Compared with Creaky Old Windows, OS X Is a Pleasure to Use
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- 2006.09.08
I've been out of the school environment for three months (a.k.a. summer vacation) and it's difficult to come up with topics when I'm not in an environment that produces - well - any type of work. This article is not on any particular piece of software, but on OS X itself.
OS X Ahead of Its Time
When OS X was introduced in 2000, it was a major jump from other operating systems of the day. Compare OS X 10.0 to Mac OS 9 (introduced in 1999) and Windows 2000 (I'll go out on a limb here and say 2000). OS X introduced the modern look and feel we've come to love (assuming you run OS X - if you run OS 9 or earlier, more power to ya).
From personal experience, I find OS X to be a more pleasant system to work with. As I've said in earlier columns, my eighth grade humanities teacher's husband works for Apple, and because of that, she brought in two Blue & White G3 Power Macs running OS X 10.2.
Creaky Old Windows
Compared that to the computers in use at our school at the time - the teachers ran Windows 2000 Professional while most student computers ran Windows 95 or 98. And those computers where sluggish at that!
All the students in the class who preferred to use a faster computer, which was just about everyone, would reserve the computers before class started (last period of the day) just to use them for the hour we where in class.
Plug and Play
Compatibility is a major issue nowadays, and I'm not talking about data files; I mean hardware.
Just a couple of weeks ago I made a slideshow of photos for
church (time for an article on iPhoto), and I simply plugged in the
adapter, then the VGA cable, and in a second the extended desktop
popped up. Now when you need to do something for a demonstration or
are just in need of a few more inches of desktop space, it's really
nice not to have to search around for the appropriate drivers
needed for any device you want to use.
Recent Advantage Mac articles
- Free and low cost ways to bring some Leopard features to Macs running Tiger, 10.29. You can't make Mac OS X 10.4 do everything 10.5 can, but you can get about 80% of the way there with freeware and shareware utilities.
- Vintage Macs provide a less distracting writing environment, 09.18. A Mac OS X user finds an old Macintosh IIsi and discovers the joy of writing undisturbed by music, messaging, and streaming content.
- The GIMP, a free alternative to Photoshop, 09.13. Although it's not as powerful or polished as Photoshop, the GIMP may be all the image editing software you need.
- Free Desktop Manager reduces clutter, improves work flow, 08.11. Instead of cluttering your desktop with every program you're running, Desktop Manager lets you cut the clutter to focus on your work.
- More in the Advantage Mac index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Apr. 2006 - The top-end MacBook Pro includes a 1680 x 1050, 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU, and supports Apple 30" Cinema Display.
- Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
- November 24 in LEM history: 98: Microsoft's heavy hand - 00: Looking at the iMac - 04: The best Mac for the holidays - Picking the right replacement for a dead mouse - Better battery for 15" AlBook
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Pismo WiFi Networking Issue Finally Solved?, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.24. It turns out the problems wasn't the Pismo, the Buffalo WiFi card, or Mac OS X 10.4. It was the Wireless G router - Linksys to the rescue!
- Mini VGA to S-video Adapter a No Go for eMacs, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 11.24. You might think that Apple's Mini VGA S-video adapter is a cheap way to connect your eMac or G4 iMac to your TV. You would be wrong.
- Google Calendar with iPhone or iTouch Is Great for Scheduling, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.24. Web-based Google Calendar allows access and updates from any computing platform, including Mac, Windows, Linux, and iPhone OS.
- Why Spaces is My Favorite Leopard (and Snow Leopard) Feature, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.23. Spaces, a feature introduced with OS X 10.5, is like having several monitors on your Mac without the cost and space of using multiple displays.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
- NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
- Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
- Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
- Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
- Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
- More deals in our archive.
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