Date: 2008-11-02 11:52:02 Created: null
Just rebooted Pomum. It's been 20 days and two recommendations to restart (after system updates) that I've ignored. That, and Safari crashed which meant the major argument against rebooting (losing my tabs) was gone. So I did. Anyway, I think the trackpad/cursor just got a boost in responsiveness! It now feels much more like all those PC trackpads I've wanted it to feel like all along. Perhaps it's even a bit too speedy, we'll see after I've used it a bit longer. Perhaps it's some setting I did long ago catching on thanks to the restart, perhaps it's something some update sneaked in with without saying. I don't know, but I think I like it.
I'm reading through Ars Technica's review of Panther right now. It's slow loading, probably because of the link on Slashdot I used myself, but it's as interesting and in-depth as usual. I'm not at all surprised it used a full page to build up to writing about Exposé. The review also uses the expression "Olympian God of Window Buffers" which has to be a good thing.
Just now I also realize it's a bit of a pity Exposé can't do its magic on Safari since I surfe in one big tabbed window. Suddenly switching between browser windows feels a bit harder than switching between other windows!
Okay, I'm afraid I have to revise the previous statement; the server browsing through Finder is quite unreliable and in real need of more updates. Using the "connect to server" menu works as always, but currently Finder won't display any shares on Terminus no matter how many times I open the folder. Even more fun, iTunes on Terminus always finds my shared library without hesitation, and currently Windows has no problems seeing and loggin on to my shares on Pomum. A nice little cluster of mysteries this, and searching around the net for solutions is dangerously more interesting than doing actual things I need to get done ...
On a more positive side, I want to say something about the multi monitor support. I do think this was available before Panther, but I didn't think about the usefulness until now. When you've connected an external monitor you can, just like in Windows, adjust the arrangement of the screens so that it better matches the real one. There is no fun in having to move the cursor off the left edge of the screen if the other monitor is on the right side. Windows allows you to pull the screens around to either side of eachother and aligns them automatically. What I noticed today is that OS X doesn't auto-align, you can pull the screens to any strange alignments you want. At first it felt a little inexact and less convenient than Windows, but then I realized just how cool it is. Now you can arrange the monitors to be in the exact same arrangement as they are physically! Right now for example, my CRT is about corner to corner with Pomum's builtin display. The top right corner of Pomum's display is a little bit higher than the bottom left corner of the CRT, so that common edge is where I feel the mouse cursor should cross over. And with this setup system, I can! Having the CRT above the top edge of the laptop doesn't feel intuitive, and neither does having it straight off the right edge. So I just go into the setup and pull the screens around so that the common edge is right where it is in real life. Very nice.
Panther's new and improved Finder finally supports browsing shared volumes on the network. In Jaguar, you had to go through the "Go"-menu and connect semi-manually each time, and you could count on the whole computer sagging down (only fixable by a restart) if ever a mounted volume disappeared without Finder's approval, be it an iPod disconnected during hibernation or a Windows computer being disconnected before you remembered to disconnect the shared drive. Finally those days are gone, now Finder just thinks a bit and pops up a box about the disappeared volume where you can choose that, yes, it is okay to remove the volume. Great that it works the way we all want now, but kind of a shame that it took Apple so long to fix it ...
My Panther has arrived! I was trying not to expect the promised evening delivery, but I got something even better. When I got home around noon I found they'd tried to deliver at 10:40! One quick phonecall later they promised to drop by again, and now I'm just rebooting after completing the installation. Fun fun!
So I just sat down and watched (restarting only a few times due to connection problems) this nice talk about delivering a good user experience on OS X. Many good words said about making a good application, with focus on a good user interface. Leverage the strenghts of each platform to improve your application. It doesn't need to look the same on all platforms, make it look native instead. Wise, no? Watching the video stream through QuickTime 6.3 (that's the latest version at the moment) on Windows I got a distinct feeling Apple's not quite living as they learn. They've got a little wiggling room since this presentation can be said to be Panther-centric. Some things said are going into upcoming user interface guidelines but aren't there right now, like better guidelines for when to use metal. So, what I'm really curious about is if the next version of QuickTime for Windows will look truly native. And, even more interesting, what will iTunes for Windows look like when it arrives later this week? Can't say I count on Apple to live by their words in this particular case ...
Okay, I just ordered it.
Sosumi.
Okay, Apple's front page is right now hyping Panther as much as it can. While it will have some interesting stuff, I'm not totally sure I want to pay that much for it.
There is nice stuff in Panther though. The new Finder looks really interesting, that in combination with performanc upgrades is what attracts me the most.
Sure, there is a program giving people the update for postage if you've got Jaguar or a new Mac recently. Recently in this case being October 8th or later ... Come on!
Something else I don't get: what's up with the new X logo? More specifically, what's up with the "feet" of the X? It looks all bent and awkward because of that. Oh, and more brushed metal. I'll reserve any opinions about that until I've used it, because there's always a great risk I'll like it a lot more after getting used to it than I thought I would before doing so :-) ...
I guess I'll end up buying it sooner or later. Sigh ...
Oh look, the student discount is actually 500 crowns. Pretty sweet, and not exactly making me less likely to upgrade of course ...