Mac OS

Main Article: Operating Systems

Mac OS (Macintosh Operating System) is a family of proprietary operating systems with a graphical interface. Developed by Apple for its own line of Macintosh computers. Popularization of the GUI in modern operating systems is often considered a credit to Mac OS. It was first introduced in 1984 with the original Macintosh 128K.

Apple wanted Mackintosh to appear as a computer "for the rest of us." The term Mac OS itself did not really exist until it was officially used in the mid-1990s. Since then, the term has been applied to all versions of Mackintosh operating systems as a convenient way to distinguish them in the context of other operating systems.

Early versions of Mac OS were compatible only with Macintosh based on Motorola 68k processors, the following versions were compatible with PowerPC (PPC) architecture. Mac OS X later became compatible with Intel x86 architecture. But Apple's policy is such that it only allows Mac OS to be installed on Apple computers.

macOS Security

Main article: macOS Security

2022

Adding an Application Control System

On June 7, 2022, it became known that Apple had updated the macOS operating system. The updated macOS has an application control system that allows the user to focus on the application or page he needs, even if many others are open at the same time. Read more here.

Publishing macOS 12.3 Kernel and System Component Code

On May 6, 2022, it became known that Apple published the source code of the low-level system components of the macOS 12.3 (Monterey) operating system, which use free software, including components of Darwin and other non-GUI components, programs and libraries. A total of 177 source packages have been published.

Including the XNU kernel code is available, the source texts of which are published in the form of code slices associated with the next macOS release. XNU is part of the Darwin open source project and is a hybrid kernel combining the Mach kernel, components from the FreeBSD project and the IOKit C++ API for writing drivers.

Open components used in the iOS 15.4 mobile platform have also been published. The publication includes two packages - WebKit and libiconv^[1].

2021: macOS 12 Monterey announcement

On October 25, 2021, Apple released a new version of the operating system for its computers.

Apple has released a new version of the OS for computers

The main innovations in macOS 12 Monterey are as follows:

• Universal Control function for quick switching between a computer and an iPad.
• The Commands application for creating automation scripts. They are supported throughout the macOS system, including in the menu bar, Finder, Spotlight and Siri. You can also import existing Automator workflows into quick commands.
• Updated Safari browser with redesigned design and tab grouping option, including by subject. The browser implements the "Tracking Prevention" function now prevents trackers from creating your profile based on your IP address.
• A new notification system with recommendations about disabling notifications, which the user is least likely to pay attention to.
• Support for spatial audio, portrait mode and voice isolation in FaceTime.
• Focus function, which allows you to focus more effectively on tasks. By enabling the option, you can filter notifications from applications and people depending on what the user is doing.
• AirPlay support. With AirPlay streaming on the Mac, you can easily play, show or send almost any content from your iPhone or iPad directly to your Mac.
• Short Note option for quick recording of ideas and thoughts, regardless of the running application.
• New universal access features allow everyone to create alternative image descriptions using markup.
• The updated interface of Apple Maps has received a detailed drawing of roads, settlements, trees, buildings and other objects.

Apple announced that the updated OS is available on the new (by the end of October 2021),, iMac MacBook Air 13 MacBook Pro and Mac mini, as well as Mac computers based on the processor. Intel^[2]

2019: macOS 10.15 Catalina announcement

On June 3, 2019, the presentation of macOS 10.15 Catalina took place. What has changed in the updated operating system for Apple computers?

Catalyst

The technology will allow developers to port applications from iPad and iPhone to work on macOS computers. Earlier, Apple presented the first applications of this type - "News," "Shares," "House." Twitter and Atlassian were among the first companies to support Catalyst.

Closing iTunes

 In macOS Catalina , iTunes has been replaced by the entertainment apps Apple Music   , Podcasts and Apple TV, which are said to make it noticeably easier to find and play music, television series, movies and podcasts. Multimedia content will be synchronized with the iPhone and iPad in these applications. When connected to a computer, the mobile device appears on the Finder sidebar , and users can back up, update and restore it.

In the new Music app for Mac, finding new songs has become even easier and more convenient, according to Apple

Sidecar

The Sidecar feature allows you to use the iPad as an extended display for a Mac or tablet to draw on supported Mac applications. For mobile users, Sidecar provides the ability to expand the desktop into two displays for ease of use. Using Apple Pencil, you can use the iPad to draw and write in Mac applications that support work with the stylus.

