Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It includes the largest overhaul of the classic Mac OS experience since the release of System 7, approximately six years before. It places a greater emphasis on color than prior versions. Released over a series of updates, Mac OS 8 represents an incremental integration of many of the technologies which had been developed from 1988 to 1996 for Apple's overly ambitious OS named Copland. Mac OS 8 helped modernize the Mac OS while Apple developed its next-generation operating system, Mac OS X (renamed in 2012 to OS X and then in 2016 to macOS).
| Version of the Classic Mac OS operating system | |
Screenshot of Mac OS 8.1 | |
| Developer | Apple Computer |
|---|---|
| OS family | Macintosh |
| Working state | Historic, unsupported |
| Source model | Closed source |
| Released to manufacturing | July 26, 1997 |
| Latest release | 8.6 / May 10, 1999 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (68k), nanokernel (PowerPC) |
| Default user interface | Apple Platinum |
| License | Proprietary |
| Preceded by | System 7 |
| Succeeded by | Mac OS 9 |
| Official website | Apple - Products - Mac OS 8.6 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 22, 1999) |
| Tagline | Mac OS 8-8.1: A new look. A new feel. A dramatically new experience. Mac OS 8.5-8.6: Faster. Smarter. Far more clever. |
| Support status | |
| Historical, unsupported as of May 2001 | |
| Part of a series on |
| Classic Mac OS |
|---|
Mac OS 8 is one of Apple's most commercially successful software releases, selling over 1.2 million copies in the first two weeks. As it came at a difficult time in Apple's history, many pirate groups refused to traffic in the new OS, encouraging people to buy it instead.
Mac OS 8.0 introduces the most visible changes in the lineup, including the Platinum interface and a native PowerPC multithreaded Finder. Mac OS 8.1 introduces a new, more efficient file system named HFS Plus. Mac OS 8.5 is the first version of the Mac OS to require a PowerPC processor. It features PowerPC native versions of QuickDraw, AppleScript, and the Sherlock search utility. Its successor, Mac OS 9, was released on October 23, 1999.