Editing Copland (operating system) (section)

{{Short description|Operating system by Apple}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox OS
| name = Copland
| logo = <!-- Filename only, no wikilink, Image:, File: -->
| logo caption = 
| logo alt = 
| screenshot = <!-- Filename only, no wikilink, Image:, File: -->
| caption = 
| screenshot_alt = 
| developer = [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer, Inc.]]
| family = [[Macintosh operating systems|Macintosh]]
| working state = Discontinued
| source model = [[Closed source]]
| released = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD/no}} -->
| discontinued = August 1996
| latest release version = 
| latest release date = <!-- {{Start date and age|19YY|MM|DD}} -->
| marketing target = Macintosh users
| programmed in = 
| language = English
| update model = <!-- APT, Windows Update, etc. -->
| package manager = <!-- dpkg, rpm, Windows installer, etc. -->
| supported platforms = [[Power Macintosh]]
| kernel type = [[Microkernel]]
| userland = 
| ui = 
| license = 
| preceded by = [[System 7]]
| succeeded by = [[Mac OS 8]]
| website = <!-- {{URL|www.example.org}} -->
| other articles = [[Taligent]], [[A/UX]]
}}
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'''Copland''' is an [[operating system]] developed by [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] for [[Macintosh]] computers between 1994 and 1996 but never commercially released. It was intended to be released with the name '''System 8''', and later after changing their naming style, '''Mac OS 8'''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tracy |first=Phillip |date=2023-12-27 |title=Apple's 12 worst product failures of all time |url=https://qz.com/apples-12-worst-product-failures-of-all-time-1851112540 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Quartz |language=en}}</ref> Planned as a modern successor to the aging [[System 7]], Copland introduced [[memory protection|protected memory]], [[Computer multitasking|preemptive multitasking]], and several new underlying operating system features, while retaining compatibility with existing Mac applications. Copland's tentatively planned successor, codenamed Gershwin, was intended to add more advanced features such as application-level [[multithreading (computer architecture)|multithreading]].

Development officially began in March 1994. Over the next several years, previews of Copland garnered much press, introducing the Mac audience to operating system concepts such as object orientation, crash-proofing, and multitasking. In August 1995, [[David Nagel]], a senior vice president, announced at [[Macworld Expo]] that Copland would be released in mid-1996.  The following May, [[Gil Amelio]] stated that Copland was the primary focus of the company, aiming for a late-year release. Internally, however, the development effort was beset with problems due to dysfunctional corporate personnel and project management. Development milestones and developer release dates were missed repeatedly.

[[Ellen Hancock]] was hired to get the project back on track, but quickly concluded it could never ship. In August 1996, it was announced that Copland was canceled and Apple would look outside the company for a new operating system. Among many choices, they selected [[NeXTSTEP]] and purchased [[NeXT]] in 1997 to obtain it. In the interim period, while NeXTSTEP was ported to the Mac, Apple released the much more legacy-oriented [[Mac OS 8]] in 1997 based upon adding components from Copland, and [[Mac OS 9]] in 1999 to transition forward. [[macOS|Mac OS X]] became Apple's next-generation operating system in 2001.

The Copland development effort has been described as an example of [[feature creep]]. In 2008, ''[[PC World]]'' included Copland on a list of the biggest project failures in [[information technology]] (IT) history.