Detailed Reviews of Mac OS X "Tiger" Preview

An anonymous reader writes "AppleInsider has been publishing some very detailed articles on Apple's new Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' operating system, which include numerous screenshots of the system. So far the publication has discussed overall installation and Spotlight search technology, Safari with RSS, a new Mail revision with Smart Mailbox technology, and a websearch enabled Mac OS X Help application."

Comments

Apple Link

[mattyohe]

Here is apple's own "Preview". It contains tons of screenshots and a webcast from WWDC.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/

Smart Folder == Opera M2 Mail Client

[RinkRat]

If anyone is interested in checking out 'smart folders' ahead of time, I encourage you to try the mail client included with Opera.

It works under the 'everything is a database' premise for email, with 'smart filters', multiple views, multiple email integration, everything controlled via CSS and much, much more.

It's free as in beer, too.

Some common answers to Tiger questions

[hkb]

Is Tiger usable as a daily OS, currently?

No, Safari 2.0 currently does not work with HTTPS sites. Many common apps, including FireFox crash upon execution. Additionally, there seem to be some pretty serious filesystem bugs which can trash your entire hard disk (not just your Tiger partition).

Do I need a DVD drive? My pirated copy of the Tiger DVD crashes upon boot up.

No, you don't need a DVD drive. Visit the following URL for good installation steps:

Install steps

He also has a Tiger FAQ here:

Tiger FAQ

Re:Smart Folders == Labels?

[System.out.println()]

Smart folder and labels aren't quite the same, particularly in that Smart Folders are automatic, and labels aren't. This has both upsides and downsides, but they *aren't* the same thing.

Re:photocopiers?

[2nd Post!]

No, like Window's Help and Support Center, in Windows XP, which also searches the web. The difference is that the OS X Help application is global and applies to all help applications, where in MS's case each app has it's own Help index, and for XP, Office, and Office XP, their own help tools. I'm pretty sure (don't have a copy yet, like you) that in Tiger, any and all apps will be able to search Apple's knowledge base as well as the web for stuff. The difference in implementation between Apple and Microsoft is scope and consistency.

Microsoft's web enabled help applications are selective.

Re:Only DVD?

[cmoney]

This is a developer version. The final copy won't be out until probably this time next year. It's probably cheaper to burn 1 dvd instead of 4-5 CDs. I'm pretty sure Apple's developer program has switched to DVDs for a lot of their software distribution. (I remember starting to get DVDs last year before my membership expired.)

This is why it is called a DEVELOPERS release...

[feloneous cat]

It is for us DEVELOPERS. So we can DEVELOP. Sorta' like the development systems I work on here - blue wires, etc. yet it allows me to DEVELOP.

Oh, BTW, did I mention it was a DEVELOPERS release?

Re:Why?!

[BasilBrush]

There's a serious flaw in your argument. You don't need to buy an OSX upgrade every year. You could buy it every 2 years or any other period you choose. Just because there happens to be a choice of a new version for Mac and not for XP that shouldn't be counted as a positive for XP now should it.

BTW, Virginia tech found Apple to be the cheapest fastest option when measured against other PCs. What do you know, a cheap, fast, cool supercomputer!

Re:Search, Indexing

[Chucker23N]

1) Tiger includes a new indexing daemon, "mds", for this purpose.

2) The daemon only becomes active when it notices that files have changed. The performance loss is minimal.

3) Applications obviously need to make use of the provided APIs. That's what they're for.

Re:Been running it for about a week

[danigiri]

Remember some of the most exciting changes are under da hood.

Re:Most inconsistent user interfaces

[GregChant]

From the Apple Human Interface Guidelines:

You can use a brushed metal window if your application:

• Provides an interface for a digital peripheral, such as a camera, or an interface for managing data shared with digital peripherals--iPhoto or iSync, for example
• Strives to re-create a familiar physical device--Calculator or DVD Player, for example
• Provides a source list to navigate information--for example, iTunes or the Finder

I think that's pretty strict, and it provides a great way to distinguish between iLife-type applications from other non-"life experience" (that's a technical term) applications. Additionally, I challenge you to find an Apple-made program using brushed-metal that doesn't conform to the above guideline.

Overall, if you actually read the AHIG, you'll find the guidlines make sense and serve a specific purpose; they aren't just some willy-nilly part of the system that changes at the whim of Steve Jobs or some apparently AD/HD influenced designers.

I for one welcome our Apple Human Interface overlords.