Apple's official operating system is OSX. OSX made a clean break from previous Macintosh operating systems. OSX is based on BSD Unix. For all practical purposes, OSX is a Unix operating system built for modern Macintosh hardware. The current version of OSX is code named "Leopard" and stands at version number 10.5.x. OSX 10.5 runs on all Intel Macintosh computers and Power Mac G4 and G5 computers running over 800mhz. Older Power Mac G4 and G3 computers run up to Mac OSX 10.4.x.

What makes OSX unique is the very pretty "Aqua" graphical environment. Aqua is the desktop interface that people will use when interacting with OSX. It is from Aqua that you will run applications such as AppleWorks, Adobe InDesign iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iChat, Garage Band, Safari, Quark Xpress and thousands of others.

All new Macs come with the latest version of OSX which also includes the iLife and iWork packages of Apple applications.

The padagrim for using OSX is the same as all previous versions of the Mac OS, in that you point, click and drag to do things on the Aqua desktop. Longtime Mac users will find that Aqua has either relocated, removed and added many functions to the system. It would pay if you read the basic Aqua manual that comes with your Macintosh before getting started with OSX, especially if you have been using a version of the Classic Mac OS or switched over from the Windows side.

OSX requires a compatible Power Mac G3, G4, G5 or Intel Macintosh computer that has at least 256MB of RAM. I highly recommend 512MB of RAM or more older Macs and at least 1 GB for the newer Intel Macs.

Owners and operators of Intel Macs have the option of installing other Intel compatible operating systems such as Microsoft Windows XP or Vista and various flavours of Linux. This can be done through Apple's Boot Camp loader or virtualization software such as Parallels for the Macintosh.

If you run Mac OS 9.2, you can still use that in emulation mode on Power Macs that do not directly boot into OS9. Mac OS9x emulation is only available on Power Mac computers running OSX 10.4. Installing OS X 10.5 on your Power Mac disables the capability or running OS 9.2 in emulation.

In addition to Aqua, there is also "Darwin." Darwin is the command line part of OSX which you can access by going to the terminal application from within Aqua. Launch the terminal and you are greeted with a command prompt.

Darwin works very much like other flavors of Unix, because it is Unix. There are already several hundred and perhaps thousands of programs written for Darwin. I haven't had much time to use Darwin except for checking my directories, telnetting to other Unix systems and playing with some of the simple programs are bundled with the system.

Hundreds of third party programs are available for Darwin. Installation and usage can be complex if you are not familiar with Unix. Most Mac users won't bother.

Graphical shells are available to run on top of Darwin. They include X-11 which comes with later versions of OSX or can be obtained from the Apple website.

The next version of OSX is code named "Snow Leopard" and is scheduled for release in 2009.

Mac OSX "Leopard" running on an Intel based Mac Mini.

Links: Apple's OSX Website

Macintosh OS 9.2

Apple's OS 9.2 is the end of the line for the classic Macintosh operating system. Anyone who has been using the Macintosh OS for some time will know how to use OS 9.2 and be familiar with all of its strengths and weaknesses. OS 9.2 inherits a lot from the Mac's previous incarnations.

Mac OS 9x can be booted up with all Power Mac G3 desktops and laptop computers. Many G4 based Power Macs can also boot into OS 9x. Macs made after 2002 however, cannot directly boot into OS9. Those computers must use OSX's "Classic" mode in order to run OS9 applications.

Mac OS 9.2 is the only operating system that will run in OSX's "Classic" mode. This is especially useful for longtime Mac users who have a lot of legacy applications. "Classic" mode has been part of Mac OSX from practically the beginning of the Unix based OS. That however will change when Apple moves the entire Macintosh line to Intel Processors starting in mid 2006. Mac Intel boxes will not be able to boot into OS9 nor have OS9 running in Classic mode. The new hardware will certainly be the end all of OS9.

Mac OS 9x is certainly showing its age when it comes to internet applications. OS 9 and lower do not support any modern web browser except for iCab, which it barely supports. New web technologies such as Flash do not work at all with Mac OS 9x.

While you can play digital audio files with Mac OS 9x, you cannot run any version of iTunes higher than iTunes 2.x. There is no iTunes music store option for OS 9x users. New iPods such as the iPod Nano, iPod Touch and the iPhone do not work at all with Mac OS 9x.

Mac OSX resides on a second hard drive within my G4 Power Mac 733. I rarely boot into it. Mac OS 9.2 mostly runs from classic mode from within both my G4 Power Mac and G3 iBook 700. The only time when I boot into Mac OS 9.2 is for those rare instances when I have to use my old scanner for bringing in hard copy images to digital.

Be sure to have at least 128 megs of RAM if you are running Mac OS 9.x.

Screenshot: OS 9.2 running Power Mac G4 733 with Babylon 5 background.

Macintosh OS 8.x

One of the major innovations brought about with the introduction of OS 8.x was the restructuring of the Macintosh file system to better utilize space for small files and programs. This was called HFS Plus. It has since become the defacto filing system structure for all Mac OS's released since 8.1.

Introduced with Mac OS 8.1 was Microsoft's Internet Explorer as the default web browser for all Macs. OS 8 also saw the introduction of Apple's "Platinum" look.

