Macworld’s Benj Edwards has a great look back at Mac OS X Public Beta, released ten years go:
When users got their hands on the Public Beta, reviews were mixed but optimistic. It was obvious that OS X represented a promising future for Apple, but the company still had a long way to go in terms of producing a fully mature OS. Apple collected bug reports and ideas for its new beta through an Internet-enabled suggestion box in the Apple menu.
While OS X has made great strides over the last decade, it is a bit more mind-boggling to think about Apple’s other products that have surfaced since 2000 — the iPod, iLife, iOS devices and the best Macs the company has ever shipped.
If you don’t know much about the origins of Mac OS X, this is a must-read.
Update: Ars Technica has re-published John Siracusa’s review of OS X’s Public Beta.