The Power Mac G4: Running the Mac OS 10 Developer Preview

In recent times, we've had the opportunity to run the Mac OS 10 Developer Preview on our Power Mac G4, and it was an exciting experience. This version of the operating system is a glimpse into the future, showcasing many technologies that would later become standard in Apple's operating systems.

Notably, the developer preview from 1999 shares similarities with the Next-Step operating system that Steve Jobs helped build when he left Apple. This legacy can be seen in many aspects of Mac OS 10 today, making it clear how far we've come since then. The menus in this version of the operating system can be torn out of the menu bar, a feature that worked similarly to Next-Step's approach but ultimately didn't make it into the final release.

Another notable feature is the opaque window movement, which was not commonly seen in other operating systems at the time. This innovation added a level of sophistication to the user interface that would later become a hallmark of Apple's operating systems. The file browser in this version of Mac OS 10 was part of the Workspace Manager, which would later be renamed the Finder.

Developer tools and demo applications were included with the system, providing developers with the resources they needed to create innovative apps. Many modern developer tools share features and design elements that date back to this version of the operating system. For example, an application for building interfaces was called Interface Builder, a name that stuck across many systems. Window decoration colors could also be changed in this version, although this feature didn't survive when Apple switched to the Aqua user interface.

The terminal application functioned similarly to how it does today, and Yellow Box, Apple's new object-oriented language at the time, allowed developers to implement modern OS features that weren't available in other versions of the Mac OS. This innovation paved the way for later developments like Cocoa, which powers most OS 10 apps today, and Cocoa Touch, which helps power iOS applications on iPads and iPhones worldwide.

However, backwards compatibility with classic Mac OS apps was still a concern, so Blue Box was introduced as an emulation layer to help run those older apps within the newer Mac OS 10 environment. The transition to Yellow Box didn't happen overnight, requiring developers to rewrite their applications to take advantage of the operating system's new features. Unfortunately, many developers were hesitant to make these changes, leading Apple to introduce Carbon, a new API system that helped current Mac OS apps adapt to the new operating system without needing to be rewritten.

In conclusion, this tour of Mac OS 10 Developer Preview 1 has given us a glimpse into the future of Apple's operating systems. It's clear how many technologies and design elements from this version have endured, shaping the modern operating systems we use today.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe Power Mac g4 I was capable of running the Mac os10 Developer Preview today we're gonna take a look at the developer preview from 1999 you will notice that a lot of technologies in this version of Mac OS 10 are similar to the next-step operating system Steve Jobs helped build this operating system when he left Apple informed next you will also notice a lot of the technologies and design elements in this version of the OS 10 Developer Preview are still found in Mac OS 10 today this developer preview had menus that could be torn out of the menu bar these menus then functions similarly to how they worked inside of a next step however this feature did not make its way into the final release of Mac OS 10 notice the opaque window movement this was not seen in a lot of operating systems especially in the consumer field this file browser was part of the workspace manager this entire system was later to be renamed the finder many developer tools and demo applications were included with the system people who have used Apple's more modern developer tools will realize that a lot of the ways those applications work have features and design elements that date way back to this version of the operating system for example this application for building interfaces was actually called interface builder this name lasted for quite a long time across the system the window decoration colors could be changed again another feature that did not last when Apple switch to the Aqua user interface the terminal application also functioned rather similarly to how it does today if you remember nothing else from this tour I want you to at least remember what yellow box is if you don't know already yellow box was the name at the time for Apple's new object-oriented language this was huge as it allowed developers to implement modern OS features that weren't available in other versions of the Mac OS this later evolved into cocoa which most OS 10 apps run on today and cocoa also evolved into cocoa touch which is the API framework that helps power all of those iOS applications on iPads and iPhones worldwide however backwards compatibility with other Mac OS apps was still needed so blue box was an emulation layer that can help run those classic Mac OS 8 apps inside of the newer Mac OS 10 environment it's also worth mentioning that the transition to yellow box didn't happen overnight developers needed to rewrite their applications to take advantage of the operating systems new Bennie's at this time a lot of developers did not want to do this so Apple introduced carbon which was a new API system that helped developers take current Mac OS applications and tweet them so they get modern benefits without having to be rewritten so there you have it a quick tour of Mac OS 10 developer preview 1 would you like to check out our movie riff and comedy series if so you can watch that right here or perhaps you'd like to watch our anime Milwaukee cosplay music video if so then click herethe Power Mac g4 I was capable of running the Mac os10 Developer Preview today we're gonna take a look at the developer preview from 1999 you will notice that a lot of technologies in this version of Mac OS 10 are similar to the next-step operating system Steve Jobs helped build this operating system when he left Apple informed next you will also notice a lot of the technologies and design elements in this version of the OS 10 Developer Preview are still found in Mac OS 10 today this developer preview had menus that could be torn out of the menu bar these menus then functions similarly to how they worked inside of a next step however this feature did not make its way into the final release of Mac OS 10 notice the opaque window movement this was not seen in a lot of operating systems especially in the consumer field this file browser was part of the workspace manager this entire system was later to be renamed the finder many developer tools and demo applications were included with the system people who have used Apple's more modern developer tools will realize that a lot of the ways those applications work have features and design elements that date way back to this version of the operating system for example this application for building interfaces was actually called interface builder this name lasted for quite a long time across the system the window decoration colors could be changed again another feature that did not last when Apple switch to the Aqua user interface the terminal application also functioned rather similarly to how it does today if you remember nothing else from this tour I want you to at least remember what yellow box is if you don't know already yellow box was the name at the time for Apple's new object-oriented language this was huge as it allowed developers to implement modern OS features that weren't available in other versions of the Mac OS this later evolved into cocoa which most OS 10 apps run on today and cocoa also evolved into cocoa touch which is the API framework that helps power all of those iOS applications on iPads and iPhones worldwide however backwards compatibility with other Mac OS apps was still needed so blue box was an emulation layer that can help run those classic Mac OS 8 apps inside of the newer Mac OS 10 environment it's also worth mentioning that the transition to yellow box didn't happen overnight developers needed to rewrite their applications to take advantage of the operating systems new Bennie's at this time a lot of developers did not want to do this so Apple introduced carbon which was a new API system that helped developers take current Mac OS applications and tweet them so they get modern benefits without having to be rewritten so there you have it a quick tour of Mac OS 10 developer preview 1 would you like to check out our movie riff and comedy series if so you can watch that right here or perhaps you'd like to watch our anime Milwaukee cosplay music video if so then click here\n"