Over the past couple of decades, we have seen a lot of transformation in Apple’s macOS versions. While the Cupertino tech giant is busy releasing the betas of its latest macOS version, the Big Sur, a developer has been able to convert one of the earliest versions of the macOS into a 250MB app for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
A San Francisco-based Slack developer, Felix Rieseberg, has been able to transform the macOS 8 into an app that you can install on your PC. The app will bring the experience of using a 1991 Macintosh Quadra 900, which ran on Motorola chipsets, running macOS 8.1 right to your PC.
Bring Apple’s macOS 8 to Your PC With “macintosh.js”
Now, the macintosh.js app is essentially an Electron app which means that the developer wrote the entire app in JavaScript. The app uses a virtual machine to emulate the experience of the Apple computer from 1991. The developer was also able to bring some of the classic apps and games, courtesy of a MacWorld demo CD from 1997 which included all the additionals.
There are retro games like Duke Nukem 3D, Oregon Trail, Dungeons and Dragons, and Civilization II that come with the app. And there are even some classic apps that come pre-installed with “macintosh.js” like the Adobe Photoshop 3, Adobe Illustrator 5.5, Apple’s Web Construction Kit, and the StuffIt Expander.
Now, although the app brings web browsers like the Internet Explorer (yes, in a Macintosh!) and the Netscape browser pre-installed, Rieseberg says that “you wouldn’t be able to open even Google”, as the versions are so old.
Nonetheless, this “macintosh.js” app makes us realize how far we have come from those early days of computing, much like the 98.css library.
So, if you are a macOS lover, then there are high chances that you will like the experience of using a macOS version of the early days sitting in 2020.
You can try out the app from the developer’s Github page.
