What is Infinite Mac?

Updated

Infinite Mac is a website that runs classic Macintosh and NeXT system releases and software inside a web browser. You pick a system version — System Software, Mac OS, A/UX, Mac OS X, or NeXTStep — and it boots in a virtual machine without installing anything locally. It suits anyone who wants to revisit or research vintage systems: the catalog spans releases from the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, and each one comes with an "Infinite HD" disk holding representative software from that era.

What you can run

The site organizes releases by year and by platform. The catalog lists 81 releases in total, with 32 marked as notable.

Category Count
All releases 81
Notable 32
A/UX 11
NeXT 15
Mac OS X 6

Each entry shows a release date and a short note on what it introduced. Examples from the early years:

  • System 1.0 (January 24, 1984) — the initial system software release, shipped with the Mac 128K.
  • System 2.0 (April 8, 1985) — added the "New Folder" and "Shut Down" commands, the MiniFinder, and the Choose Printer DA, plus icons in list view and the Command-Shift-3 screenshot FKEY.
  • System 2.1 (September 17, 1985) — added support for the Hard Disk 20 drive and the HFS file system.
  • System 3.0 (January 16, 1986) — more complete HFS support, a RAM disk cache, zoom boxes for windows, and a redesigned control panel; introduced with the Mac Plus.
  • System 5.0 (October 8, 1987) — introduced MultiFinder, a revised Finder about box, and improved printing support.
  • A/UX 1.0 (February 9, 1988) — combined UNIX System V Release 2 with BSD networking, TCP/IP, and NFS, and could run only one Macintosh Toolbox application at a time.
  • System 6.0 (April 30, 1988) — added MacroMaker, Map, and CloseView utilities.
  • NeXTStep 0.8 (October 12, 1988) — the first publicly available preview release, with the Mach kernel, an Objective-C-based object-oriented API, a Display PostScript-powered UI, and several applications.
  • A/UX 1.1 (February 10, 1989) — expanded Macintosh compatibility with HyperCard, color displays, and CD-ROM support, plus faster disk and SCSI I/O.
  • NeXTStep 1.0 (September 11, 1989) — added the ability to kill applications from Workspace Manager and a redesigned Preferences application.

How to use it

  1. Open the site and browse the release list, filtering by platform (A/UX, NeXT, Mac OS X) or by notable releases if you want a curated starting point.
  2. Choose a version and select Run to boot it in the browser, or Customize... to configure it first.
  3. Use the welcome screen inside each machine for machine-specific instructions.

If none of the preset configurations fit, you can run a custom version with your choice of machine and disks.

Moving files in and out

On some operating systems, files and disk images can be imported and exported using drag and drop, and virtual CD-ROMs can be mounted. The exact behavior depends on the system you boot, so check the welcome screen in that machine for details.

Other things the site offers

  • Embedding — instances can be embedded into your own site.
  • Experimentation — the site points to a way to "monkey around" with it.
  • Changelog — a page showing what has changed recently.
  • Donations — a link to support the project.

The site does not publish pricing information in the material available here, so treat any cost or account requirement as unconfirmed rather than assuming it is free or login-free.