With the release of Macintosh OS 8.5, Apple introduced its "Sherlock" searching program into the world. Sherlock is pretty good for finding stuff not only on your mounted volumes, but also on the internet. Sherlock continues to this day on Mac OS 9 and OSX.

Versions of Mac OS 8.x work best on all 603, 604 and G3 based Macintoshes, including most of the clones. OS 8.1 can also work on older Power Macs including those based on the 601 PPC chip and 68040 based Quadra models. It is recommended that if you have an older computer, to be sure to have at least 32 to 64 megabytes of RAM.

Screenshot: Mac OS 8 on my PowerCenter 150 clone.

Macintosh System 7.x

The major innovation that Macintosh System 7.x brought into the fold was a full-time, always-on multifinder. This allowed you to seemlessly switch back and forth between programs without having to quit one application and starting another. System 7 was also a 32-bit clean operating system.

One of the hallmarks of System 7 was the clean-up of the System Folder where extensions, control panels, Apple Menu items and other functions were all put into their own sub-folders. This made it easy to find, add and delete things like additional fonts, control panels and extensions. There was no such organization with System 6 and earlier.

Versions of System 7 can work on nearly all 680x0 based Macs as well as on many pre G3 Power PC boxes. The following list contains which Macintosh models work best with different versions of System 7:

System 7.1 - Works best with 68020, 68030 Macs.
System 7.5.5 - Works best with 68030, 68040 Macs.
System 7.6.1 - Works best with 68040 and pre G3 Power Macs including Clones.

Screenshot: System 7.5.5 running on my Centris 650 with Hawaiian Petroglyphs background.

Macintosh System 6.x

I spent 5 years of my early Macintosh life using some version of System 6. System 6 is a fast and zippy OS for all black and white compact Macs, including the Macintosh Plus and Macintosh SE featured on this site. It also works and looks quite awesome on some of the early color Macintoshes including the Mac II and Mac IIsi.

System 6 was the zenith of early Macintosh development as it brought all the features built up from the earliest of Mac OS's into this very robust, and stable system. A lot of people using older Macintosh hardware still live by and use System 6 on a daily basis.

I rebuilt an old Macintosh II computer and installed System 6 on its recently acquired, internal 40 megabyte hard drive. You know what? System 6 boots faster than my PowerCenter 150 using OS 8.

The following screenshots were snapped from my Macintosh Plus.

Screenshot: System 6 on a 4 MB Macintosh Plus.

More System 6 Screenshots:
System 6 Two Disks | Control Panels & Boot Disc | Pagemaker 3 | Games

BeOS

One of the first alternative OS's that worked on Power Macs was BeOS from Be Incorporated.

BeOS looked like it would be a very promising alternative operating system for the Macintosh. It featured true pre-emptive multi-tasking for the Macintosh several years before the same feature became standard on OSX.

BeOS was billed as a "media" operating system and was built from ground-up with all new code that was unique to itself. Basically the BeOS was and still is a very stable system to run on selected Macintosh hardware.

BeOS works with nearly all PCI-based 603 and 604 PPC Macs made by Apple and several clone manufacturers including Power Computing. It works fine on my PowerCenter clone, off a zip disc to boot!

Be went out of business after unsuccessfully focusing their OS efforts on the non-existent "Internet Appliance" market in 2000 and 2001. They ended up selling all of their intellectual assets to Palm Inc., makers of the popular handheld PDA devices. Be OS went through 5 upgrades before development was halted after Palm bought Be out.

Today BeOS enthusiasts and former developers are creating new operating systems very similar to Be. These new OS's work only with Intel PCs with no foreseeable Mac support coming in the near future.

More information about BeOS can be found at this link.

Screenshot: BeOS running on the PowerCenter 150 Mac clone.

Linux on Macintosh

Linux can be run on Intel Macs using software virtualization programs as Parallels. This software and others like it allow you to run various flavors of Linux as well as Windows XP or Windows Vista.

There are Power PC versions of Linux that can run on Power PC Macs. There are also a couple of old 68k Linux distributions that run on older 680x0 hardware.

The most famous of the Linux distributions for Power Macintosh hardware was Yellow Dog Linux. Yellow Dog Linux was recently acquired by Fixstars with emphasis of porting Linux to other hardware using Power PC technology. The latest version of Yellow Dog Linux still support various Power Macintosh models including those running on the G4 and G5 chipsets.

Microsoft Windows on Your Intel Macintosh

All Intel Macs can boot into versions of Microsoft Windows XP or Vista utilizing Apple's Boot Camp switcher. Your Intel Mac runs MS Windows and its various applications in native mode once the Mac is booted up to Windows. While in Windows the Mac OS cannot be accessed. Windows cannot be accessed with this method when running Mac OS X.

Copies of Windows are not included with Intel Macs. You have to buy your own copy of Windows in order to use Bootcamp and run it on your Intel Mac.

There is optional software that Mac users can install to run Windows and Intel distributions of Linux on top of the Macintosh OSX layer. Parallels is an application that allows Windows, Linux or any other Intel based OS to run on top and concurrent with your Mac OSX.