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Apple introduces MacOS X

by: Mark J. Hershenson (markhers@macnn.com)

 

A small introduction

If you remember the promise and excitement that surrounded the Copland project, you will recall the promise of a modern OS on the Macintosh platform. Memory protection, speedier use, a better user interface, and much much more were all promised to be released in a timeframe which made it appear as if it would ship before the next overhaul of the Windows operating system.

However, by the time this Windows upgrade, by then dubbed Windows 95, was released, the Copland project had been canned, and Macintosh users were left to wonder if they would ever get a major overhaul of their own aging system software.

According to Gil Amelio's recollection of his time at Apple, "On the Firing Line," it was Amelio who decided to axe Copland, a project which had consistently missed deadlines, performance goals, and was sucking up money every which way. Following the cancellation, Amelio and Apple looked to purchase an operating system for the Macintosh platform which would bring it into the "modern" era of computing technology.

After a search which included Be's BeOS and a Microsoft lobbying for a Macintosh version of Windows, Apple settled on one of Steve Jobs' labours of love since his ouster from Apple in the 80's, NeXT Computer and it's OPENSTEP operating system. Built on top of UNIX, and with Display PostScript (the display form of the PostScript language) as its graphic engine, and with a very strong track record in both Enterprise and professional circles, Apple acquired NeXT and brought back Steve Jobs to the company he had founded so very long ago.

Quickly, Apple announced that they would be creating a new operating system, code-named Rhapsody, to be deployed on Apple hardware using PowerPC chips which would bring both MacOS technology as well as OPENSTEP technology together in a very strong bundle which would revolutionize the software base on the Macintosh.

However, following much negative feedback from developers and users alike, Apple shifted its future vision to an operating system named MacOS X. This new operating system would be technologically similar to Rhapsody, but would sport an enhanced user interface that would hide the UNIX underpinnings which are very prevalent in Rhapsody. Hailed immediately by users and developers, MacOS X has been in development for over two years now, and until now, had been primarily unseen, save a few demonstrations at Apple-branded conferences.

MacOS X Server, the direct descendent of the Rhapsody project, was released in 1999 to fairly rave reviews. Click here for in-depth coverage of MacOS X Server.

A big introduction

At the 2000 MacWorld San Francisco keynote address, Steve Jobs once again announced the operating system known as "MacOS X." However, this wasn't just a passing reference to an operating system which isn't yet ready for prime-time. No sir, this was a full-blown pre-introduction introduction.

Apple's design goals for MacOS X:

  • A single OS strategy - Unlike Microsoft's disparate offerings, Apple will be focusing all of its efforts on creating a single operating system which will be powerful enough for pro users, and simple enough for consumers.
     
  • State of the art plumbing
     
  • Killer graphics - From designers to the gamer, one of the most important aspects of an operating system is its graphics. So, this should be an important design feature.
     
  • Designed for the Internet - With the success of the iBook, iMac, and the general sensational success of the Internet, the new operating system should be designed from the start to be a great Internet OS.
     
  • Gentle migration - With 25 million users already on the platform, there is no need, or want, to abandon them. Instead, the progression should be slow and deliberate.
     
  • "make the next great personal computer OS" - Jobs
     

Rollout

  • January 2000 - Announce
  • Developer Release 3 - End of January/beginning of February
  • Spring 2000 - Final Beta
  • Summer 2000 - On sale
  • January 2001 - Preloaded on all new machines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The OS

MacOS X is built using many different layers of software. For your own personal understanding, we're going to take each one separately.

The architecture

At the core of MacOS X is Apple's OpenSource operating system, Darwin. Darwin is a BSD UNIX clone with the Mach 3.0 kernel at it's core.

What the hell does that mean, you may be asking yourself?

A kernel is the most basic piece of software which allows an operating system to function. It is responsible for providing basic hardware-related services, such as I/O, memory management, and others, and a very few other services to the operating system which lay upon it. The kernel is very platform-specific, and is fine-tuned to work with particular hardware. A solid kernel is the basis for a solid operating system.

