How to run MacOS 7 and MacOS 8 in your browser today

Step back in time to the Macintosh of the 1990s and run complete virtual installations of System 7 and Mac OS 8 in a browser window.

One flaw with new virtual versions of 1990s Mac software is that they run at the speed of a 2020s Mac. You're looking at a Mac SE/30 or Quadra 700, but everything is as fast as Apple Silicon.

You can actually work in these simulated operating systems, and they can even drag documents or files in and out of macOS Monterey. But whether for some practical purposes or more likely just for pure fun, here's how to do it.

It was previously possible to run Mac OS 8 through developer Felix Rieseberg's Basilisk II emulator. That's a Mac app, and its screen looks tiny on a modern Mac.

Whether you choose System 7 or OS 8, the new versions work the same way, and they run in a browser window. This means they can run without any prior setup - it also means they can run full screen.

It's still a 1990s Mac, with assumptions made about screen size so you don't fill a 27-inch iMac's display left and right, but you can greatly expand what was previously available.

When you do this, you'll see all the familiar screen furniture like windows without any labels. Or a gray closing box in a gray title.

Note there are errors. Some included applications (such as Microsoft Word version 5.1a) will display error messages because some files do not exist in the emulator.

However, the application loads and runs normally. Plus, this is a faithful reproduction of the 1990s, and you have to make some mistakes in Microsoft Word.

How to run System 7 or Mac OS 8

Open a new browser window and go to the System 7 page or the OS 8 page.

That’s all. Mac with 1995 System 7.5.3 or 1997 Mac OS 8.1 running in your browser. You can't change the size of the simulated Mac directly, but you can resize the browser window.

When you do this, the simulated Mac snaps forward to the largest form it can display. Doing this is a little tricky because it's easy to spot the simulated Mac showing up at the top of the browser window.

You can't scroll or drag to move around the simulated Mac screen, but you can drag and resize the browser window.

What You Can Do in the Emulator

While you can't resize or move the screen around, you can drag icons around the screen and windows can be resized in the emulator . You'll wonder where all the startup speed went, though, because at first it seemed unresponsive when you clicked the window's slider to move it.

However, this is not the bottleneck of the simulator. Getting used to the way OS X and now macOS Monterey work over the years.

Once you remember that you can only resize the window from the bottom right corner, you'll realize that keyboard shortcuts don't work. Execute command-N to open a new folder in System 7's Finder and you will get a new browser window.

However, you do get used to it. When you do this, review the included files and folders. There are classic games like Word, but also games like Dark Castle.

There's even ResEdit.

Do real work in the simulator

You probably won't. It's just deep, nostalgic fun. However, if you want to try it out, the productivity apps included in the emulator will work just fine.

You can drag files into the emulator even if it's in your browser.

Of course, this is a problem in the browser. Therefore, if you lose your internet connection, you may lose your job.

Your work isn't limited to the browser, though. Drag any file from your Mac into the browser window and load it onto your Mac.

It appears in a special Downloads folder in the emulator - there is also an Uploads folder. In the emulator, drag any document to Uploads and your browser will download it to your Mac.

The above is the detailed content of How to run MacOS 7 and MacOS 8 in your browser today. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!