Watch the OG Mac morph into macOS Ventura in this nostalgia trip of a video

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macOS Ventura Stage Manager Demo
macOS Ventura Stage Manager Demo (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • A YouTube video takes a look at how macOS has changed over the years.
  • The video starts with System 0.97 and ends with macOS Ventura.

Sure, macOS Ventura is pretty cool and we're all looking forward to it shipping later this year. But do you know what's really cool? System 0.97. And everything in between, too.

To prove it, YouTube channel Nobel Tech has shared a new video that is ten minutes of pure Mac nostalgia. In it, we get to see System 0.97 morph into macOS Ventura via macOS Monterey and everything else we've enjoyed over the years. And by enjoyed, I mean endured — we still remember you,

[[ insert your least favorite macos update here. ]]

Of course, as much as macOS Ventura will change things with the addition of Stage Manager and other tweaks, it's those old versions of Mac OS X that really tickle the nostalgia bone. Those are the versions of software that my early Macs ran and as flakey as they could be, there's no denying they were the beginning of a love affair that's been going on for upwards of 20 years at this point. If you have a similar history — or longer! — you've going to love this video!

This video will show the evolution of Apple's macOS system from System 0.97 in 1984 up to macOS 13.0 Ventura in the present era.

Software shown off in the video includes:

  • System 0.97 - 6.0.5
  • System 7.5.5
  • Mac OS 8.x
  • Mac OS 9
  • Mac OS X 10.0 - 10.5
  • Mac OS X 10.5 - 10.9
  • OS X 10.10 - 10.15
  • macOS 11 - 13

Which of these operating systems do you think were the best Mac release so far? It's too early to make a judgment call on macOS Ventura, and despite a rocky start macOS Monterey has been pretty good to most of us. Here's hoping for a good macOS Ventura beta program and a solid launch this fall.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.