We’ve seen a System 7 Mac emulator before, as an app, but a developer has now created a version which runs directly in a web browser …
System 7 was the first classic Mac OS system to be later renamed as Mac OS, with version 7.6 being rebranded as Mac OS 7. That naming scheme later evolved to Mac OS X and then to the macOS we have today.
It was the longest-lived Mac operating system, launching in 1991 and finally replaced by Mac OS 8 in 1997.
System 7 spanned the processor switch from Motorola 68000-series to PowerPC, and while it introduced a lot of welcome new features, the introduction was controversial. It was the first version that could no longer be run on older floppy-disk Macintosh models, and it also used a lot of RAM, causing even some hard drive models to struggle.
Developer Leonardo Russo created the web-based System 7.0.1 emulator, based on the Mini vMac open-source emulator.
When you visit the website, it will download a 6MB disk image (requiring only a few seconds on most broadband connections), and will then book a virtual Macintosh running on a 1991 spec machine. The machine includes the standard apps.
The emulator is free and open-source, and you can play with it here.
Left photo: Marissa Lewis/Unsplash
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