Sidecar's wireless-powered feature allows iPad and Apple Pencil to be used in Mac apps for creativity

Advanced Voice Control

The updated macOS supports voice control for people with disabilities - for example, users will be able to open applications using voice, send messages, etc.

Screen Time

Screen Time in macOS 10.15 provides users with data on how much time they spend in apps  and websites, as well as tools to enable them to better manage their time. 

Locking the device

The Activation Lock function for laptops with T2 chips allows you to completely lock the device.^[3]

2018: One in ten PCs in the world run on macOS

In March 2018, it became known that every tenth personal computer in the world runs on the macOS operating system, the share of which increased by more than 60% over the year.

According to ComputerWorld, citing the analytical company Net Applications, in January 2018, macOS was installed on 10% of active PCs on a global scale. In February, the share remained practically unchanged at 9.9%. 12 months earlier, the figure was measured at 6.2%.

Macbook laptop with 12-inch display

Thus, over the year, the share of macOS increased by 3.7 percentage points, but most of such a strong increase (2.8 percentage points) was due to the adjustment of Net Applications statistics: at the end of 2017, analysts filtered out traffic generated by botnets.

Net Applications takes information from its own NetMarketShare service, which examines data on 160 million unique users browsing more than 40 thousand web resources around the world. All data from NetMarketShare is in the public domain.

According to the calculations of the StatCounter service (takes into account more than 15 billion web page views on 3 million sites), in February 2018, macOS accounted for 12.4% of computers. Two years earlier, the figure was at 9.4%.

The head of the analytical company Techanalysis Research Bob O'Donnell (Bob O'Donnell) says that reaching the tenth part of the computer market for was operating system Apple an important milestone in the 34-year history.

Some of this growth was facilitated by BYOD [when employees use their own computers for work purposes - note TAdviser]. Over the years, companies have increasingly allowed employees to bring their devices to work. I believe that this has something to do with the growth of macOS, - said the expert.

In his opinion, the success of macOS can also be associated with high platform security and the promotion of cloud applications instead of traditional programs.

According to Gartner, 19 million macOS computers were sold in 2017, corresponding to 7.2% of the global PC market.^[4]

2017: macOS High Sierra release

On September 25, 2017, Apple announced the availability of macOS High Sierra as a free update.

macOS High Sierra includes storage, video, and graphics technologies. The file system improves the efficiency and reliability of data storage, support for efficient video encoding (HEVC) reduces the size of files in 4K video format.

Metal 2 technology helps create content-virtual reality, improves performance. The Core ML developer platform makes it possible to create intelligent applications with powerful data prediction and machine learning technologies. MacOS High Sierra has improved Mac apps, including Photos and Safari.

Apple File System (APFS)

• The APFS storage architecture provides opportunities to support features and storage technologies on the Mac.
• APFS provides support for large-capacity storage devices, improves performance, security, and reliability.
• Integrity checks protect data in the event of power failures and system failures.
• APFS is supported on all Macs with flash drives.

Support for High Performance Video Encoding (HEVC)

• The HEVC video standard opens up 4K video streaming and requires 40% less disk space.
• The industry standard HEVC (H.265) provides high efficiency for compression, streaming, and video playback.
• HEVC opens up the ability for users to watch 4K video files at full resolution and at the same time requires 40% less disk space than the standard H.264.1
• Thanks to HEVC, Apple devices support 4K video streaming.
• Hardware acceleration on the iMac and MacBook Pro provides fast and energy efficient HEVC encoding and playback.

Metal 2 Technology

• Apple's Metal 2 graphics technology opens up opportunities for machine learning, computer vision and other features.
• Metal is Apple's graphics technology.
• Metal 2 supports a variety of technologies, including machine learning.
• The updated API and improved performance of Metal 2 help developers speed up applications.
• With the combination Thunderbolt of 3 and Metal 2, Mac users have access to external graphics. to processors

Core ML platform

• The Apple Core ML platform opens up machine learning capabilities for Apple developers and makes it possible to create other types of applications.
• Core ML fully uses Metal and Accelerate technologies, providing power, speed and efficiency of machine learning functions:
• computer vision,
• natural language processing
• support for convolutional and recurrent neural networks.
• All calculations and data processing in Core ML are performed on the device.

Virtual Reality Support

• There is support for virtual reality.

Updated application "Photos"

• Updated, always working side menu, selection and filtering tools help you quickly and easily organize photos.

Other changes

MacOS High Sierra introduced improvements to everyday Mac applications.

