System 7.1, mostly since it could run most of the software written prior to the release of Carbon. It is also lean. It also looks nice.
System 6 is the next runner up. I love its memory economy and blazing speed, and most of the applications for it reflect that. I also love the economy of the user interface and features. I love stuff that is to the point and gets the job done.
NetBSD would be close on the heels of System 6, at least in the 1.3 and 1.4 era. Yeah, I know it's not Mac OS but I included it for a few reasons. First of all, I used it most extensively on the Macs. Second, it defines (in my mind) the ideal of Unix. Just like System 6 defines the ideal of Mac OS.
Since I included one non Mac OS operating system, I may as well include a second: Mac OS X 10.3 earns fourth place. (I consider Mac OS X to be a rebranded version of NeXT.) 10.3 included the last feature that I found really useful: X11. After that, Apple just started adding cruft. Alas, using Mac OS X is like riding a roller coaster so I probably won't buy a Mac ever again.
System 6 is the next runner up. I love its memory economy and blazing speed, and most of the applications for it reflect that. I also love the economy of the user interface and features. I love stuff that is to the point and gets the job done.
NetBSD would be close on the heels of System 6, at least in the 1.3 and 1.4 era. Yeah, I know it's not Mac OS but I included it for a few reasons. First of all, I used it most extensively on the Macs. Second, it defines (in my mind) the ideal of Unix. Just like System 6 defines the ideal of Mac OS.
Since I included one non Mac OS operating system, I may as well include a second: Mac OS X 10.3 earns fourth place. (I consider Mac OS X to be a rebranded version of NeXT.) 10.3 included the last feature that I found really useful: X11. After that, Apple just started adding cruft. Alas, using Mac OS X is like riding a roller coaster so I probably won't buy a Mac ever again.