Oliver Haslam·

You Can Download Mac OS 8 And Run It Just Like Any App On Your Computer

A Slack developer by the name of Felix Rieseberg has created something that nobody knew that they wanted. Until it was made available. Welcome to Mac OS 8 running as an Electron app on anything from a modern Mac to a PC – even including machines running Linux.

The free download runs as a virtualized 1991 Mac and it’s a thing of beauty.

[The app works] … well, actually – on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Bear in mind that this is written entirely in JavaScript, so please adjust your expectations. The virtual machine is emulating a 1991 Macintosh Quadra 900 with a Motorola CPU, which Apple used before switching to IBM’s PowerPC architecture in the late 1990s.

So what can you do with your Mac-in-an-app? Turns out, quite a bit. The app includes a ton of software that was available on a Macworld demonstration CD from 1997. Because of course it does. It all runs, too, including the game Duke Nuken 3D!

In fact, you’ll find various games and demos preinstalled, thanks to an old MacWorld Demo CD from 1997. Namely, Oregon Trail, Duke Nukem 3D, Civilization II, Alley 19 Bowling, Damage Incorporated, and Dungeons & Dragons.

There are also various apps and trials preinstalled, including Photoshop 3, Premiere 4, Illustrator 5.5, StuffIt Expander, the Apple Web Page Construction Kit, and more.

Unfortunately, there’s one problem – you can’t connect Mac OS 8 to the internet. That said, you can still get files into and out of it if that’s something you’re keen to do. Just don’t expect to be ordering your new Mac Pro using a virtualized Macintosh Quadra 900.

To get started, head over to the project’s Github page.

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