10.2 - Oh So Sweet
Today I finally had a chance to get behind the driver's seat of an early developer build of Mac OS X 10.2, a.k.a. "Jaguar." Despite the fact that I talk about OS X quite a lot on this site, I have yet to start using it as my default OS. OS 9 may not be as pretty, stable, or powerful as OS X, but every single application / utility I own works perfectly, and in some cases faster than their OS X counterparts. When you have work to do, and time is money, OS 9 is still the weapon of choice. But with 10.2 coming, that will definitely change.
The speed of 10.2, even in this early developer build, is impressive. Just as fast as OS 9. Apple has also taken the time to flesh out more of the system's preferences in rather ingenious fashion - tell OS X what you want it to do whenever you insert a blank CD-R, a DVD, a VCD, a digital camera, a scanner, a digital video camera, an MP3 player, etc., etc., and it will automatically launch whatever app / utility you want. If you have specific CDs you want to assign different behaviors for, effectively overriding your default preference, you can do that too. To see this in action, click here [Railhead Design].
In addition to speed and more control over media, Apple has added all kinds of tiny little touches to the interface that makes Apple, well, Apple. Tiny icon badges are attached to minimized windows in the dock so you know what application they belong to. Folder icons animate to an "open" state when you drag a file or folder on top of another (kind of like the Amiga). The colored "beach ball" idle icon has changed to a slick aqua drop (click here to see a QuickTime video).
And then of course there is the new instant messenger / P2P app iChat, which syncs with Address Book and Mail (both redesigned), a GUI for your built-in firewall, easy file / printer sharing over networks, and a bunch of under-the-hood additions pertaining to Windows networking that I won't even attempt to write about, or try to understand.
But I do have one major gripe, and that is Airport. If this build of 10.2 is an indication of what to expect in the final build, Apple has totally dropped support for Airport's Software Base Station - an insanely great utility which allowed one machine to act as a wireless base for all your other machines, without the need for a physical Airport base station. For the past year I have been using SBS on my G4 (which never sleeps), and surfing wirelessly on my iBook. Apple has decided, for monetary reasons I would guess, to drop "official" support for SBS, and pass the ball to third party hacks, which for me at least, have never worked. Because of this I am forced into buying a base station, which I shouldn't have to buy, but will anyway so I can start using OS X as the default OS and keep wireless net access on my iBook.
But boil it all down, and OS X 10.2 is simply an incredible upgrade with gobs of power, speed, and small touches that make it a joy to use.
Comments
Will the increased speed show up on my PowerBook G3/Wallstreet model and 233 iMac, or will they continue to chug along at half the speed of a new model? Just curious.
Posted by: Bob at May 10, 2002 1:51 PM
wow, there's lots of wicked stuff here. the register's info is good too.
-mat
Posted by: Mathew at May 10, 2002 3:43 PM
The Software Base Station changes Airport from a so-so implementation of wireless to a brilliant one. I use it everyday at work to connect my PowerBook to my desktop machine, and I couldn't live without it.
But to have to spend some serious cash on a basestation, well, that just seems like a waste when I know the desktop can do it all.
Posted by: Si at May 10, 2002 11:09 PM
Forgot to mention: Apple are always looking for feedback on X. Let them know what you need in the new OS.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/feedback/
Posted by: Si at May 10, 2002 11:19 PM
did you notice the speed increase on your iBook? i'm asking because i have an iBook (the new one) and it would be great to see a see a speed increase!
Posted by: jonathan at May 11, 2002 10:02 AM
I'm jealous. Can't wait to get my ands on 10.2.
As for Jaguar's performance on G3s, I understand it's markedly better, based upon this article:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/25233.html
Posted by: Shawn at May 12, 2002 12:36 AM
Software Base Station was dropped earlier I think - it's not in 10.1 as far as I can tell. But there are workarounds, you can simply set up TCP/IP routing & NAT on the Airport interface once it's configured. (BTW enabling UNIX's built-in networking features hardly constitutes a "3rd party hack").
Posted by: Toby Thain at May 12, 2002 9:23 PM
As Toby pointed out - there are a bunch of ways to get a software base station on OS X sans Apple's tools. Just google for it... heck I think even macosxhints.com has a solution for you.
Posted by: Shawn at May 13, 2002 9:13 AM
Todd, is there a specific reason why you haven't switched over 100% to OS X?
Posted by: Neil at May 13, 2002 9:41 AM
I just stopped by, and I wanted to echo support for the software base station. On the other hand, I have no reason to believe that it's gone for good. In fact, I've reason to believe that it'll probably be back, just not in 10.2...
Posted by: NDA at May 21, 2002 1:14 AM
Anybody having problems with the modem drivers in OS X 10.2 like I am? I just bought an iBook, and it came with 10.2 pre-installed. Connects fine in OS 9, but freezes in OS X every time I type an address. Apple says it's the modem drivers and they don't have an update yet. They also told me I can't downgrade to 10.1.5 (even though those dirvers work) because, according to Apple, 10.1 "won't install on a new iBook". I find that hard to believe, but Apple assures me it's the case. Anybody know anything about this? Really disappointing purchase so far....
Posted by: Bob at September 28, 2002 2:43 PM
An update on the modem driver problem. I just borrowed a copy of OS X 10.1 from a friend, and Apple wasn't kidding. It won't install on the iBooks that are currently shipping.
Guess I can always buy another Thinkpad. Gave my last one to my wife when I bought the iBook. Wish I hadn't moved quite so fast....
Posted by: Bob again at September 28, 2002 4:39 PM
There is an option in the "Internet" tab of "Sharing" in the System Preferences to share you ethernet connection over Airport...
Posted by: Missing SBS? at October 17, 2002 4:17 PM
