Macintosh Computers
Operating System 7.0
 

Paquetes Interactivos S.A. of C.V.

Ing. Pedro Baram K.
General Manager

With the arrival of operating system 7.0, the Macintosh further distinguished itself from other computers and Apple Computer's continued to be the leader ttechnological in graphical interfaces.

Since its introduction into the market in early 1984, the Macintosh computer has been the first to commercially use the concept of a graphical interface. The Macintosh interface is easy and intuitive since it does not require the user to memorize any syntax or the need to type command sequences. Unlike other graphical interfaces currently existing in other computer brands, the Macintosh was not only the first, but was also conceived as an integral part of the design of the computer itself, greatly helping its efficiency.

The proliferation of graphical interfaces such as New Age and Windows 3.0 in the world of MS-DOS and their acceptance by users proves the benefits derived from them. The recent signing of an agreement between IBM and Apple Computer's for the latter to write the next operating system that will work on both platforms, confirms the recognition of the quality and efficiency of the Macintosh interface.

The first versions of the Macintosh operating system allowed the creation of innovative programs such as Excell, Page Maker, 4Th Dimension as well as various graphic packages, all of which were born on the Macintosh. The ease of configuration of the operating system allows the installation of different fonts and accessories, as well as the networking of several computers and printers to share resources. With the announcement of new, faster Macintosh computer models and compatible peripherals, as well as the release of operating system 7.0, Apple Computer's further distinguishes itself from other computer manufacturers and continues to be the technological leader in graphical interfaces.

The Macintosh Interface

The Macintosh operating system, in collaboration with a program called Finder, makes an analogy between the cover of a desktop and the computer screen. Thus, Macintosh assumes that on the top of our desk we place our work documents classified into folders (sub-directories) for organization. In addition, the Macintosh computer operating system allows us the easy installation of clocks, calculators, notepads, printer selector and other accessories, which are placed by the user on the desktop cover (computer screen) when he so desired or required.

The Finder is responsible for drawing on the right side of the desktop cover, the icons corresponding to the disks connected to the computer, and places at the bottom of the desktop cover, an icon representing a trash can that is used to Discard complete documents or folders (sub-directories) that you do not want to keep on disk. The Finder also places a menu bar at the top of the desktop cover containing user-executable functions.

The operation of the Macintosh operating system requires the use of an accessory connected to the computer called a Mouse. This addition allows you to move an arrow on the computer screen to point and has a button to select and execute functions with the icons drawn by the Finder. Thus, using the mouse we point, select and open the icon corresponding to a disk to see its contents, or we can copy files from one disk to another or move files from one sub-directory to another, or if desired, remove them permanently.

The contents of a disk are displayed in an independent window that also contains the folders corresponding to other subdirectories. One of the folders is distinguished with a special icon because it contains the files corresponding to the computer's operating system. (See Figure 1)

When any folder is opened, its contents will be displayed in another window, allowing you to view both contents simultaneously. The mouse allows you to activate, move, resize or close any of these windows.

Using the mouse we can also execute any of the functions contained in the menu bar that the Finder places at the top of the desktop cover. By pressing and holding the Mouse button on a function in the menu bar, the sub-functions corresponding to this function will be displayed. By moving the Mouse while keeping the button depressed, one of the available sub-functions will be selected and by releasing the Mouse button the selected sub-function will be executed. Before executing the sub-function, the displayed menu will close allowing the user to see the entire screen again.

The first function contained in the menu bar is represented by the icon of an apple (the logo used by Apple Computer's) which, when selected, displays the various accessories for the desktop cover installed in the operating system. Apple includes within the operating system a calculator, a notepad, an alarm clock, an installed font identifier as well as a printer selector, among others. Software developers working in other companies offer a multitude of accessories such as sophisticated calculators, telephone directories, calendars and alarm clocks, among others. The apple menu remains present even when any other application is running, allowing you to use the desktop accessories at any time.

The second function called File, allows you to create new folders for the organization of the disk as well as the possibility of opening, closing, printing or obtaining information from selected directories or files.

The third function called Edit allows you to cut, copy and paste information between two or more applications. The information can be textual or graphic. Thus, a table and its corresponding graph generated using a spreadsheet, or a drawing prepared using a graphics application, can be transported to a document generated with a word processor.

The fourth function, called View, allows the user to consult the content of a window in iconographic form or as a list ordered according to the name, creation date, size or type of the files displayed.

