![]() From 1999 to 2001, the Mac OS 9 operating system received a total of seven core updates, four of which were made available to the general public through the automatic update feature and other means. After only three years, Apple had chosen to end official support for "The Best Internet Operating System Ever" in order to focus their efforts entirely on the next generation of their flagship operating system: Mac OS X. As curiosity grew, the dirge ended and Steve Jobs took to the stage, eulogy in hand, and opened the casket to reveal an image of Mac OS 9. On May 6, 2002, attendees of the Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote address were greeted by the sound of organ music and the sight of a coffin rising from the center of the main stage. By allowing regular users to update their machines and run modern software with a single click, Apple removed a potentially confusing barrier to entry and set them up for success in a way that Microsoft so often struggled to do. Thanks to improvements made to the operating system's TCP/IP functionality in Mac OS 9, automatic updates were billed as way to not only update the core operating system to new versions, but also to identify and install missing device drivers directly from Apple's own servers without having to "fish and hunt out the CD." It may seem innocuous now, but this simple change in automated dependency management was a revolutionary shift in the learning curve associated with personal computers at the time. But, not to be outdone by their friends in Redmond, one of the most subtly impactful new features included in Mac OS 9 was one that Microsoft also recently introduced: automatic software updates. ![]() All of these features are still around today. In typical Apple fashion, the months leading up to the release of OS 9 were marked by increasing hype, aggressive marketing, and the occasional shot across Microsoft's bow.ĭubbed "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," Mac OS 9 introduced multiple user accounts, the Keychain, and a direct integration with iTools, the first iteration of what is now known as iCloud. Just over a year after the launch of Microsoft Windows 98, Apple Computer released the next and final version of their "Classic" Mac OS operating system, Mac OS 9.
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