The Great Fire Mac OS

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The road behind

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Mac OS X 10.0 was released five years ago today, on March 24th, 2001. To me, it felt like the end of a long road rather than a beginning. At that point, I'd already written over 100,000 words about Apple's new OS for Ars Technica, starting with the second developer release and culminating in the public beta several months before 10.0. But the road that led to Mac OS X extends much farther into past—years, in fact.

Mac OS X 10.0 was the end of many things. First and foremost, it was the end of one of the most drawn-out, heart-wrenching death spirals in the history of the technology sector. Historians (and Wall Street) may say that it was the iMac, with its fresh, daring industrial design, that marked the turning point for Apple. But that iMac was merely a stay of execution at best, and a last, desperate gasp at worst. By the turn of the century, Apple needed a new OS, and it needed one badly. No amount of translucent plastic was going to change that. Smol lander mac os.

Apple was so desperate for a solution to its OS problem in the mid- to late 1990s that both Solaris and Windows NT were considered as possible foundations for the next-generation Mac OS. And even these grim options represented the end of a longer succession of abortive attempts at technological rejuvenation: OpenDoc, QuickDraw 3D, QuickDraw GX, Taligent, Pink, Copland, Gershwin, Dylan—truly, a trail of tears. (If you can read that list without flinching, turn in your Apple Extended Keyboard II and your old-school Mac cred.)

In retrospect, it seems almost ridiculously implausible that Apple's prodigal son, thrown out of the company in 1985, would spend the next twelve years toiling away in relative obscurity on technology that would literally save the company upon his return. (Oh, and he also converted an orphaned visual effects technology lab into the most powerful animation studio in the US—in his spare time, one presumes.)

So yes, Mac OS X marked the end of a dark time in Apple's history, but it was also the end of a decade of unprecedented progress and innovation. In my lifetime, I doubt I will ever experience a technological event that is both as transformative and as abrupt as the introduction of the Macintosh. Literally overnight, a generation of computer users went from a black screen with fuzzy green text and an insistently blinking cursor to crisp, black text on a white background, windows, icons, buttons, scrollbars, menus, and this crazy thing called a 'mouse.'

The Great Fire (TV Mini-Series 2014– ) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Fire is an instant messaging client for Mac OS X (previously for OPENSTEP), that can access IRC, XMPP, AIM, ICQ, Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Bonjour.All services are built on GPL'd libraries, including firetalk, libfaim, libicq2000, libmsn, XMPP, and libyahoo2.Fire supports OS X v10.1 and higher. The latest version of Fire is 1.5.6. The program is released under the GNU General Public License. The 'Serial Number', 'MAC Address', 'SystemVersion' as well as other information is displayed on the screen. Note that the System Version indicates the version of the OS build specifically for the Kindle Fire and not the version of Android. This tutorial applies to the original Kindle Fire, as well as the HD7, HD8, HD10, and HDX models.

I see a lot more Mac users today than I ever saw in the pre-Mac OS X era, but few of them remember what it was like in the beginning. They've never argued with someone who's insisted that 'only toy computers have a mouse.' They didn't spend years trying to figure out why the world stuck with MS-DOS while they were literally living in the future. They never played the maze. (Dagnabbit!)

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Today's Mac users appreciate the refinement, the elegance, the nuances of Mac OS X. Today, the Mac grows on people. It seeps into their consciousness until they either break down and buy one or retreat to familiarity, perhaps to be tempted again later.

The original Mac users had a very different experience. Back then, the Mac wasn't a seductive whisper; it was a bolt of lightning, a wake-up call, a goddamn slap in the face. 'Holy crap! This is it!' Like I said, transformative. For the rest of the computing world, that revelatory moment was paced out over an entire decade. The experience was diluted, and the people were transformed slowly, imperceptibly.

That era ended on March 24th, 2001. Mac OS X 10.0 was the capstone on the Mac-That-Was. It was the end of the ride for the original Mac users. In many ways, it was the end of the Mac. In the subsequent five years (and over 200,000 more words here at Ars), the old world of the Mac has faded into the distance. With it, so have many of the original Mac users. Some have even passedon. Mac OS X 10.0 had a message: the Mac is dead.

Long live the Mac

Mac OS X arose, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the Mac-That-Was. Okay, maybe more like an injured phoenix. Also, Apple didn't light the bird on fire until a few years later. But still, technically, phoenix-like.

