Coming soon: Mac OS 8.0.1, Sequoia, and Rhapsody

Mac OS 8.0.1 (also known as "Bride of Buster") is the next update to Mac OS 8. It is due in November and is primarily a bug-fix maintenance release. However, it includes one major new feature: Apple's Enhanced HFS (Hierarchical File System) replacement for the current HFS, code-named Sequoia. According to an article in Apple Directions, Sequoia's key improvement is that it will dramatically reduce the wasted space of the current file system (which is due to each file taking up more space than it actually needs), a problem that gets worse as the hard drive size gets bigger. It will also permit larger file sizes (greater than 2Gb) and more files on a disk - than the current HFS allows. It even permits file names as long as 255 characters (exceeding HFS' 31 character limit).

Update: Adam Winer (of Oracle) notes: "While Sequoia does support 255 character file names, MacOS 8.0.1 will still be limited to 31 byte names. Apple would have to perform a major revision of the Finder, as well as other parts of the OS, to support the long file names. And for a really nit-picking clarification: HFS is limited to 31 byte names, while Sequoia is limited to 255 characters. It doesn't make a difference in English, but it does in Japanese or any other east Asian language."

Sequoia will work with all computers that can run Mac OS 8. However, only Power Macs will be able to boot from Sequoia volumes. 68040 Macs will only be able to mount such volumes as secondary drives.

By the way, the Bride of Buster update looks to be the largest ever for a maintenance release (it currently weighs in at about 25Mb). In addition to Sequoia, it is also expected to include Open Transport 1.3, LaserWriter 8.5.1 and a new version of Drive Setup.

Speaking of future software from Apple, Apple has updated its Rhapsody Technical FAQ. Readers wanting to gaze into Apple's crystal ball should give this document a look. The initial Developer Release of Rhapsody is expected very soon.