• Safari blocks the automatic playback of audio content in the browser, and Reader can automatically open articles without distracting elements.
• Safari's intelligent tracking blocking feature helps keep browsing confidential: it recognizes and deletes cookies and other data through which advertisers track transitions between sites.
• Siri on Mac responds with a more natural voice and remembers the user's music, creates playlists and answers questions about music when watching Apple Music.
• The Touch Bar in the MacBook Pro has Control Strip features, a color selection tool and video controls.
• Notes have simple tables where you can enter and edit data in cells, move rows and columns.
• Spotlight can show flight information, including departure and arrival times, delay information, gate numbers, terminal names, and even a flight map.

2016: OS X renamed to macOS

On June 13, 2016, Apple announced the renaming of OS X to macOS and the addition of a clipboard shared with iOS and Siri^[5].

OS Presentation at Aplle Presentation, (2016)

The operating system was renamed to achieve uniformity with the company's platforms: tvOS, watchOS and iOS. The open beta version of macOS Sierra will be available in July 2016, the developer version after the presentation. A full release of the operating system is expected in September.

The main innovation in Sierra is the Siri voice assistant, adapted to work with a desktop system. It took the company five years to move it from iOS to macOS. Like the mobile version of Siri, the desktop allows you to search files, launch applications, create reminders and other functions.

Owners of an Apple Watch can now unlock their computer without entering a password: it is enough to bring an already unlocked watch to it (you need to enter a four-digit code on it, so another person cannot use it).

macOS and iOS also got a common clipboard: by copying text to the iPhone, you can immediately paste it onto the Mac and vice versa.

Sierra has a desktop synchronization function: files from it will be available on other Macs, on iPhone and. iPad In addition, iCloud Drive now automatically frees up hard disk space by moving unused files "to the cloud."

Safari for macOS has the ability to pay with Apple Pay.

2015: OS X 10.11 El Capitan Source Code Discovery

In December 2015, Apple opened the source code for its OS X 10.11 El Capitan operating system. This was written by AppleInsider, citing a message from an American corporation.

The sources of the low-level system components of OS X 10.11 were published, which use free software, including the xnu kernel, Darwin components and other non-GUI components, programs and libraries. In total, 205 packages with sources became public.

Apple opens source codes for OS X 10.11 El Capitan

Although the American corporation has long offered several open source software products, most of its software does not belong to the Open Source class. Moreover, Apple is known for its closed ecosystem.

Apple previously opened the source code for the Swift programming language and the iOS 9 operating system. In the latter case, the developers gained access to only six components of the platform, and most of it is still hidden. It is worth noting that based on the developments opened by Apple, the free Puredarwin OS is developing.

Almost simultaneously with the publication of the El Capitan source code, Apple released an update for this operating system. The update numbered OS X 10.11.2 fixes problems with the sudden disconnection of Bluetooth devices and the transfer of photos from iPhone to PC via USB cable. In addition, the update improved the reliability of Wi-Fi connectivity and features such as Handoff and AirDrop, and improved sharing of iCloud photo content for Live Photos.^[6]

2005: Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger

In 2005, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger was released.

2003: Mac OS X 10.3 Panther Release

In 2003, Mac OS X 10.3 Panther was released.

2002: Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar Release

In 2002, Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar was released.

2001: Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah and 10.1 Puma release

In 2001, the official release of Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah (Cheetah) took place. Six months later, the new OS receives the first major update - Mac OS X 10.1 Puma.

1998: Elimination of clones

In 1994, Apple began selling licenses to use Mac OS. Manufacturers paid the company $80 for each computer on which this operating system was installed. But time showed it wasn't a good idea. Clone suppliers offered customers relatively inexpensive machines that hindered sales of more profitable Apple products. In addition, the release of clones did not significantly expand the scope of the Mac platform.

Jobs, who returned to Apple, understood that the Mac OS licensing program needed to be curtailed and eventually achieved its goal. Already by 1998, he actually managed to eliminate the clones (only UMAX had a license for Mac OS 8 at that time).

Jobs was convinced that user interaction with hardware and software components should be kept under his control. And in the context of the production of equipment by other manufacturers, it was not possible to solve this problem. Clones destroyed the Macintosh brand, and if the situation remained, Apple would no longer be able to act as secretly, skillfully and purposefully as it happened later.

1991: System 7.0 OS Release

In 1991, the new System 7.0 OS appeared (subsequently renamed Mac OS)

1988: System 6.0 OS release.

In 1988, the operating system System 6.0 was released.

See also

• Apple iOS
• iOS security
• Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac
• Acronis True Image for Mac
• Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption for Mac
• Android security

Notes