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Stephen Hackett Shares Over 1,500 Screenshots of Every Mac OS Release Since 2000

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Relay FM co-founder Stephen Hackett today shared an extensive collection of screenshots for every major release of the Mac operating system in the past 18 years, over which time its name has changed from Mac OS X to OS X to macOS.

macos-cheetah-public-beta-800x600.jpg

The library of over 1,500 screenshots is available on Hackett's blog 512 Pixels, providing a look back at the visual history of Mac OS X Cheetah in 2000 through macOS High Sierra in 2017. Hackett plans to update the library for every major release of macOS going forward, including Mojave in the next couple of months.

Hackett says he ran every macOS release on actual hardware, including various models of the Power Mac G4, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro, capturing screenshots of major features and other elements he felt were important over the years.

os-x-leopard-800x640.jpg

The screenshots show the evolution of the Mac's visual theme Aqua, ranging from gloss and pinstripes in the early days, to brushed metal and corinthian leather during the skeuomorphic days, to the flatter, translucent look of today. Highlights are available in a related blog post on 512 Pixels.

Hackett says he put an extraordinary amount of time into the collection, which is certainly worth checking out for a trip down memory lane.

Article Link: Stephen Hackett Shares Over 1,500 Screenshots of Every Mac OS Release Since 2000
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/08/22/mac-os-x-screenshot-library-512-pixels/
Porco said:
It used to be so gorgeous... *sigh*

I genuinely miss the way OS X looked, especially up to Leopard. Snow Leopard to Mavericks was fine. Everything after that is so bland by comparison, IMHO.
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I miss the Forstall days. Maybe the leather and wood grain looked tacky to some, but it fulfilled Jobs' idea that technology should put a smile on the user's face. There was a visual coherence to OS X in the early days (as well as the iPhone) and that coherence helped make the interface intuitive. I don't think the current os is "bland" but it definitely has lost its personality. There's a sameness to everything now, a consistency that, ironically, is no longer as intuitive to use.
 
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Porco said:
It used to be so gorgeous... *sigh*

I genuinely miss the way OS X looked, especially up to Leopard. Snow Leopard to Mavericks was fine. Everything after that is so bland by comparison, IMHO.
Click to expand...

So true. I recently installed Leopard on a spare partition, for mundane reasons (to try get full achievements on an old Steam game), and didnt expect to be impressed by its visual appeal the way I was. I completely forgot how gorgeous Leopard was since last using it. You are spot on, what we have now is bland in comparison.
 
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Secondempire said:
Snow Leopard was beautiful. It feels like the world in 2009 was also a better place in general.
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Check the archives for MR in 2009!

People complaining that Apple care more about phones than computers, they’re gonna switch to Windows because Apple don’t care about hardware, and Rocketman still signed off every single comment with their username. At least one place stayed consistent. :D
 
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Steve Jobs was never a fan of nostalgia, so I’m sure this is more of a fanatics interest. I do have a PowerBook G4 with 10.1 and its fun to play it.
 
matamoris said:
The corinthian leather in Lion's iCal looks terrible.
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"Corinthian leather looks terrible? TERRIBLE!?!? Who is this fool and why is he blaspheming?" [shakes fist angrily]
-Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino as Mr. Roarke

"Boss, it's matamoris. He likes de plane. De plane" [giggles]
-Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize as Tattoo

/Roarke pushes Tattoo into an active volcano
/prepares to hunt down matamoris
 
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jayducharme said:
I miss the Forstall days. Maybe the leather and wood grain looked tacky to some, but it fulfilled Jobs' idea that technology should put a smile on the user's face. There was a visual coherence to OS X in the early days (as well as the iPhone) and that coherence helped make the interface intuitive. I don't think the current os is "bland" but it definitely has lost its personality. There's a sameness to everything now, a consistency that, ironically, is no longer as intuitive to use.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. While some of the skeuomorphism took up valuable vertical real estate, it was usually really a pleasure to use. That pleasure is now gone.
 
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ThomasJL said:
It is such a shame that Clueless Cook got rid of skeuomorphism.
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Couldn’t disagree more. It looks so dated at this point. It was fine for its time, but didn’t age particularly well, imo.

It doesn’t really have a modern feel. Looking at it now, I’d describe it as “quaint”. Ten or twenty years from now it will qualify for steampunk.

Nice project though; it’s obvious it took a lot of time and effort.
 
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My first foray using a Mac for myself (outside of school as a child/teen) was 10.3 Panther. Bought myself a Powerbook G4. Then to a MacBook Pro using Intel, then to a 2011 MacBook Pro 17" and now a 2018 15" MacBook Pro.
 
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