<img src="http://www.pronetworks.org/main/images/blurb/TIGEROS.jpg" align="right">Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger'
One of the most anticipated software releases and biggest news stories this year is coming from the Apple/Mac labs. Since the huge rewrite project in going from OS 9 to OS X, there have been many improvements in every aspect of the operating system. Being one of the most secure operating systems available at this time is just one of the many reasons that the Apple trend is catching on. Of all the new features that are included in the new operating system, there are two that are more highly anticipated than the others. The Dashboard and Spotlight are the two main new features that are readily apparent. