In my previous review (about apple iBook & all Macs in general, titled ’’an apple a day..’’), I had briefly mentioned about OS-X, the operating system that all new macs run on.
well, that was just the tip of the iceberg! here I shall try to give an in-depth analysis & try to explain why it is (well, almost) about to be crowned as the ’’world’s most advanced operating system’’
you would, naturally, notice a bit of repetition if you’ve read the previous one, but i’ll try my best not to say the same things over again!!
i would be covering OS-X.2.8 (Jaguar) for now. I will submit a review on OS-X.3 (Panther) as soon as I install it & use it for a few days. so here goes:
INSTALLING:
The installation of 10.2 IS very smooth, you don’t need to be a computer wiz to do it. even if you’re doing any such thing for the first time, you’ll breeze through! You put the CD in, you boot with it, & just follow it up once a while, and that’s pretty much all there is into it. During installing you could even go make a cup of coffee, be back in time to insert the 2nd CD & then go back, enjoy your coffee & by the time you’re done with your cuppa, installation is also done. The installation takes 20-40 minutes depending on your system configuration
CONFIGURING IT:
virtually everything that is of importance to you can be fiddled about with the help of ’’System Preferences’’ - a unified collection of all settings from network proxies, to internet, modem settings, display colors, sound, security, multiple-users... you name it you have it!! for what you don’t see or know, the system automatically figures out everything for you! child’s play!!
LOOKS/APPEARANCE:
this is where I honestly fall short of words to describe the very mac experience!! no windows/PC font & desktop settings can ever be as polished as the mac’s! the cool & elegant ’’aqua’’ interface makes everything look eye-catching. besides no matter how bright, the display is never glaring or hard on the eyes. this is one feature that I marvel about!
USAGE:
OS X defines ’’easy to use’’. no matter What OS (DOS/windows/Linux) you’re used to, you’ll pick up OS X pretty quickly. even if you’re migrating from older OS versions (especially from 9.2), all it takes is a few mouse-clicks & you’re all set to work in this new environment. All the features you expect are there, and it will take only a little playing around to find them. right from opening applications. switching between active applications or even moving between open documents, the ’’Dock’’ application proves it’s versatility in every way! The ’’Finder’’ does it’s job (just like what the name says) effortlessly & fast!
SOFTWARE/APPLICATIONS:
For office or home, OS X fite perfectly. MS Office users can install Office v. X and keep on working as if nothing’s changed!! AppleWorks, which has all the Office functionality is a less expensive but sleeker package that comes in free. Adobe & Macromedia are just some of te bigger players who have released almost all their products for OS-X. for multimedia-philes, there’s the amazing quick-time & iTunes to keep you charmed. gaming is a virtually new experience on the mac with the amazing clarity of display & the richness of sound. of course I have to mention that OS-X will not ’’natively’’ run programs designed for earlier OSs. for these programs, the classic environment (OS9) is launched within OS-X & the program is run. this minor issue is something that apple would not like to keep and I do believe they are working on it. so for now, you would also have OS9 in the background which is launched, whenever required.
NETWORKING:
macs are very easily integrated into any running network environment. file sharing with windows PCs on the network is possible in OS-X, so there’s no worry about how it’s going to behave!! just turn on the ’’file-sharing’’ option, sit back, watch & relax as your job is done without fail everytime.
DEVELOPER TOOLS:
macs are the choice of proffessional developers & the like. they were designed keeping in mind the most serious proffessionals to the most casual home users. with the impressive array of developer tools available (comes in the installation pack), why should you go searching for more programs? don’t even bother. to!
UNIX COMMANDS!!!:
If you don’t really care about Unix, don’t know about Unix and don’t want to, don’t worry! You’ll never have to learn a Unix command in your life to master the mac. you don’t even have to learn how to spell it. but for those who live & breathe Unix, the full complement of commands and directory structures are available through the Terminal.
& besides, there’s always the jargon of no-crashing, no freezing, no viruses which I shall avoid to elaborate for fear of repetition!!!
Jaguar (10.2.8) is an improvemnt over previous versions of OS-X (especially 10 & 10.1) which had lots of bugs. overall, Jaguar is a very stable release. it does look similar to earlier versions, but it’s smoother & faster.