The function called Special allows you to align the contents of a window to an imaginary grid or to erase a disk, re-initialize the computer or prepare the equipment to be turned off.

Finally, on Macintosh computers with a color screen, it is possible, through the menu called Labels, to assign different colors to the icons represented by the Finder to facilitate their recognition.

Setting up the Macintosh computer operating system is extremely simple. This is carried out by copying Inits and cDevs to the System Folder. Inits are programs executed by the Macintosh when the operating system is loaded. cDevs work in the same way as Inits, but are configurable from the computer's Control Panel. The latter is a desktop accessory provided by Apple that allows, in addition to configuring the cDevs (some of them are provided by Apple), to modify the computer's own characteristics.

Thus, to install a Fax Modem, for example, it is required to save an Init or a cDev provided by the manufacturer in the system folder. If it is an Init, Macintosh simply installs the Fax Modem driver when loading the operating system. If it is a cDev, the user will be able to configure the parameters that the manufacturer decides through the Control Panel.

The drivers for the different printers are installed in the same way. The selection of the printer to use is made using a desktop accessory called the Selector. When you activate the Selector (found under the apple menu), a dialog appears showing the icons corresponding to the print drivers installed on the system (See figure 2). Using the mouse, select the type of printer to use. Another function allows you to select the print port to which the printer is connected, as well as the desired orientation and print quality. (See figure 3).

Operating System 7.0 takes all of these elements of the Macintosh interface, improves them, and introduces new features that take advantage of the speed and power of current Macintosh computer models. Likewise, it considers the needs of the growing number of networked computers.

The Operating System 7.0

In order to use the 7.0 operating system, at least a Macintosh with 2Mb of RAM and a hard drive is required. Installation of the system is easily carried out using an installer provided by Apple Computer's that automatically records the files, Inits and cDevs required to use the computer. The same installer copies the files corresponding to the different Apple printers to the system folder.

The installation of Fonts and Desktop Accessories is further simplified, since instead of using a utility as was done previously, they are installed in the same way as Init's and cDev's, simply copying them to the System Folder. The 7.0 operating system takes care of moving them to the appropriate folders within the System Folder.

The Finder offers new features that allow you to select the font and size to display the names of the files contained in windows. When the display is by icons, the imaginary grid is also configurable.

Directories by name allow you to see the hierarchical content of folders contained in them without having to open windows, since it has keys to see the content of the folders (See figure 4). On computers with a color monitor, operating system 7.0 allows you to select colors from a range of 256 for folder identification.

Operating system 7.0 uses a new Post Script-compatible language called True Type, which allows characters to be scaled to any size without losing resolution on the screen or in the printer.

In addition to the Cut, Copy and Paste functions, the new Macintosh operating system offers the ability to Publish and Subscribe. These new functions allow you to copy, for example, data from a spreadsheet to a word processor document. When data is modified in the spreadsheet, the data copied to the word processor will appear modified.

Operating System 7.0 takes advantage of the Macintosh's networking capabilities and allows file sharing without the need for a dedicated server. The user decides which disks, folders or files can be accessed by others, as well as who can access them, and what their privileges are.

The new Macintosh operating system allows you to record files called Alias that point to other files. Thus it is possible to open any application or file generated with it, opening the corresponding Alias. Aliases can correspond to files contained in other computers connected to the network and can also be placed in the system folder so they will appear under the apple menu and can be executed as if they were a Desktop Accessory.

The 7.0 operating system allows you to open, as long as you have enough memory, two or more applications simultaneously. As an example, you can leave a database in order while you write a letter using a word processor.

If there is not enough memory installed, the 7.0 operating system allows you to assign the available disk space as Virtual Memory. (See figure 5). In order to use this advantage of the operating system, the computer is required to have a 68030 processor or higher. The limit of virtual memory that this processor can access is one gigabyte, although it must be considered that virtual memory is much slower than RAM memory.

Finally, the new Macintosh operating system contains Online Help that explains the meaning and use of each of the elements of the graphical interface. In a very simple way, when you access the Online Help, balloons appear (similar to those used in comic strips), which describe the functions contained in the Menu Bar as well as the other elements that make up the graphic interface. (See figure 6).

With all the advantages offered by operating system 7.0, the Macintosh further distinguishes itself from other computers and Apple Computer's continues to be the technological leader in graphical interfaces. For this reason, as those of us who have recognized the revolution generated by the graphical interface say, now that everyone wants to be like Macintosh, why not a real Macintosh computer.
 

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