Codename: "Allegro" (8.5) "The Ric Ford Release" (8.5.1)
Released: October 1998 (8.5) December 1998 (8.5.1)
System Requirements: PowerPC processor, 16 MB of physical RAM, with virtual memory (VM) set to at least 24 MB, and 150 to 250 MB of hard disk space
Distribution Media: CD-ROM
Apple Order Number: n/a
Versions: 8.5, 8.5.1
History: Released October 17, 1998, Mac OS 8.5 was the first version of the Mac OS to run solely on Macs equipped with a PowerPC processor. As such it replaced some but not all of the m68k code with PowerPC code, improving system performance by relying less on 680x0 emulation. Parties interested in such things have noted that there are still many strings in the System file which make references to obsolete 68K machinery. It was the first version to include the Sherlock search utility. Sherlock allowed users to search the contents of documents on hard drives (given that it had an index of your hard drive), or extend a search to the Internet. Sherlock plug-ins started appearing at this time; these plug-ins allowed you to search the contents of other websites. Mac OS 8.5 included a number of performance improvements. Copying files over a network was faster than previous versions and Apple advertised it as being "faster than Windows NT". AppleScript was also re-written to use only PowerPC code, which significantly improved AppleScript execution speed.
History Source: Wikipedia
History Source Address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_8