A side-by-side test-drive of Mac OS X 10.0 and 10.4 is shocking. The eternal debate is whether this gap exists because 10.4 is so good, or because 10.0 was so, so bad. That said, Apple's ability to plan and execute its OS strategy is not open for debate. In five short years, Apple has essentially created an entirely new platform. Oh, I know, it's really just the foundation of NeXT combined with the wreckage of classic Mac OS, but I think that makes it even more impressive. Two failing, marginalized platforms have combined to become the platform for the alpha geeks in the new century.

Today's Mac users span a much wider range than those of the past. Mac OS X's Unix-like core reached out to the beard-and-suspenders crowd (and the newer source-code-and-a-dream crowd) while the luscious Aqua user interface pulled all the touchy-feely aesthetes from the other direction. In the middle were the refugees from the Mac-That-Was, but they aren't the story here. Mac OS X is about new blood and new ideas—some good, some bad, but all vibrant. The Mac is alive again!

The Great Fire Mac OS

After spending half my life watching smart, talented people ignore the Mac for reasons of circumstance or prejudice, it's incredibly gratifying to live in a post-Mac OS X world. When I encounter a tech-world luminary or up-and-coming geek today, I just assume that he or she uses a Mac. Most of the time, I'm right. Even those with a conflicting affiliation (e.g., Linux enthusiasts) often use Apple laptops, if not the OS.

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In the media, the Mac and Apple have gone from depressing headlines on the business page to gushing feature stories everywhere. Even traditional strongholds of other platforms have fallen under the translucent fist of Mac OS X. Just look at Slashdot, long a haven for Linux topics, now nearly living up to the frequent accusation that it's become 'an Apple news site.' Here at Ars Technica, the story is similar. The 'PC Enthusiast's Resource' from 1999 is now absolutely swimming in Apple-related content.

New Mac Os 11

As much as I like to think that I brought on this transformation here at Ars with my avalanche of words, the truth is that Mac OS X is responsible. Yes, Apple's shiny hardware helped, but it was the software that finally won over those stubborn PC geeks. It helped that the software was shiny too, but it would have all been for nothing if not for one word: respect.

Mac OS X made the alpha geeks respect the Mac. My part, if any, in the transformation of a green-on-black den of PC users into a clean, well-lighted home for Apple news and reviews was merely to explain what Mac OS X is, where it's coming from, and where it appears to be going. The rest followed naturally. It's Unix. The dungeoning (itch) mac os. It's a Mac. It's pretty, stable, novel, innovative, and different. Mac OS X was powerful geeknip; it still is.

During the first few years of Mac OS X's life, I began my reviews with a section titled, 'What is Mac OS X?' That seems quaint in retrospect, but it really was necessary back then. (The pronunciation tips contained in those sections might still be useful. Even Steve Jobs still says 'ecks' instead of 'ten' sometimes. He also said 'PowerBook' during the last press event. I'm just saying..'MacBook'? Come on.)

Today, Mac OS X has achieved escape velocity. After five years and five competently executed major releases, Apple has earned the right to take a little more time with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Users need a break from the upgrade cycle too. (Well, the software upgrade cycle, anyway.) For all my complaints about the Finder, file system metadata, user interface responsiveness, you name it, I've always been rooting for Mac OS X. I've always wanted to believe. After five years, that faith is finally paying off.

Complacency's not my style, though. I still think Mac OS X can be better, and I continue to hold Apple to a very high standard. I've even got a head start on worrying about Apple's next OS crisis. (See parts one, two, three, and four.) Maybe I've been scarred by Apple's late-1990s dance with death..or maybe I've just learned an important lesson. Maybe Apple has too. I sure hope so, because I don't know if I can go through all that again.

Mac OS X is five years old today. It's got a decade to go before it matches the age of its predecessor, and perhaps longer before it can entirely escape the shadow of the original Mac. But I'm glad I'm along for the ride.

Fire OS is the operating system that runs Amazon's Fire TV and tablets. Fire OS is a fork of Android, so if your app runs on Android, it will most likely run on Amazon's Fire devices too. You can quickly check your app's compatibility with Amazon through the App Testing Service. As a developer, you might not have to adjust your Android code at all to publish your app on Amazon's platform.

Fire OS Versions

There are three versions of Fire OS:

  • Fire OS 7: Based on Android 9 (Pie, API level 28). See Developing for Fire OS 7 for more details.
  • Fire OS 6: Based on Android 7.1 (Nougat, API level 25). See Developing for Fire OS 6 for more details.
  • Fire OS 5: Based on Android 5.1 (Lollipop, API level 22)

The following table shows which Fire TV device runs which Fire OS version.

