TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Jan 98 MacTech Online

Volume Number: 14 (1998)
Issue Number: 1
Column Tag: MacTech Online

Jan 98 - MacTech Online

by Nicholas C. "nick.c" DeMello, online@mactech.com

Rhapsody is a stable, modern, fully preempted and memory-protected multitasking environment with built-in capabilities for symmetric multiprocessing. It's better than sliced bread, kooler than James Dean, and hotter than an LA freeway in July. It's also not finished yet. On the other hand, Mac OS 8 was released in July of 1997, and over 1.2 million people bought a copy in the first two weeks it was on the market. Over 2 million copies were sold by week four, and that number is still growing. This month, we're going to take Mac OS 8 for a test drive.

Kicking the Tires

Apple shipped Mac OS 8 in the August '97 developer mailing, so odds are you have had some time to explore it. If you don't subscribe to the mailing, you may have ordered a copy from the Claris website or got an idea of the new interface features from one of the five online reviews of Mac OS 8 listed in the Yahoo index. In any case, you'll want to keep an eye out for updates and patches. Apple has established a Mac OS 8 website, with a page on late breaking news of any "unintended features" that may crop up.

Speed comparisons between Mac OS 8 and 7.6 are online at the MacSpeedZone. There are MacBench and Speedometer results, as well as real world tests including times for file copying and opening Photoshop files. File copying was enhanced by more than 300%, and 12 mb of data can be deleted in one tenth of the time under Mac OS 8. Enhanced performance and new features are nice, but the real test of a product is it's Easter eggs. The best Mac OS 8 egg involves the crayon color picker tool. Take a close look at the crayons, then set your clock ahead to the year 2001 (even Apple's Easter eggs have no fear of the year 2000). Pop open the color picker again, and you'll see that the crayons are worn down (from 3 years of use no doubt :-). For a list of other Easter eggs, installation tips, and links to Mac OS 8 specific shareware check out Duncan Crombie's Mac OS 8 Downloads and Tips page.

Order Mac OS 8 Online
http://www3.claris.com/macos8/
Reviews of Mac OS 8 for the User
http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Reviews/Titles/Operating_Systems/MacOS_8/
Late Breaking News about Mac OS 8
http://macos.apple.com/macos/latebreak/
Speed Comparison, Mac OS 7.6 vs 8
http://macspeedzone.netgate.net/Comparison/OSMacBench.html
Layne Karkruff's Desktop Consoles Collection
http://www.blueskyheart.com/dc.html
Mac OS 8 Downloads and Tips, by Duncan Crombie
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dcrombie/macos.html

Under the Hood

Apple's Technote 1102 is an essential read for programmers taking on the new OS. It presents a table of over 100 hyperlinks to detailed descriptions of Mac OS 8 changes. Valuable enhancements to existing technologies are documented, like the new drag flavors for the Drag Manager which allow you to limit a drag into the finder to only the trash, or control the name of text clippings being moved to the desktop. The technote also provides links to SDK's for powerful new technologies like contextual menus and the appearance manager.

Some effort will be involved in adapting your current product to Mac OS 8. With the new platinum look and the Appearance Manager, new issues of human interface design have surfaced. Additions and changes in the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines have been compiled and posted to Apple's Inside Macintosh website. An unofficial list of applications that are having trouble with Mac OS 8 is posted at MacOS8.com, scanning this list may give you ideas of where your own code will have trouble. To help you fix any problems, Apple has provided a web page of developer tools for Mac OS 8, including a link to the new MacsBug (only version 6.5.4 or greater operates correctly in Mac OS 8).

One of the more promising new technologies in 8 is contextual menus. Apple's Advanced Technologies Group has used this technology to create Apple Data Detectors. The Internet Address detectors allow you to select text in any document and activate contextual menus (control-click). Detectors parse the text data and identifies any eMail addresses, FTP, HTTP, or newsgroup descriptions, then a contextual pop-up menu allows you to launch the appropriate client tool. Check out the data detectors and the ATG website, to get ideas for your own use of the contextual menus technology.

Technote 1102 on Mac OS 8
http://devworld.apple.com/dev/technotes/tn/tn1102.html
Mac OS 8 Modified Human Interface Guidelines
http://gemma.apple.com/dev/techsupport/insidemac/HIGOS8Guide/thig-2.html
Mac OS 8 Incompatibility List
http://www.MacOS8.com/incompatibility.shtml
Developer Page for Mac OS 8
http://devworld.apple.com/MacOS8/
Apple Data Detectors
http://www.atg.apple.com/research/tech/AppleDataDetectors/
http://applescript.apple.com/data_detectors/

Down the Road

The next incremental update of the Mac OS will be version 8.1, expected between December 1997 and January 1998. Rumors are already circulating, and the latest gossip has been collected at the MacOS Rumors website. However, if you're the one guy out there disappointed in Mac OS 8, there is at least one other option. Yves Lempereur has updated his TRS-80 emulator for Mac OS 8. Space Invaders anyone?

