discontinued. New features of "Panther" include:

  • Updated Finder, incorporating a brushed-metal interface, customizable sidebar and fast-searching
  • Exposé: a new system to manipulate and view windows
  • Fast User Switching: allows a user to remain logged in while another user logs in
  • iChat AV which added video-conferencing features to iChat
  • Improved PDF rendering to allow for faster PDF viewing
  • Built-in faxing support
  • Much greater Microsoft Windows interoperability
  • FileVault: on the fly encryption and decryption of a user's home folder
  • Increased speed across the entire system with more support for the G5

Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger"

Main article: Mac OS X v10.4

Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" was released on April 29, 2005. Apple stated that Tiger contains more than 200 new features, but as with the release of Panther, certain older machines have been dropped from the list of supported hardware; Tiger requires a Mac with built-in FireWire ports. Among the new features of "Tiger":

  • Spotlight: A fast content and metadata-based file search tool, which quickly finds items containing the key words you search for.
File:Dashboardanim.gif
Apple's Dashboard
  • Dashboard: Widgets for common tasks available on a desktop overlay accessible by a mouse gesture or keyboard function key, similar to Exposé.
  • Smart Folders: A virtual folder that uses Spotlight to populate the file listing instead of showing a true folder on the filesystem.
  • Updated Mail program with Smart Mailboxes, allowing virtual mailboxes defined by Spotlight searches.
  • iChat: A new version supports the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video codec for conferencing and allows for multi-party audio and video chats. Support for the Jabber online instant messaging protocol is also introduced.
  • QuickTime 7: the new version includes H.264 support and a completely re-written interface.
  • Safari 2: this new version of the system's default web browser includes the ability to view RSS feeds directly in the browser, among other new features.
  • Automator: automates repetitive tasks without programming.
  • VoiceOver: A built-in screen reader for those with vision disabilities.
  • Core Image and Core Video: allows additional effects in video and image editing to be performed in real time.
  • 64-bit memory support for the new G5, using the LP64 system. Apple claims that "Tiger's" new 64-bit memory addressing speeds up tasks on older 32-bit processors as well.
  • Updated Unix utilities, such as cp and rsync, that can preserve HFS Plus metadata and resource forks.
  • An extended permissions system using access control lists.

An Intel x86 version of Mac OS X Tiger was previewed by Apple, and subsequently leaked to the Internet, following Apple's announcement to switch to the Intel platform. It was revealed by Apple at the June 2005 Worldwide Developers Conference that Intel versions of all previous versions of OS X had been compiled internally, keeping feature parity between the Intel and PowerPC versions, "just in case." Developers were provided the chance to buy an Intel-based developer transition system loaded with 10.4.1 in June 2005, and 10.4.2 and 10.4.3 were released to developers in September and November 2005 respectively.

Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard"

Main article: Mac OS X v10.5

Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 6, 2005. It is generally expected to be released at the end of 2006 or early 2007, roughly around the same time Microsoft would release Windows Vista (formerly known by the code-name "Longhorn"). Apple has said it will support both PowerPC- and Intel x86-based Macintosh computers. No information on what features Leopard will add to the Mac OS have been announced, although features available to developers in Tiger suggest that its GUI will be fully resolution independent, paving the way for much higher-resolution displays.

See also

  1. ^ Clover, Juli (December 11, 2024). "Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features". MacRumors. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  2. ^ Clover, Juli (December 16, 2024). "Apple Seeds First Betas of macOS Sequoia 15.3 and More to Developers". MacRumors. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
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