Apple uses cat names to represent versions of OS X. It is important to know both the cat name and the version number of OS X that you are using. Sometimes you will hear or read the cat name, and sometimes the version number. So knowing which ones match which is important.

Your Mac's hosts file is a small but important text document that has the ability to map hostnames to specified IP addresses. While the modern Internet uses a variety of public and private DNS.

Check out MacMost Now 862: Mac OS X Cat Names at YouTube for closed captioning and more options.

In the new CATAN Universe, buyers of the CATAN Classic apps for Android and iOS will have an easy start with no additional costs, because there they can unlock, for free, the “Basic game,” “Seafarers,” and “Cities and Knights” content they already purchased as part of CATAN Classic. Apple uses cat names to represent versions of OS X. It is important to know both the cat name and the version number of OS X that yo. Yesterday, Apple unveiled OS X 10.9 and joked that after a decade, they were ditching their scheme of naming OS X releases after cats because they’d simply run out of big cat names to use. The history of macOS, Apple's current Mac operating system originally named Mac OS X until 2012 and then OS X until 2016, began with the company's project to replace its 'classic' Mac OS. That system, up to and including its final release Mac OS 9, was a direct descendant of the operating system Apple had used in its Macintosh computers since.

Video Transcript: Hi this is Gary with MacMost Now. On today's episode let's take a look at Mac OS X Cat Names.If you have a new Mac you may know that you have Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion. Some people refer to it by just the cat name, Mountain Lion. Other's refer to it by just its number, 10.8. They are one and the same thing.Now it is important if you have a Mac to be able to identify your operating system and also know the cat name and the number. So no matter which way you hear it you know if they are referring to your version or an older one or a newer one.If you go can choose Apple and About This Mac you will get a window like this that identifies your operating system by the numbers. In this case 10.8. It won't tell you that it is Mountain Lion. The name isn't used here. But if we go to the Mac AppStore you will see that it is used. It is called OS X Mountain Lion. Its used as the name, not the number. So it is important to know that they are one and the same thing.So let's look at the history of the cat names. Of course we are at Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Before that we had Lion and before that was Snow Leopard. It is important not to read too much into the names because each version of Mac OS X is very different than the previous one. It is a full version different.For instance between 10.6 and 10.5 you had Leopard and Snow Leopard. But they are very different versions. There was a big leap between the two of them. So there is really no relation because they have a similar name like Leopard and Snow Leopard or Lion and Mountain Lion. There is no relation between the versions and any indication of how big the jump is.Now before Leopard we had Tiger and before that was Panther and before that was Mac OS X 10.2 which was Jaguar. This was the first time that Apple actually used the tiger name. Originally the tiger names were just these names that the software developers used inside of Apple. They weren't something that was used outside. But they became so popular in the press that Apple decided to go with them as part of their marketing. So before Jaguar there was Puma, but Puma was never actually used as a name for Mac OS X at all. Actually the original version of Mac OS X was Cheetah and that was also something that was just used internally. As a matter of fact the version before Cheetah, the beta version of Mac OS X was known as Kodiak referring to a bear, not a tiger.It is also interesting to note that Apple has already repeated cats because of course some of these names refer to the same animal. For instance a puma, cougar and mountain lion are technically the same animal and a leopard and a panther are technically as well. It is also important to note that tiger names are kind of weird. For instance leopard and snow leopard are not related.If you really want to know more you can go to Wikipedia's page on big cats and there you can see how all of the different big cats are related. For instance tigers, lions and jaguars are all under the same genus but cheetahs have their own and snow leopards have their own whereas cougars are technically pumas.We don't yet know what Mac OS 10.9 will use as a name. It could use another repeated name like cougar which technically is the same as mountain lion or it could go and recycle one of the earlier names that wasn't officially used, say like cheetah. Or Apple could just completely get away from the cat names and use something completely different.Hope you found this interesting. Until next time this is Gary with MacMost Now.

Is your Mac up to date with the latest version of the Mac operating system? Is it using the version required by a product that you want to use with your Mac? Which versions are earlier (older) or later (newer, more recent)? To find out, learn which version is installed now.

If your macOS isn't up to date, you may be able to update to a later version.

Which macOS version is installed?

From the Apple menu  in the corner of your screen, choose About This Mac. You should see the macOS name, such as macOS Big Sur, followed by its version number. If you need to know the build number as well, click the version number to see it.

Which macOS version is the latest?

These are all Mac operating systems, starting with the most recent. When a major new macOS is released, it gets a new name, such as macOS Big Sur. As updates that change the macOS version number become available, this article is updated to show the latest version of that macOS.

If your Mac is using an earlier version of any Mac operating system, you should install the latest Apple software updates, which can include important security updates and updates for the apps that are installed by macOS, such as Safari, Books, Messages, Mail, Music, Calendar, and Photos.

Cats In Universe Mac Os 11

macOS	Latest version
macOS Big Sur	11.3
macOS Catalina	10.15.7
macOS Mojave	10.14.6
macOS High Sierra	10.13.6
macOS Sierra	10.12.6
OS X El Capitan	10.11.6
OS X Yosemite	10.10.5
OS X Mavericks	10.9.5
OS X Mountain Lion	10.8.5
OS X Lion	10.7.5
Mac OS X Snow Leopard	10.6.8
Mac OS X Leopard	10.5.8
Mac OS X Tiger	10.4.11
Mac OS X Panther	10.3.9
Mac OS X Jaguar	10.2.8
Mac OS X Puma	10.1.5
Mac OS X Cheetah	10.0.4