Apple Rhapsody Developer Release 2

Apple Rhapsody Developer Release 2
	Build of Mac OS X Server 1.x
Architecture	PPC, i386
Compiled	1998-04-17
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Apple Rhapsody Developer Release 2 is the second Developer Preview of the Apple Rhapsody operating system, which was released to developers on 14 May 1998. In contrast to the previous Developer Release, it introduces a number of significant user interface changes that would later be included as part of the final Mac OS X Server release, much of which are classified as quality-of-life.

Like the previous Developer Release, this build is available for the i386 and PowerPC CPU architectures. The i386 version lacks the Blue Box environment, whereas the PPC version includes a Mac OS 8.1 compatibility layer. It is the last available release of early Mac OS X to support Intel processors before the Mac transition to Intel processors.

New features and changes[edit | edit source]

Setup Assistant[edit | edit source]

The Setup Assistant has been ported from the classic Mac OS family, and appears after the second setup phase is completed. The Setup Assistant in this release cannot be skipped at all unlike the one present in classic Mac OS.

Login screen[edit | edit source]

The stylized login screen (which featured a colorful Apple logo) has been replaced with a simple dialog and its iconography slightly altered, although the overall layout remains identical to the previous release. The final release would replace Rhapsody branding with Mac OS X Server and add a tilted X to the background.

Workspace Manager[edit | edit source]

The Workspace Manager has received substantial enhancements and fixes over the previous Developer Release. Most OPENSTEP branding has been replaced with Yellow Box, and legal trademark information has been added to the about dialog. The default positions of desktop icons have also been horizontally flipped to the right side of the user's screen.

The menu bar has also been updated: the Disk drop-down context menu was removed, and the option to eject a floppy disk was moved into a separate Eject menu. Options to access recent applications and documents have been added, and there is now an option to consult user documentation through the "Help" menu.

In the File Manager, the default view has been changed to "as Columns" by default, instead of "as Icons" in the previous developer release.

Preferences[edit | edit source]

The Preferences user interface has received a major design overhaul. Rather than tying individual system settings to a dedicated button, the user is now presented a list of settings categories. Settings for individual categories can be invoked by selecting from the aforementioned list and clicking on the "Open" button.

The associated system setting pages have received minor alterations. Scroll bar and window customization in the Appearance category have been merged into one section. Support for the Network Time Protocol has been added to the operating system, allowing the user to synchronize the date and time with a network server - as a result, options to configure time synchronization has been added to the Date & Time category, and settings for adjusting the clock and current time zone have also been separated into their own options. Monitor gamma settings have been moved into a dedicated window, and the "Menu Button" setting in the Mouse category has been renamed to "Selection Button".

Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]

The kernel has been updated to version 5.1.
The boot manager was updated to version 5.0.41.1.

System requirements[edit | edit source]

According to the installation documentation, Rhapsody requires the following system specifications:

i386 release[edit | edit source]

To use this version of Rhapsody, your computer must have:
A 486, Pentium, or Pentium Pro microprocessor

ISA, EISA, VL-Bus, or PCI expansion bus

A 750 MB or larger hard disk

At least 32 MB of RAM (48 MB is recommended)

A supported graphics adapter (video display card)

A supported IDE or SCSI adapter

IDE or SCSI CD-ROM drive

One 3.5-inch floppy disk drive

PPC release[edit | edit source]

This version of Rhapsody works with the following computers:
Power Macintosh G3 (desktop or tower models)

Power Macintosh 9600

Power Macintosh 8600

Power Macintosh 9500

Power Macintosh 8500

Power Macintosh 7600

Your computer must have:

At least 32 MB of RAM (48 MB recommended for development)

Internal video, or Apple-supplied IMS or ATI video card

A hard disk with at least 500 MB of available space

Fixes[edit | edit source]

This build fixes both quirks in the about box from the previous build where:

Intel P6 processors are identified as "Intel 80486".
hard disks larger than 2 GB will be reported as 0 bytes.

Quirks[edit | edit source]

Rhapsody does not support multiprocessor systems and will only use one processor if installed on such.
Some applications retain their old OPENSTEP 4.2 icons.