Version: 1.0
Platform: United States / Canada
Announced availability in the US and Canada; shipping also reported by TidBITS.
Apple source ↗Mac OS X Server 1.0
Mac OS X Server debuted on March 16, 1999, before consumer Mac OS X in 2001. Apple's announcement preserved by MacTech stated availability that day in the United States and Canada, not worldwide. TidBITS also reported it shipping. This first generation, descended from Rhapsody, must not be confused with Server 10.0 or the April 2000 Darwin 1.0 release.
- Family
- Mac OS X Server
- Version
- 1.0
- Architectures
- PowerPC
- Historical US price
- US$499
Apple · 1999-03-16 · Press release reproduced by MacTech · TidBITS · 1999-03-16 · Shipping report · Apple · Darwin 1.0 · 2000-04-05
Its foundation combined Mach and BSD 4.4, protected memory, and preemptive multitasking. The announcement included Apache 1.3.4, WebObjects 4.01, Apple file services, and NetBoot to start and configure clients from a server. Opening the system foundation as Darwin did not automatically make all those products open source. Apple's Canadian announcement identified Mach 2.5 and NetInfo among its components.
Apple · 1999-03-16 · Press release reproduced by MacTech · Apple Canada · 1999-03-18 · Darwin · Jeff Walsh / IDG · CNN · 1999-03-17
US pricing was 499 USD with an unlimited-client license. The announcement required a Power Macintosh G3 or Macintosh Server G3, 64 MB RAM, a 1 GB disk, and CD-ROM. These were server requirements, not a list of every NetBoot client. Apple's archived technical table distinguishes 1.0 from 1.2 and notes that FireWire and software RAID did not work in this early family.
Apple · 1999-03-16 · Press release reproduced by MacTech · Apple · Archived TA28250 · Server 1.x requirements
Apple's 1999 Read Me, preserved by RhapsodyOS, documents specific limits: Apple file service passwords sent in clear text, inability to boot from an ATA disk configured as slave, and QuickTime Streaming Server still a preview without telephone support. These were conditions of that release, not claims about current macOS. Mel Beckman also criticized the incomplete graphical interface in his original Macworld review.
Apple · Server 1.0 Read Me · Reproduced by RhapsodyOS · Mel Beckman · Macworld · Server 1999 review
Dates documented by Apple
Selected releases, not a complete history. Dates follow Apple's release records, not the latest page edit. No builds are included.
ISO date: year-month-day.