The Mach kernel is a type of kernel which was started at Carnegie Mellon University by a group of professors and students, including a one Avadis Tevanian, the current Senior VP of Software Engineering at Apple. It was the basis for NeXTSTEP, OPENSTEP, and is the basis for MacOS X Server. The 3.0 kernel is a significant update to the one found in MacOS X Server, and should make the platform even more solid.

On top of the Mach kernel is a layer of BSD UNIX, a UNIX-derivative developed by the University of California at Berkeley. Yes, that Berkeley. This gives MacOS X its ability to run UNIX utilities, and is at the heart of much of the inner workings of MacOS X.

During the keynote, Steve Jobs noted that Darwin is "Linux-like," which is somewhat insincere, in that Linux is almost always monolithic. However, technical discussion of the statement aside, the intent of the statement was to show that Apple is cool too by cashing in on Linux as a buzzword.

The graphics system

Killer. That's all there is to say about them.

There are components of the MacOS X graphics engine:

There's OpenGL, the industry standard 3D programming language which powers some of the most gorgeous games and applications out there. MacOS X will support native hardware acceleration for OpenGL.

Then there is QuickTime, the industry standard media format which works on both Macs and Windows, and is the basis for the new MPEG 4 standard. QuickTime is also one of the most popular formats for streaming media on the Internet. (QuickTime 4 is already up and running on MacOS X, by the way)

And then there is the new improved 2D graphics system, code-named Quartz. Quartz is not new to the MacOS X community, as it was announced over a year ago, but we have not seen its sheer power until this announcement. Based on the Adobe PDF standard, Quartz is a very powerful system which allows system wide usage of high-end graphics features such as transparency, alpha channels, compositing, anti-aliasing, and the universal ability for any application to view PDF files natively and beautifully.

The API layer

So we have the underpinnings and the graphics system. Now we know that we can run an operating system, and have it display stuff on the screen. But how are people gonna use their machines without applications?

Well, it depends on what you want to do.

The top two options for developers are Cocoa and Carbon, in that order.

Cocoa is a fully object-oriented programming layer which is the current basis for MacOS X Server, as well as Apple's flagship Enterprise software, WebObjects. Programmable in Java and "other object-oriented languages," such as Objective-C (an object oriented derivative of the C language), Cocoa is the future of Apple's programming efforts.

The default mail client for MacOS X is being written in Cocoa, and will be featured prominently in MacOS X. As Jobs says, Apple has to not only create a great programming framework, it has to be one of its biggest developers - this is known as "eating your own dog food."

A number of the more amazing applications which will be around for the launch of MacOS X are those applications which are already available on MacOS X Server. Omni's OmniWeb browser, Stone Design's Create, and much much more.

In addition, the current MacOS API's have been modernized and brought to MacOS X with Carbon. Carbon is an overhaul of the MacOS programming API's to weed out the unneeded functions, and to bring in new functions and functionality to the API's. Carbon has been reworked to be faster, more stable, and reentrant (which is required for use in multitasking and multiprocessing environs like MacOS X).

A number of very large developers have committed to Carbon, including Microsoft and their Office and Internet Explorer/Outlook Express lines, Netscape and their next generation Netscape 5 browser, IBM's ViaVoice, and much much more.

Both Cocoa and Carbon are "modern," in that they support all the amazing MacOS X modern features brought to the table by Darwin.

And if you can't do without your current MacOS apps, and the company who wrote your application won't be porting it to Carbon, you're still in luck. The third option, admittedly not pushed as an option as much as an enduser solution, is Classic. Classic is the direct descendant of Rhapsody and MacOS X Server's "Blue Box", which is a virtual MacOS 8/9 session launched under MacOS X. Essentially, a copy of MacOS 9 would launch in its own window and run your "classic" application. This is necessary because classic apps will NOT work natively under MacOS X. Only Carbon and Cocoa applications will work natively under MacOS X.

And for the programmers who really want to do so, you can also deploy BSD UNIX applications on MacOS X, though this will not be pushed in an outward way by the Apple PR machine, since command lines scare most Mac users. However, deploying UNIX utilities should be fairly hassle free under MacOS X.

And as always, Java developers need not worry about losing the Macintosh platform as a deployment platform. Apple is highly committed to making MacOS X one of the fastest and complete Java platforms. Ever.

