Mac OS X Server 10.2 Unlimited

Rating:
Summary: Expensive but worth every penny
Review: Buy this upgrade!!

While not a true switcher (as I run a high end Win XP Pro PC(2.4 ghz dual Intel cpu 2 gig ram (Money) Pro-graphics card and the fantastic Sony GWM-FW900 24" wide screen monitor) for (Money) a seat 3d CAD/CAM software)

But to replace my ageing Dell 800 p-3 mostly used for games and fun with Linux) as a main home computer

I bought a top of the line iMac 800 G-4 super drive in March to see what all the fuss was about ref OS-X. as I am an old Unix geek thought it would make a nice BAD Unix toy if this Apple thing did not work out and it was so fine to look at as an industrial design engineer.

So if any one was entitled to be miffed with Apple at the full price on this 'point' upgrade it was I.

Well this is NO 'point' upgrade! this is like going from Wi 98sp2 to XP pro SP1 only much more so not only Was X 10.1.5 rock solid on the iMac G-4 this 10.2 is faster and better in every way in very subtle ways

If I could get my work software ported to OS-X I would have a dual G4-1.25 Ghz driving my Sony MFW-900 in a moment

I am a total convert to the fantastic beauty of this OS and I Have ordered Ashlar Velum Cobalt to see if it can replace my work PC software on a Mac

Rating:
Summary: Nice improvement over 10.1.5
Review: I rated Mac OS 10.1 at 4 stars, for a couple reasons. Primarily because it was slow on my Mac G3 400mhz with 256 mb RAM. Window resizing would take forever, sherlock 2 would crash frequently and not be useable until a restart, and lack of built in Samba networking support.

Now with Jaguar I give it 5 stars. The window resizing speed has been increased so it is actually bearable on my old slow mac. I am networked in with a windows network and printer, which was a simple process. So I am sharing files with my university accounts, and printing to the network printers. The overall look of the OS and extra small features make it more complete in my opinion, about like the difference between MS Windows 95 and 98. They work very similarly but the later is far superior.

Mac OS X also works great if you run FTP servers, Web Pages, etc, because it has a lot of built in support for them, and I think Jaguar adds firewall protection for the computer. Useful for me since I am hooked in 24/7.

The install was simple(I installed from 10.1.5 to 10.2), there are a few options, to upgrade your old system (if you already have 10.1), to save your old system to a backup folder and perform a full installation, or to simply wipe everything and start from scratch. Total install time was about 1 hour on my machine.

The biggest problem with Jaguar or any OS 10 that I have found is the lack of printer support. You may want to make sure if your printer is included in the supported printer list. See Apples website, -> Support -> discussions -> Mac OS X, for a good discussion list where you can ask questions. I would like to add that the printing has gotten better, my Epson 740 Color seems to work just fine with Jaguar, it always acted up with 10.1.5, but there are still a few times when I try to print and it wont respond until I turn the printer off for about 2 minutes and turn it back on. Sometimes my help program will crash as well, if I get carried away and try to double click on everything.

Overall I would say it is worth the money to upgrade, especially if you get the education discounts that Apple offers. I have been very pleased with Jaguar, and when I get a newer mac with dual processors, I am sure I would be happier. But it is still pleasent on my Mac G3 400, and even on a friends iMac 333 it runs great. I would make sure you have 256 mb or more of RAM, especially if you do gaming. The iMac initially had about 160 MB in it, when I upgraded to 288 MB it was better. If you only have a G3, I would avoid the games, I can play Diablo II and Warcraft III but there is quite a bit of hesitation, so I have to set to the worst graphics modes, but it works perfectly with MS Office X and other such applications.

If you are switching from Mac OS 9, I would suggest getting updated applications that make use of Jaguar's improvements. Out with the old and in with the new is a very fitting statement for Jaguar (and OS X in general), if you have a lot of expensive applications that need more than just simple updates, it may be wise to wait until you need to update them for another reason.

And finally, many large software manufactures are now providing support for Mac's new operating system. One of which is Mathworks, MatLab is now available again for the Mac running OS X. I am sure many more will follow. Finally Mac may have a great software base again, which is a big reason why people bought PC's.