Mac OS 8.1 "Bride of Buster" Rumors
http://www.macosrumors.com/macosinfo.shtml
Yves Lemprereur's TRS-80 Emulator for Mac OS 8
http://www.pacificnet.net/~skyrider/trs80.html
 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Top Mobile Game Discounts
Every day, we pick out a curated list of the best mobile discounts on the App Store and post them here. This list won't be comprehensive, but it every game on it is recommended. Feel free to check out the coverage we did on them in the links... | Read more »
Price of Glory unleashes its 1.4 Alpha u...
As much as we all probably dislike Maths as a subject, we do have to hand it to geometry for giving us the good old Hexgrid, home of some of the best strategy games. One such example, Price of Glory, has dropped its 1.4 Alpha update, stocked full... | Read more »
The SLC 2025 kicks off this month to cro...
Ever since the Solo Leveling: Arise Championship 2025 was announced, I have been looking forward to it. The promotional clip they released a month or two back showed crowds going absolutely nuts for the previous competitions, so imagine the... | Read more »
Dive into some early Magicpunk fun as Cr...
Excellent news for fans of steampunk and magic; the Precursor Test for Magicpunk MMORPG Crystal of Atlan opens today. This rather fancy way of saying beta test will remain open until March 5th and is available for PC - boo - and Android devices -... | Read more »
Prepare to get your mind melted as Evang...
If you are a fan of sci-fi shooters and incredibly weird, mind-bending anime series, then you are in for a treat, as Goddess of Victory: Nikke is gearing up for its second collaboration with Evangelion. We were also treated to an upcoming... | Read more »
Square Enix gives with one hand and slap...
We have something of a mixed bag coming over from Square Enix HQ today. Two of their mobile games are revelling in life with new events keeping them alive, whilst another has been thrown onto the ever-growing discard pile Square is building. I... | Read more »
Let the world burn as you have some fest...
It is time to leave the world burning once again as you take a much-needed break from that whole “hero” lark and enjoy some celebrations in Genshin Impact. Version 5.4, Moonlight Amidst Dreams, will see you in Inazuma to attend the Mikawa Flower... | Read more »
Full Moon Over the Abyssal Sea lands on...
Aether Gazer has announced its latest major update, and it is one of the loveliest event names I have ever heard. Full Moon Over the Abyssal Sea is an amazing name, and it comes loaded with two side stories, a new S-grade Modifier, and some fancy... | Read more »
Open your own eatery for all the forest...
Very important question; when you read the title Zoo Restaurant, do you also immediately think of running a restaurant in which you cook Zoo animals as the course? I will just assume yes. Anyway, come June 23rd we will all be able to start up our... | Read more »
Crystal of Atlan opens registration for...
Nuverse was prominently featured in the last month for all the wrong reasons with the USA TikTok debacle, but now it is putting all that behind it and preparing for the Crystal of Atlan beta test. Taking place between February 18th and March 5th,... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

AT&T is offering a 65% discount on the ne...
AT&T is offering the new iPhone 16e for up to 65% off their monthly finance fee with 36-months of service. No trade-in is required. Discount is applied via monthly bill credits over the 36 month... Read more
Use this code to get a free iPhone 13 at Visi...
For a limited time, use code SWEETDEAL to get a free 128GB iPhone 13 Visible, Verizon’s low-cost wireless cell service, Visible. Deal is valid when you purchase the Visible+ annual plan. Free... Read more
M4 Mac minis on sale for $50-$80 off MSRP at...
B&H Photo has M4 Mac minis in stock and on sale right now for $50 to $80 off Apple’s MSRP, each including free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – M4 Mac mini (16GB/256GB): $549, $50 off... Read more
Buy an iPhone 16 at Boost Mobile and get one...
Boost Mobile, an MVNO using AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks, is offering one year of free Unlimited service with the purchase of any iPhone 16. Purchase the iPhone at standard MSRP, and then choose... Read more
Get an iPhone 15 for only $299 at Boost Mobil...
Boost Mobile, an MVNO using AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks, is offering the 128GB iPhone 15 for $299.99 including service with their Unlimited Premium plan (50GB of premium data, $60/month), or $20... Read more
Unreal Mobile is offering $100 off any new iP...
Unreal Mobile, an MVNO using AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks, is offering a $100 discount on any new iPhone with service. This includes new iPhone 16 models as well as iPhone 15, 14, 13, and SE... Read more
Apple drops prices on clearance iPhone 14 mod...
With today’s introduction of the new iPhone 16e, Apple has discontinued the iPhone 14, 14 Pro, and SE. In response, Apple has dropped prices on unlocked, Certified Refurbished, iPhone 14 models to a... Read more
B&H has 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pros on sa...
B&H Photo is offering a $360-$410 discount on new 16-inch MacBook Pros with M4 Max CPUs right now. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – 16″ M4 Max MacBook Pro (36GB/1TB/... Read more
Amazon is offering a $100 discount on the M4...
Amazon has the M4 Pro Mac mini discounted $100 off MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Their price is the lowest currently available for this popular mini: – Mac mini M4 Pro (24GB/512GB): $1299, $100... Read more
B&H continues to offer $150-$220 discount...
B&H Photo has 14-inch M4 MacBook Pros on sale for $150-$220 off MSRP. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – 14″ M4 MacBook Pro (16GB/512GB): $1449, $150 off MSRP – 14″ M4... Read more

Jobs Board

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.