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MacOS X Beta Sneak Preview
Ruddy writes: "ZDNet has screenshots
and a preview of Mac
OSX beta being released Wednesday at the Apple
Expo in Paris, as well as a list of some apps
and utils that will ship
on the beta CD (apparently no download). Some of
the leaking details are a very NeXt-ish file browser, No Airport
support yet, only partial USB and only partial Firewire; Full
Java 2, Full OpenGL, Full SMP; Choice of Aqua or Graphite eye candies;
New Dock choices; installing on G3 & G4s only--requiring the OEM
video cards (no Voodoos or 3DFX) and single monitor systems only; installs
alongside OS9 with no major speed hits for Classic apps. The screenshots look fab and it all sounds pretty heady except for the connectivity shortage, but will
it look and feel? And will it plug and ...play? Highlights from
the rollout will be webcast here
starting Wednesday."
please take it cum grano salis .
I'm in ADC, so I cannot got into detail of exactly *where* it is wrong; but I can say that Apple *is* supporting several key technologies ( and have been for a while) in this release that are misreported by ZDNet.
I would have posted AC, but I wanted to make sure this got read by someone before the world flew off the handle.
Later...
One day, you'll learn to watch what you post...
Of course not everything works yet. This is still a beta release. Nothing may have changed in the GUI or general structure, but they probably tuned it up some under the hood in order to get it working better. Something about Developer Release vs. Public Beta may have something to do with that.
MacOS X Downside: It'll demand Apple hardware to run, and demand G3+ hardware at that. There's also been talk of X not working with third party CPU plug-ins. Whether it's a matter of optimizing for Apple's specific hardware, or crippling the software on other machines isn't a big deal, unless you planned to cross-compile it. (And judging by the 'first posts,' the Lintel Hegemony is still roaming in force.)
MacOS X Upsides: People complain about how hard it is to configure a Linux system. Well here it is, folks: the people who brought user interface to personal computers are slapping a pretty front end on BSD and are not only planning on *selling* it, but intend to make *money* on it.
(Also consider: a) Apple Computer is in the habit of bundling DVD-ROMs with their systems these days. b) Apple is basing MacOS X on BSD. Therefore, c) Apple will be providing BSD-DVD drivers legally to their users.)
If you want Linux and the various *nix clones to be accepted by the public as a serious force instead of the domain of cloistered geeks, you want to do something to make it visible. KDE and Gnome are okay interfaces, but they're only distributed as far as Linux is. Here's a manufacturer of hardware AND software bundling everything together -- OS, drivers, and front end -- and giving the whole thing visibility.
If you want to pooh-pooh Apple just becuase they 'suck,' then you might be doing the *nix community a disservice. Because most people, if they turn away from Apple for whatever reason, tend to think Microsoft first, not Linux.
You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.
MacOS X is not being developed for x86. Yes that was the plan for Rhapsody, MacOS's immediate predecessor. This was scrapped. Yes Darwin has been released as Open Source by Apple for the x86. Yes this is the base for MacOS X. No these are not the same things. MacOS X includes the Quartz rendering layer and the Aqua interface, the Classic, Carbon, and Cocoa environments, Quicktime, etc. Darwin may be the engine but that's *all* it is. It's unlikely Apple would release MacOS X for x86 since Apple is a hardware company and thus this wouldn't make sense for them financially. Yes you and many others think doing so would be cool but financially it would be suicide for Apple so tough - buy their stock and be happy they make a profit.
MacOS X uses a Mach kernel and is compatible with BSD 2.2. It is based on Nextstep and has inherited many of that OS's features. Technically Apple bought Next; practically Next took over Apple's OS development.
Yes Apple's computers come in funky cases with unusual colors. Hopefully most geeks can see beyond the flashy cases and note that there's some real compute power and some innovative OS stuff going on inside. There are those who are so put off they can't get past the box - that says more about them then it does about the products or their marketing.
This is MacOS X beta If history holds true Apple still has a few cards up it's sleeve it's saving 'till later. Steve Jobs likes very much to "Wow" folks and suprise them with kewl stuff. Nowhere does this beta say it's a full disclosure - it's a preview. Furthermore as a beta this release is expected to not be complete, to be buggy, to have problems - that's the point of releasing it. Lots of folks will want to review this Beta as they would the final release - don't pay too much creedence.
True Apple has gotten very aggressive about enforcing it's NDA's. If you were in their market you would be too. Not only does it weaken their technological edge by having everyone know what they're doing it also affects their sales. Folks hear rumors over & over of a 17" iMac next month and stop buying in advance of it (never happened - unlikely will - lousy form-factor.) Again Steve jobs likes to "Wow" folks - that's his sales technique. Spilling the beans, even a few hours ahead of time means the announcement goes from being a headline for Apple to being buried in a story.
MacOS X is a big deal for Linux & BSD folks. This is the first time a mass market vendor has released a Linux/BSD compatible OS. Sure the interface and many of the details are different but it opens the way for cross-ports. If a developer makes something for one OS they can support the other fairly easily. Thus it means many Linux/BSD applications will get access to the Mac market and many Mac applications being ported to MacOS X will go on to be ported to Linux/BSD etc.
Finally Apple is doing some interesting stuff for BSD and Linux. They've developed a great way of graphically configuring all of the subtly-different configuration files in Unix. They're beginning to help work on a new way of distributing, installing, and maintaining packages. They're spurring development of new drivers (DVD anyone?) With all of the discussion of X-Windows failings Quartz is an interesting example of what can be done with another model - an example that is not just an ambitious plan but a working widely used test case.
Finlly Apple is not perfect. They've blown more opportunites then can be counted, have more lives then a cat, and have legions who love or hate them (or both.) They're famous for developing amazing technologies then failing to capitalize on them, for their 10 (or is it 15?) year quest for the successor to MacOS, for arrogance and indecision. They've more then once set off on a path then abruptly changed course (the licensing program they dumped when it started to bleed them dry, the Newton and the eBook, OpenDoc & Bento, etc.)
But damn they make the market interesting :)
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
I, for one, have a dream... a dream of a time when Macs of all colours can live in peace and harmony, free from the segregated attitudes of people like Julius. I have a dream that green Macs will cluster with blue Macs, and red Macs will swap Zip disks (or whatever those Macs freaks use... Syquest disks or something) with with purple Macs, and beige PCs will telnet to black RS/6000s, and grey Palm pilots will sync with purple E450s. No computer will be shunned, regardless of make. Even your computer, Julius, which refused to share data with Macs of colour, will be accepted and loved as it it were part of the network.
But I also have dreams about fat, greasy, naked clowns with chainsaws, so YMMV.
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.