Rating: 
Summary: Only if you want to fly!!!
Review: Two computers are side by side in my desk. XP in Desktop (1Ghz with 256MB) and OS X in PowerBook G4 (400Mhz with 256). It is shame for intel architecture and Microsoft programmers that with so fast machine from intel and so promesing OS from Microsoft can't even come close to the 400Mhz G4 CPU running OS X. The result is simple. My Desktop intel computer is on sale on eBay while I fly with OS X. Not once (3 months) I needed to restart. I almost feel as if I am running faster then my desktop machine (1Ghz). This is imagine... Software? what kind of software do you need? I have installed Photoshop 7, Office X, Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, MSN Messanger... all the stuffs I used to have in XP there is same version in Mac OS X. Guys, do some change, see the outside and future, try mac... I have done it...
Rating: 
Summary: The Joys Of OS X
Review: When I first started at the Apple Computer call center, my training class was on of the first to be trained on OS X Beta. Having used Macs half of my life, I thought that the new operating system [stunk]. However, when the call center made the conversion to X, I instantly fell in love with it. Now that I am a music producer, I have a chance to work from home on my mac. With OS X, doing all my downloading while surfing the web while running photoshop is no longer a burden on my computer. Even getting updates to OS X is a breeze. The only drawback is that there are many programs that I have to use classic for. That is no fault of apple's. Many developers dragged their feet, and are now trying to catch up. that's the only reason I'm giving it four out of five stars.
Rating:
Summary: New 10.1.3 version works like a champ on my G3
Review: When OS X initially debuted last year I could see how powerful and beautiful this OS was eventually going to be. However, I was dismayed at its lack of speed and responsiveness. Sure, I loved getting at the "guts" of the system with the Terminal Window and the open sourced nature of the UNIX environment, but it didn't outweigh the long waits and stutters as I moved though the GUI.Fortunately, this all changed with the release of 10.1.2 and now the current 10.1.3 upgrade. The OS is now ready for primetime. I have installed it on a PowerBook 500MHz G3 with no problems and use it as my everyday workhorse. The beauty of this OS is this: it is as powerful as you want it to be and as simple as you would want an OS to be. As GUIs go, Mac OS X is gorgeous. It's rich Quartz image engine renders a beautiful palette and surprising crisp desktop. I've even been able to bring back the often missed Apple menu with a great shareware program called FruitMenu. And that is just the beginning. With its UNIX underpinnings, this OS is stable, stable, stable. Unlike OS 9, which I had to reboot every morning to insure the system's stability, I don't reboot the computer for days or weeks at a time. Using the terminal window gets you instant access to your system and allows eggheads like me the full accessibility we've become used to with Linux, Solaris and other UNIX flavors. Now with PhotoShop 7 on the horizon and the release of MicroSoft Office and Macromedia Freehand, the idea of booting back into OS 9 is absurd. This OS is a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Apple At Its Best
Review: With the release of 10.1.3, Apple has really elevated the Macintosh platform to the next level. Internet, e-mail, digital photography, MP3 music, and even home movies are all easy to view, create, store, and enjoy. With the power of UNIX underlying the user friendly interface, many developers are now using this platform to develop applications using a variety of tools including Cocoa, Applescript, Objective C, and Java. I use applications such as Microsoft Office, Quicken 2002, Palm HotSync, Photoshop, GoLive, and Watson everyday. No longer is it necessary to revert to "Classic" mode. Now you can connect to WiFi (802.11b) networks and Bluetooth enabled devices. Internet setup is simple and multi-homing automatically ensures that you are connected if you switch between dial-up, ethernet, and wireless connections. Security is also top-notch thanks to the UNIX core. OS 10.1.3 has a built in firewall that can be tweaked to your individual preference. If you enjoy serving web pages, this system has a built in implementation of Apache. You can add PHP, MySQL, and other tools to build an advanced web serving platform. If you have a Macintosh and you do not have OS 10.1.3, you are not taking full advantage of your computer.
Rating:
Summary: BIG improvement and some great features!!
Review: WOW! Applications are interacting much more smoothly, and my computer is definately faster. Even my internet has improved! I had also, in the past, been unable to upload JPEG's to the internet with Appleworks, and now it's no problem at all! The mail system is generally more sensible (I have 2 accounts on it, both with different servers). MacOSX features a cute toolbar with icons that bounce when something happens (like getting an alert message, or an instant message on AIM); the icons sort of roll out when you scroll over them (very silly and cute, but it doesn't get in the way). With internet, I can "hide" a page, and a thumbnail of the website appears on the toolbar! iTunes is also great. I can finally download MP3's and share music! Some things are basically the same, and there's a lot more "flash" than previous verisons, but i would definately recommend MacOSX!!! A+!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Be afraid...be very afraid...
Review: Yeah it's pretty, but then there are some things you find out when you try to run the thing that they didn't tell you... I'm on a new iBook with 9.2 and OS X .1 and having more problems than the cheery reviewers and Apple promise: 1. you will NOT be able to run your old Palm reliably; today the Apple support guy told me it just won't run, get the beta of the OS X Palm, and trust, I guess..; 2. the mailbox supposedly imports mailboxes or addresses from Palm, Entourage, etc., but I haven't been able to manage it from either, despite reassurances from no less than writer David Pogue that it ought to work just fine...3. It froze and killed my cheap Special Edition Entourage program, which I can't start up now in either mode (Apple says ask Microsoft why...) I'm waiting to see if the new Office upgrade for OS X works; waiting to see if the Quicken 2002 works, but since 95% of what I do is in either Appleworks or Word, Palm, or the mail program and I'm having problems with all of them now... it's sort of frustrating to be mostly crippled and relying on a PC, of all things... and this from an old Mac lover...
Rating:
Summary: terrible printer support
Review: Yes, there is a nice interface, nice email and all that, but know that there is poor support for 'older' devices. I have a Canon bjc bought 6 months ago, and an Epson laser printer bought 1 month ago, and both these manufacturers tell me that they have os X drivers only for their new printers ie those which they are marketing now.
You would think that like windows, there would be some backward compatibility or some universal printer driver, or some driver emulator to just get your document printed. As it is, with os X you have to reboot , switch to classic environment everytime you want to print, unless you have bought a printer that has os x drivers: would there be os X labels on them? There was no warning from Apple that not all printers are supported.
i use appleworks and because it is the os X version, it automatically switches to the os x environment, which means i have to change startup os x , and reboot, and then repeat this and reboot ins os x to get mail because i am using mac mail : hey why buy something when you dont use its whizzbang features you read and drooled about. be warned that this os x is poorly supported for any printer not on the manufacturer's marketing list. I read in the apple forum that people are resorting to hacking their own epson code: all it takes is some amendments. You think that having to figure that out and doing all that is the job of software engineers, and not end users, wont you? Well either they are unproductive or the corporations dont care and wont assign them those tasks to make os X more usable.
Can you imagine having an os that cannot use your current printers? What I have to reboot everytime?? Buy new printers?
Imagine the outcry window users would have, and perhaps you see why apple takes only 5% of the market, when apple converts like me repents my belief in "user friendliness". It was because of my video editing needs, but I see the pc environment is only slightly behind in that aspect.
I should have stuck to windows, if I had even suspected the tremendous lack of user friendliness, market and customer support.
Apple is silent, leaving us in the lurch, and I say: why should spend our money on you then.
This is the reason why the 5 % market share cannot be increased.
My next computer would be a pc: just so I can get things done, and i would advise you to look at the new windows os, and get a pc. if you are not a hardcore video editor, believe me that the hassles outweigh the benefits of owning a mac...
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