<s>
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
is	O
an	O
online	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
,	O
news	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
and	O
shareware	B-License
file	B-Application
hosting	I-Application
service	I-Application
covering	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
products	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
,	O
iPod	B-Device
and	O
especially	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Established	O
in	O
1984	O
as	O
an	O
electronic	O
mailing	O
list	O
,	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
is	O
notable	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
first	O
online	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
for	O
Apple	O
's	O
then-new	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
was	O
the	O
dominant	O
Internet	O
resource	O
for	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
software	I-Operating_System
and	O
community-based	O
support	O
throughout	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
early	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
consisted	O
of	O
two	O
distinct	O
services	O
:	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Archive	O
,	O
a	O
user-submitted	O
collection	O
of	O
nearly	O
all	O
contemporary	O
freeware	B-License
and	O
shareware	B-License
available	O
for	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Digest	O
,	O
an	O
electronic	O
mailing	O
list	O
open	O
to	O
public	O
participation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Archive	O
and	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Digest	O
were	O
operated	O
by	O
volunteers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Digest	O
was	O
published	O
daily	O
via	O
Stanford	O
University	O
servers	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
itself	O
archived	O
on	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Archive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
its	O
height	O
,	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Digest	O
was	O
read	O
daily	O
by	O
several	O
thousand	O
people	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
mirrored	O
in	O
the	O
Usenet	B-Application
group	O
comp.sys.mac.digest	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Digest	O
was	O
published	O
in	O
"	O
volumes	O
"	O
that	O
covered	O
the	O
period	O
of	O
one	O
calendar	O
year	O
,	O
with	O
some	O
exceptions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Archive	O
was	O
the	O
centralized	O
collection	O
of	O
Macintosh	B-Operating_System
software	I-Operating_System
with	O
over	O
100	O
mirror	O
sites	O
located	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	O
public	O
archives	O
such	O
as	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
were	O
often	O
the	O
only	O
means	O
for	O
shareware	B-License
authors	O
to	O
deliver	O
their	O
product	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
early	O
commercial	O
software	O
download	O
sites	O
,	O
like	O
CNET	O
's	O
Shareware.com,	O
were	O
originally	O
mirrors	O
of	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Archive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
low-bandwidth	O
connections	O
accessible	O
by	O
early	O
Internet	O
users	O
,	O
which	O
made	O
downloading	O
large	O
files	O
an	O
onerous	O
task	O
,	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
partnered	O
with	O
Pacific	O
HiTech	O
to	O
periodically	O
publish	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
containing	O
selected	O
shareware	B-License
and	O
freeware	B-License
from	O
the	O
archive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Licensing	O
issues	O
required	O
software	O
authors	O
to	O
specifically	O
allow	O
their	O
contributions	O
to	O
be	O
included	O
on	O
the	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
through	O
a	O
statement	O
in	O
the	O
file	O
's	O
abstract	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
software	O
was	O
encoded	O
in	O
BinHex	O
or	O
MacBinary	B-General_Concept
format	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
stored	O
on	O
non-Mac	O
file	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
BBS	B-Application
or	O
FTP	B-Protocol
server	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
VI	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
,	O
the	O
discs	O
included	O
the	O
utility	O
"	O
Spelunker	O
"	O
which	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
search	O
the	O
archive	O
in	O
a	O
user-friendly	O
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
VIII	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
,	O
the	O
package	O
included	O
two	O
discs	O
to	O
offer	O
twice	O
the	O
shareware	B-License
and	O
freeware	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
popularity	O
of	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
services	O
in	O
their	O
original	O
format	O
waned	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
growing	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
and	O
web	O
hosting	O
services	O
allowed	O
software	O
authors	O
to	O
distribute	O
their	O
own	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
communicate	O
on	O
online	B-Application
message	I-Application
boards	I-Application
,	O
demand	O
for	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
'	O
s	O
services	O
grew	O
beyond	O
the	O
capability	O
of	O
an	O
all-volunteer	O
staff	O
to	O
provide	O
and	O
maintain	O
it	O
at	O
an	O
acceptable	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unable	O
to	O
maintain	O
relevance	O
on	O
the	O
rapidly	O
evolving	O
Internet	O
,	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Digest	O
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
November	O
2002	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Archive	O
stopped	O
accepting	O
new	O
file	O
submissions	O
in	O
December	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2007	O
,	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
was	O
redesigned	O
and	O
relaunched	O
with	O
a	O
Web	O
2.0	O
interface	O
,	O
combining	O
previous	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Digest	O
and	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Archive	O
content	O
with	O
a	O
modernized	O
forum-based	O
community	O
and	O
news	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
has	O
expanded	O
to	O
cover	O
all	O
Apple	O
product	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
new	O
,	O
opt	O
in	O
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
Digest	O
automatically	O
generated	O
from	O
forum	B-Application
content	O
is	O
published	O
daily	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Info-Mac	B-Operating_System
also	O
distributes	O
an	O
iOS	B-Application
app	I-Application
called	O
iForum	O
on	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
