Apple Macintosh before System 7

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2024-11-07 21:30:16

All information presented here is based on primary sources, mainly original, unmodified Apple disks and other Apple documentation.

Anyone interested in this history must be especially careful when reviewing the information presented in Apple Knowledge Base article TA31885, Macintosh: System Software Version History, a secondary source that contains major errors:

Understandably, this Apple article has been widely used as a source of (mis)information on the Internet, including Wikipedia. Beware!

Sites with information about various aspects of early Macs include Low End Mac, Mac Daniel, 68k Mac FAQ, Mac 128 Update, Mac SE Support, Mac GUI, The Mothership, The Vintage Mac Museum, GUIdebook. Download sites include Macintosh Repository, Macintosh Garden, MacFixer. Discussions include Vintage Macs, System 6, and 68k Macintosh Liberation Army. Expert Classic Mac Tech Info is available in a PDF document here. Decode your 68k Mac serial number at myoldmac.net. First-hand history is available at Folklore and Making the Macintosh.

Mini vMac is an excellent Macintosh Plus, SE, and 128K emulator that runs on Mac OS X and earlier, as well as Linux and Windows. Requires the appropriate ROM. E-Maculation is a good place to check on the progress of other early Macintosh emulation projects.