Fire TV DeviceBuild ModelAndroid LevelFire OS Version
Fire TV Edition Smart TV - AmazonBasics 4K (2020)AFTPR001Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - AmazonBasics HD/FHD (2020)AFTBU001API Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Edition - Technika 4K (2020)``Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - JVC 2K (2020)AFTWMST22Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - Onida HD/FHD (2020) [Available in two sizes]AFTTIFF55API Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Edition - ok 4K (2020)AFTWI001Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Stick - 3rd Gen (2020)AFTSSSAndroid Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Stick Lite - 1st Gen (2020)AFTSSAndroid Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - Toshiba 4K UHD (2020)AFTDCT31Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - Insignia 4K UHD (2020)AFTDCT31Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Stick - 2nd Gen (2016-2019)AFTTAndroid Level 22 (Android 5.1)Fire OS 5
Fire TV Edition - Toshiba HD (2018-2020)AFTBAMR311API Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Edition - Insignia HD (2018-2020)AFTEAMR311API Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Edition - Toshiba 4K (2018-2019)AFTKMST12API Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Edition - Onida HD (2019)AFTLEAPI Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Cube - 2nd Gen (2019)AFTRAndroid Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - Grundig OLED 4K (2019)AFTEUFF014Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - Grundig Vision 7, 4K (2019)AFTEU014Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - JVC 4K (2019)AFTSO001Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - Nebula Soundbar (2019)AFTMMAPI Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Edition - Grundig Vision 6 HD (2019)AFTEU011Android Level 28 (Android 9)Fire OS 7
Fire TV Edition - Insignia 4K (2018)AFTJMST12API Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Cube - 1st Gen (2018)AFTAAPI Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Stick 4K - 1st Gen (2018)AFTMMAPI Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV Stick - Basic Edition (2017)AFTTAndroid Level 22 (Android 5.1)Fire OS 5
Fire TV Edition - Element 4K (2017)AFTRSAndroid Level 22 (Android 5.1)Fire OS 5
Fire TV - 3rd Gen (2017)AFTNAPI Level 25 (Android 7.1)Fire OS 6
Fire TV - 2nd Gen (2015)AFTSAndroid Level 22 (Android 5.1)Fire OS 5
Fire TV Stick - 1st Gen (2014)AFTMAndroid Level 22 (Android 5.1)Fire OS 5
Fire TV - 1st Gen (2014)AFTBAndroid Level 22 (Android 5.1)Fire OS 5

See Device Specifications for Fire TV for more specification information.

Tip: For details on coding Fire TV apps for Fire OS 6, see Developing for Fire TV Devices Running Fire OS 6.

Most Fire devices receive over-the-air updates to get Fire OS updates automatically. Not every Fire device receives a push of the same Fire OS version at the same time. The updates often roll out to different devices at different times.

You can see your version of Fire OS by going to Settings > Device > Fire TV and looking at the 'Software Version' details. Release notes for Fire OS versions are provided in Amazon Fire TV Device Software Updates in the Fire TV end-user documentation.

Differences in Services

At the core, both Fire OS and Android share the same foundation. The main way Fire OS differs from Android is in the services. Instead of using Google's services (for activities such as browsing, location, messaging, payments, and so on), Fire OS might use Amazon's services. Most notably, Amazon uses the Amazon Appstore to list your app while Google uses Google Play Store.

List Of Mac Os Releases

Sun vs corona mac os. If your Android app connects into Google services, porting your Android app to the Fire OS platform may require you to tap into Amazon services instead.

The Great Fire Mac Os Download

When you're building your app, follow the standard Android documentation. Where there are differences to account for with Amazon's Fire OS platform, they're noted in the documentation on this site.

The goal is to provide as much parity as possible with Android (minus Google's services) so that you don't have to learn another development platform or make changes to your existing Android app.

Tip: For details on the differences between Android TV development and Fire TV development, see Fire TV Development Versus Android TV Development.

The following table contrasts services from Google with similar services from Amazon.

Google AndroidFire OS
Google MapsAmazon Maps API
Firebase Cloud MessagingAmazon Device Messaging
Google Play In-App BillingAmazon In-App Purchasing API
Cast SDKFling SDK
Google Mobile Ads SDKAmazon Mobile Ad Network
Advertise Your App
Sign-In with GoogleLogin with Amazon
Google Play Developer APIDeveloper Publishing API

Last updated: Jun 30, 2017





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