Rating:
Summary: Recent upgrade was well worth it.
Review: I've been working with OS X for several months now. MY resistance to upgrading to Jaguar (OS X.2) was based primarily on the fact that I bought a new iMac last year and didn't want to shell out more money for the new OS. Finally, I gave in. And it was worth the time and effort.

Jaguar has a cleaner, faster interface to work in. Start-up is much faster. It's a more stable system than OS X (which is saying something, because OS X was already the most stable Mac OS).

The Mail client is also improved immensely over the previous version.

Jaguar includes iChat (instant messaging software), Mail, Address Book, and downloads are available for iSync (basically allows you to port your info from home to work and back seamlessly), iCal (scheduling software), and the new Safari web browser. (A warning though, at this writing Safari is still in Beta testing and definitely needs refining before going live.)

Put this together with the iLife software package (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD), and you've got yourself one great computer system.

As usual, Apple is letting third parties write their manuals. You'll have to buy those separately if you want them. However, this time they've included an interactive "Getting Started" CD which will get the novice up and running in Jaguar without too much stress.

Rating:
Summary: Best Client OS I've Used
Review: Pros:
- Improved performance (nearly matches the lightweight Mac OS Classic)
- Feature-laden Finder
- Rock-solid UNIX stability
- Stunning Aqua UI, easy to use
- Great network support (especially in regards to Windows)
- Improved font rendering engine (not as fuzzy looking as before)
- Great assortment of free iApps (iChat, iMovie, iPhoto, and iTunes -- soon iCal and iSync)
- Virtually every applets have undergone upgrades (e.g., Address Book, Calculator, Mail, Sherlock, Terminal)
- Rapidly increasing number of native OS X applications
- Super easy upgrade from OS X 10.1 (but I recommend clean install for "freshness")

Cons:
- Internet Explorer is embarrassingly buggy and limited (upcoming Internet Explorer 6.0 should remedy most of its shortcomings)
- Limited customization (e.g., mouse pointer, color, limited number of "themes")
- Still buggy (I found several iChat, Finder, and Mail bugs after weeks of use; soon-to-be-released 10.2.1 free patch should fix most of these)
- Incompatibility with some 10.1 applications
- Skimpy manual
- Slow help engine
- Some free iApps or applets need more features (i.e., you cannot edit photos with iPhotos)

I've switched to Mac platform nearly a year ago, courtesy of Apple PowerBook G4 667 MHz (Gigabit) and Mac OS X 10.1. I've been computing under Microsoft platform for over 17 years, starting with PC-DOS 3.1 in 1995, Windows 2.0 in 1987, and continuing with most iteration of Windows ever since. I've also used various flavors of UNIX (Solaris, AIX, Linux), but mostly for academic and professional reasons.

For an OS only 3 years of age, the Mac OS X is surprisingly mature and complete. For most number of users (including Windows "switchers"), Mac OS X is highly capable. Just throw in few productivity applications (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office v.X, Quicken) and download some freeware (e.g., Mozilla), you have nearly full-featured system.

Dare I say it? The Mac OS X is the best client operating system there is. Yes, it is not YET as polished and matured as older systems such Windows XP and Mac OS Classic, but on the plus side, it has little or none of the "old operating system" baggage. Mac OS Classic compatibility box is kept separate (so much that it no longer comes bundled with OS X), with modern Cocoa and traditional Carbon APIs to attract large number of developers (there are now more developers writing Mac software than ever before).

Although OS X takes a lot longer to boot than Windows XP, its rock solid foundation makes it a moot advantage. I've experienced some crashes under 10.1, but none with 10.2. My PowerBook frequently felt sluggish under 10.1, but with 10.2, it is quite speedy (still not as fast as my IBM ThinkPad with 1.6 GHz Pentium 4-m processor, however).

I highly recommend OS X to power users willing to explore new OS, students (particularly graphics and engineering students), or basic users looking for stable and easy to use platform.

Rating:
Summary: Substantial improvement
Review: This is a very stable, incredibly smooth OS. It launches at lightning speed, is very intuitive and the learning curve is very short. If there is a downside, compatible professional graphic software is in short supply. It is a huge improvement over Windows and previous Mac OS.