#MAC OS TIMELINE HISTORY MAC OS X#
#MAC OS TIMELINE HISTORY UPDATE#

1990 saw the release of Windows 3, which included a GUI update called the Commodore Amiga. Windows 2 was released in 1987, and it was the first Microsoft operating system that allowed for flexibility with each program “window,” including minimizing and maximizing each window and even having multiple windows overlap. It was all an attempt to familiarize users with computer controls through the mouse instead of the keyboard. That’s why Windows 1 was released with a game called Reversi it’s also why the Windows operating systems throughout the decades included games like solitaire and Minesweeper. Windows 1 also largely required the use of a mouse to control the operating system, but using a hardware mouse as a tool was still extremely rare in 1985. Bill Gates is recognized as the driving force behind the introduction of Microsoft’s GUI. Similar to Apple’s System 1, Windows 1 was Microsoft’s first release that included a 16-bit graphical user interface. It paved the way for the user interface that Apple devotees enjoy today.

#MAC OS TIMELINE HISTORY MAC OS X#

A fresh interface design called Aqua was released with Mac OS X to breathe new life into the dated look and feel of past OS releases. Notable updates to the Apple user interface began in earnest in 2000, when Steve Jobs became permanent CEO in response to falling profits. Apple rushed to copyright its proprietary operating system – and to beat the threat of stagnation in the computer industry. In 1997, Mac OS 7.6 was the first release to abandon the “system” name. This allowed for file storage in the branched directory format we’re familiar with today, plus the ability to drag and drop files throughout the GUI. By the early 1990s, the system interface had introduced important computing features like the Hierarchical File System. Every other computer until that point had run on a command line, so the GUI-based System 1 became the predecessor of today’s mainstream computing world. OPERATING SYSTEM EVOLUTIONĪpple’s release of System 1 in January 1984 introduced the world’s first graphical user interface (GUI) operating system. Want to see what 30 years’ worth of technological innovation looks like? We’ve compiled a timeline of the design and interface changes undergone by the world’s most popular operating systems.

And the evolution of Apple’s OS has seen as great a change (if not more) since the 1984 release of the groundbreaking System 1. The familiar operating system has come a long way in the last three-plus decades since Windows 1 debuted. 1985 was a big year – it saw the film debut of “Back to the Future,” the launch of New Coke, and the release of Microsoft Windows.

Mac os timeline history