This improved version of the Hierarchical File System introduced with System 3 freed up lots of space - hundreds of megabytes - on hard drives larger than 1 GB. Personal Web Sharing allowed users to host web pages on their computers. The appearance of the Finder was also made a lot more customizable. The overall appearance of the Finder was revamped to look more three-dimensional. Multithreading also meant that computers with more than one processor would experience better Finder performance. The Finder was finally multithreaded - meaning that it could do more than one thing at the same time. It was updated with some bug fixes via Mac OS 7.6.1. Mac OS 7.6 was the first release following Apple's strategy of releasing an update for the then-current Mac OS every six months until Rhapsody/Mac OS X could be completed. System 7.5.5 combined all the 7.5.3 versions and fixed more bugs. (Why no Enablers?) System 7.5.4 was announced, but not released because of a last-minute discovery of some major bugs. System 7.5.3 Revisions 2, 2.1, and 2.2 were all bug fixes and supported new models. System 7.5.3L supported the first Mac Clones. System 7.5.3 incorporated some much-needed bug fixes. System 7.5.2 was available in two, incompatible versions: one for the first PCI Power Macs, one for the portables released at about the same time. System 7.5.1 fixed bugs and the Mac OS Logo at startup. See the " Need for a New OS" section for details. The startup screen finally had a progress bar.ĭespite how far the Mac had come in the eleven years leading up to System 7.5, it was becoming clear that the Mac needed an entirely rewritten operating system. It also added the much more helpful Apple Guide help system. System 7.5 integrated all of the features from the Performa releases. System 7.1.2 was made to support the PowerPC chip. System 7.1.1 - also known as System 7 Pro - bundled AppleScript, QuickTime, and PowerTalk, all of which used to be available separately. There was also a System 7.1p for Performas. System 7.1 implemented the Fonts folder so that fonts could be easily added and removed - previously they were buried within the System itself - and the Enabler scheme - which mean new models could be released with an Enabler file instead of a very minor update like with Systems 6.0.1-6.0.8. (Performa was the name of Apple's home computer line for a number of years.) System 7.0.1p was a Performa-specific release with System 7.0.1's fixes, plus some special features for novice users. System 7.x also had the largest number of minor updates. System 7's Finder finally took advantage of color monitors - making some interface elements look a little three-dimensional. Drag and Drop - where a selected section of text could just be dragged from one program to the other instead of having to copy and paste - was implemented. Aliases - later copied by Windows as Shortcuts - first appeared in System 7. The Trash was changed into a true folder, meaning that items put in it remained until the Empty Trash command was selected. Next to the Application Menu was the Help Menu. QuickTime multimedia software also debuted at this time - but was available separately.Ī menu was added to the right end of the Menu Bar - the Application Menu, which showed a list of running programs and allowed users to switch between them. Networking via AppleTalk and file sharing via AppleShare were built into the operating system, instead of being optional. Memory management also got an overhaul: 32b memory addressing - which allows Macs to use more than 8 MB of RAM - was integrated into the operating system, Virtual Memory - which uses an unused section of hard drive space as substitute memory - was also first implemented in System 7. System 7 eliminated the Finder/MultiFinder issue - System 7's Finder is MultiFinder - turning multitasking on for good. System 7 was the biggest change to the system software to that time.
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