With almost constant media attention on its physical products, the software developments made by the Cupertino giant often take a back seat, which is unfair if we consider that they are fundamental components to successfully convey the "Apple experience". A relevant example is macOS, which has a much richer history than we imagine. The Nobel Tech channel recently published a video focused on the evolution of macOS, starting with the Mac OS Classic from 1984, and extending to the latest beta of macOS Ventura.
Generally we do not cover news related to the world of Apple, but if you own one of their devices, you probably already know that macOS 13 Ventura was announced in early June at the last WWDC, and will be available before the end of the year.
Now, Ventura is nothing more than the product of a long evolution in Apple operating systems… 38 years to be precise. It all began with the unforgettable System 1.0, which accompanied the original Macintosh at its launch on January 24, 1984. Would you like to visualize the evolution of macOS from that era? The Nobel Tech channel has exactly that.
The Evolution of macOS, 1984-2022
The first detail is that System 1.0 was technically 0.97 (dated January 18), and received its first update just four months later, in May 1984. Personally, I must add that the Chicago font was a monumental success by Apple, as was the entire "visual language" developed by Susan Kare. It was no coincidence that she was one of the first employees Steve Jobs took to NeXT, and Chicago remained the main font until Mac OS 8 (replaced by Charcoal), before making the jump to the iPod.
If there is one area in which Apple has shown itself superior to Microsoft with its operating systems, it is in preserving its essence. No one doubts that the transition from Mac OS 9 to OS X was impressive (including the "funeral" organized by Jobs, see the video below), but its overall structure always remained intact, and Apple did not abandon Classic environment users immediately, as its support extended to OS X Tiger (10.4).
Whether out of nostalgia or simple curiosity, the evolution of macOS definitely deserves to be studied more closely. The video has no major omissions to speak of, and also serves as a preview for Ventura, whose public beta should arrive on the Web in a few days.