While Apple has shown a very early, "pre-beta" version of a Macintosh Virtual Machine running the new Java 2, Apple has not committed one way or the other about which version will ship with MacOS X. At the very least, Apple will ship a copy of the Macintosh Runtime for Java supporting Java SDK 1.1.8, Swing, and more.

The user interface

Newly announced and debuted at MacWorld San Francisco 2000 is the brand, spanking new user interface specially designed for MacOS X. A total overhaul of the current Platinum interface, this new user interface is an absolute pleasure to look at, and looks like the most exciting interface you've ever come across.

Aqua is to the Macintosh platform what MacOS 8's interface was to Mac users…times a million. By drawing upon the gorgeous graphics of MacOS X, as well as the raw computational power of the G3/G4 processors and ATI graphics cards, Aqua is a visually stimulating "liquid" experience.

Apple has been working on the new user interface for the last 18 months, and they have run extensive usability tests on the UI. The results are phenomenal.

Designed to function speedily and intuitively, and with a look-and-feel which is directly and explicitly based on the very popular iMac, iBook, and PowerMac G3/G4 hardware, Aqua is a piece of synergy between Apple hardware and Apple software!

One of the main additions, functionally, to the user interface is the addition of the "dock". A holdover from the NeXTSTEP days, the dock is perhaps the single most important addition to the interface for MacOS X. The dock is a piece of software which can hold icons for a number of different types, including applications, files, and minimized windows. The dock dynamically resizes itself when new items are added to it.

The windows have been reworked. Instead of the classic rectangular shaped window, MacOS X windows have rounded edges. And the title bars have been reworked as well.

A "stoplight" has been added to the menu bar. There are three buttons at the top left hand side of every window:

  • Red: close the document
  • Yellow: minimize the window
  • Green: maximize the window

And there is also one button at the top right hand side of the window. This new button is the toggle for "single window" mode, which allows users to work with only one active window displayed on the screen at a time. It is activated by pressing the grey button on the top right hand side of the window. If you open another document, the formerly active document is minimized into the dock so that you can focus solely on their current document.

All windows have an automatically generated shadow generated under them. And all of the new buttons are fluid. All menus have a sexy dissolving effect - when an open menu or pull down list is no longer the focus of the user/cursor, the menu dissolves into the background.

The save menu has been enhanced to be directly attached to the document which is being saved. In those windows large enough, the save menu is attached to the title bar of the windox. Otherwise, the save menu is centered on the window, and stays attached to that window even if you move the window, or change to another document.

The new Finder in MacOS X will draw on a number of technologies, including the current Finder, the OPENSTEP/MacOS X Server Workspace Manager, V-Twin/AIAT (the search technology behind Sherlock), and more.

There will be a couple of options for you as a user.

The first option will be a Finder which works, mainly, the way you have been used to in MacOS 8/9. You can open as many windows as you'd like while traversing the filesystem. You will still have icon view, and be able to drag and drop between folders.

The second option, and the option which will be pushed by Apple, is the new refined Finder which should help nearly any long time MacOS users, as well as anyone new to the platform. The new Finder window, which will NOT spawn additional windows unless you go out of your way to do so, will feature three different views:

  • Icon view - this is very similar to the MacOS 8/9 Finder, but enclosed in a single box. There is also a back button (the blue button with the arrow pointing to the left in the picture above) to go back one folder
     
  • Column view - very much like the OPENSTEP/MacOS X Server Workspace Manager, as well as Greg Langweber's "Greg's Browser, " this view is very helpful when you are looking to walk through your hard drive graphically. For a very good idea of this, visit the homepage for Greg's Browser.
     
  • List view - Identical to the Hierarchy view, except that it also gives you an idea of any file or folder you click on. For instance, if you click on a JPEG file, you will see a preview of that JPEG on the screen. The same goes for movies, text documents, and more.

In addition, the new Finder has a number of new navigation buttons which will take you to specific areas of your hard drive with one click.

  • Computer - Takes you to the base of the filesystem
  • Home - Takes you to the main folder for your personal account
  • Apps - Takes you to the applications folder (unclear whether it is your personal App folder, or the global App folder)
  • Docs - Takes you to the documents folder for your account
  • Favorites - Takes you to your accounts favorites, including folders and more
  • People - Allows you to see other users on the network
  • View - Cycles between the Icon, Column, and List Views

There is also a built-in search function, which allows you to search for specific files on your hard drive without opening another application, such as Sherlock. Very handy.

