Mac OS 8.7a3
| Build of Mac OS 9 | |
 | |
| Architecture | PPC |
|---|---|
| Compiled | 1999-04-23 |
| About |  |
Mac OS 8.7a3 ("StoneAge") is the earliest known build of Mac OS 9.0.
New features and changes[edit | edit source]
Branding[edit | edit source]
Most Mac OS 8.6 references were renamed to Mac OS 8.7.
Control Panel[edit | edit source]
Several new applets were added, however many old applets also received changes. AppleTalk has had the "Ethernet built-in" option renamed to just "Ethernet", Control Strip has received an image example, showing the sound option on the strip and DialAssist has received an "Always Dial Area Code" option.
File Sharing has received a new "Users & Groups" applet, allowing file sharing between user accounts, as well as allowing the creation of network users. The "Monitors & Sound" applet also received an update, with the "Color" option being replaced with a "Gamma" setting, the "Alerts" option also received two new alert sounds: "Single Click" and "Whit".
The new applets include FontSync, which allows the user to fine-tune the criteria that FontSync uses when matching fonts; Keychain Access, allowing to store passwords for servers, internet resources or applications; Multiple Users, a successor to "Users & Groups", which allows for the creation of multiple users, a custom welcome message, alternate passwords, guest user accounts, as well as restricting CD/DVD-ROM access to selected user accounts; Network Setup, which now allows for several network interfaces to be turned off and on, and lastly, Software Update, now allowing Mac OS updates to be installed over the internet.
Alert messages[edit | edit source]
Alert messages have been redesigned. They no longer appear as errors in the middle of the screen, instead appearing as a Stickies styled window in the top left corner. Error messages remain unchanged.
QuickTime Player[edit | edit source]
The QuickTime Player received a major revamp, with it now containing features like graphics exporter components that could read images from GIF, JPEG, TIFF and other file formats, as well as support for the QDesign Music 2 and MP3 format. This version of QuickTime is also the first version to support streaming, while also introducing the brushed metal interface.
Sherlock[edit | edit source]
Sherlock has been given a major overhaul, with it's search plug-in now being an SGML document. This plug-in is composed of three parts, identified as: <search>,<input> and <interpret> tags, allowing Sherlock to identifiy a search engine's web page and the parts that are relevant to searching, as well as returning the results of the search. This version is labeled as Sherlock version 3.0, however includes the design of the intiial version of Sherlock II included in build 8.7a6c2.
Date and time[edit | edit source]
To prevent issues related to the year 2000 problem, date formats have been updated to use a four-digit year numbering scheme.
Bugs and quirks[edit | edit source]
Stability[edit | edit source]
This build is generally unstable and can crash or hang easily on certain tasks. It can be as simple as booting the system, opening an application, completing steps in the Setup Assistant, moving around the mouse cursor or even leaving the system alone for a couple of minutes. These issues become more prominent if the date is set to the current year.
Installation[edit | edit source]
As the installation media was not properly imaged, Internet Access, Mac OS Runtime for Java, ColorSync and Network Assistant Client cannot be installed, as folders named "Parts", "ColorSync" and "Network Assistant Parts" are missing.
Boot screen[edit | edit source]
Even though this build was compiled after Mac OS 8.6b9, it does not include the version number next to the "Mac OS" text.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Install Mac OS 8.7
Boot screen
Finder version
