••▷▷▷ Mac OS X 10.1 [OLD VERSION]

Mac OS X 10.1 [OLD VERSION] Review

Mac OS X 10.1 [OLD VERSION] Overview

Mac OS X, Apple's next-generation operating system, debuted to great enthusiasm, but ultimately left users wanting more: more speed, more applications, more usefulness. Sure, it looked pretty, but you had to boot up into OS 9 when it came time to do some real work. That has all changed with the recent release of Mac OS X 10.1.

Improvements across the board within the operating system and support from numerous vendors have made OS X a viable upgrade. Internal improvements have brought the performance and reliability up to professional levels, while software from such vendors as Canon, Epson, and Hewlett-Packard make compatible a wide variety of printers and scanners. As soon as 10.1 was released, we upgraded our Dual G4/450 with nothing but positive results. With multiple hard drives on our system, we're able to dedicate drives for booting into either OS 9 or OS X, thus ensuring backward compatibility.

However, since upgrading over a month ago, the only times we've needed to boot into OS 9 was for using a FireWire card reader (for reading compact flash cards from a digital camera) and only because the drivers aren't yet available. But you don't need a high-speed G4 to use 10.1. It's now become the default OS on our PowerBook G3/400 (FireWire model), responding quickly and running reliably. Airport networking works flawlessly, and Internet and intranet access is rock solid.

In addition to performance improvements, Apple has added DVD-video playback. Since OS X is a true multitasking operating system, you haven't really watched a DVD until you've made it a half-size window in the background while checking e-mail, shopping at Amazon.com, and copying files at the same time--without skipping a frame. iTunes for OS X will play and encode music, as well as burn audio CDs using an internal or external CD-R/RW drive. If you need to burn data CDs, simply insert a blank disc. OS X will detect it, and ask how you'd like to format it: Mac/PC data or audio CD?

Additional improvements in AppleScripting, a customizable dock, video card and printer drivers, and networking add to the appeal. One important missing feature is the ability to print to a remote USB printer. With OS 9, Apple included the USB Printer Sharing control panel, which allowed remote Macs to print to any USB-connected printer on a local Mac. This worked flawlessly for us when printing from our PowerBook to an Epson 1280 connected to our G4. However, there seems to be no such facility for printing to remote USB printers under OS X. Aside from that, OS X 10.1 on a contemporary Mac is a solid performer and a glimpse of how things ought to work. --Mike Caputo

Mac OS X 10.1 [OLD VERSION] Specifications

Mac OS X combines the power of Unix with the simplicity and elegance of Macintosh. Built on the framework of the first version, 10.1 makes Mac OS X faster and more responsive. Get new features and refinements as well. In Mac OS X version 10.1, Apple delivers vastly improved performance at every level of the system. Menus are visibly faster to react, drawing quickly and smoothly. Most applications will launch two to three times faster in Mac OS X version 10.1.

Finder windows are more responsive when they are resized, regardless of whether the user is manipulating files in icon, list, or column view. To get windows out of the way in a hurry, choose a scale option instead of the genie effect. Available in dock preferences, scale cuts down the time it takes to minimize an active window to the dock. OpenGL is 20 percent faster in this release, with full native support for the NVIDIA GeForce 3 card, allowing applications to take maximum advantage of advanced 3-D applications.

In version 10.1, Apple's next-generation operating system is ready to power a digital lifestyle. Apple added CD burning to iTunes in this Mac OS X software update. With Mac OS X version 10.1 users are able to create their own data CDs using the CD-burning capabilities built right into the finder. For users who burn a lot of CDs, a burn button can be added to the finder toolbar. The new DVD player application is the best way to watch movies at 30,000 feet. Choose to watch them in a window or full screen. The sleek new controller allows easy navigation of DVDs, with controls that can be arranged vertically or horizontally. The new iDVD 2, available only for Mac OS X version 10.1, advances the tools needed to author and record personal DVD-Video discs. The enhanced MPEG encoder in iDVD 2 and the Mac OS X architecture work together to provide background encoding and to accelerate the DVD recording process.

Mac OS X version 10.1 also features enhanced AppleScript support throughout the system. Not only is the finder far more scriptable but so are many of the system components like Print Center, Internet Connect, and Terminal. AppleScript also uses the Internet-standard SOAP and XML protocols to enable communication across a network so it can send AppleScript events from one Mac OS X system to another. Add toolbar scripts to finder windows. With AppleScript Studio, create full-fledged Mac OS X applications complete with a user interface. These applications can script regular Mac applications as well as the Unix shell. Other new features include more compatible networking, better Internet browsing, more than 200 PostScript printer description files, faster file finding, and more control over system preferences.