And as you can see, the MacOS X Finder has the ability to navigate a number of different types of data sources natively. "Network" is likely the same as Network Browser under MacOS 9. "Hard Disk" is self-explanatory. "FireWire Disk" is just a mounted FireWire disk. And "iDisk" is a reference to one of the new "iTools" provided by Apple on their website. For more information, visit apple.com and click on iTools.

 

For more information on MacOS X's graphics, and to see movies of Aqua in action, you should definitely check out Apple's MacOS X site. It will definitely help you to understand the way Aqua works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The future of MacOS X: developers

No platform succeeds without developers. Without developers deploying killer applications on your platform, you may very well never garner any significant market share.

Apple has been working closely with developers to bring a number of their products to the new platform, and not in the Classic Environment. Nope, Apple wants to bring developers kicking and screaming into the future by adopting Carbon and Cocoa.

And guess what? They aren't coming kicking and screaming. They're coming drooling and swooning!

During the keynote, the following large Apple developers came up on stage to show their support for the MacOS X platform.

Bruce Chizen, Executive Vice President, Adobe

The first words out of his mouth, in reference to Aqua - "so damn cool…awesome."

Chizen shared with the crowd that of the record $1 billion of revenue for Adobe last year, nearly 50% of the revenue came from the sales of Macintosh versions of their products. In light of this lucrative market, as well as their looking to the future, Adobe has promised to Carbonize "all" of their most important applications "by the time Apple ships OS X."

Kevin Brown , Acting General Manager, Mac Business Unit, Microsoft

As was shown during the demo of MacOS X by Steve Jobs, it appears that Internet Explorer 5 is already Carbonized and ready to run natively on MacOS X.

Brown announced that Microsoft is fully behind Apple and MacOS X. Microsoft will ship fully Carbonized OS X-native versions of Internet Explorer 5 and Outlook Express 5 in time for the release of MacOS X. Brown also announced that Microsoft has committed to a new version of Office for the Mac which should be out later this year, and a Carbonized version available sometime after that.

Rob Burgess, Chief Executive Officer, Macromedia

"I'm spent" - I've never seen anything like this, it's just unbelievable, I'm speechless."

About a month before the keynote, Macromedia started working on MacOS X development. They put a single engineer on the MacOS X (Developer Preview?) and sat him down to port Flash, their amazingly popular technology, to MacOS X. It took this single engineer about a week and a half to get it up and working natively on MacOS X using Carbon.

Burgess promised that Macromedia will be bringing all of its applications like Dreamweaver and Flash to the new platform saying, "we love this stuff!"

Richard Jones, President, Desktop Division, Quark

Jones announed that Quark is committed to the Mac platform for the "long term," and will remain an active developer in the MacOS world.

John Carmack - Co-Founder of id

Jobs told an amusing story. Carmack was to be married on the day of the keynote, but had offered to postpone his own wedding to be part of the MacOS X announcement at the keynote. Jobs, instead, talked him into making a video that could be shown instead.

Carmack spoke highly of the technology at the core of MacOS X, and praised Apple's work to get OpenGL accelerated on the Mac. He announced that id will ship on MacOS 8/9 for the time being, but will transition to MacOS X within the year, and id will ship all of its popular titles on the Mac.

Carl Yankowski, Chief Operating Officer of the recently spun out Palm Computing Company

While Yankowski didn't have anything new or Earth-shattering to say, he definitely made it clear that Palm is very committed to working together with Apple in the future, and being a close partner with Apple to make a MacOS X/Palm combination killer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commentary

MacOS X was not a new product. We've known about it for nearly two years now. But what we saw announed in San Francisco was nothing less than a complete and total shock. Apple has blown away nearly every expectation we have ever had for this next generation operating system, and I for one, can't wait to get this on my machine this summer.

Kudos to all you Apple engineers. You've thrilled every Mac user, and countless users just dying to buy their new Macs!

>>> A graphical tour of MacOS X's new interface <<<

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All content - ©1998-2010 - Mark J. Hershenson

 

 

 

 

 

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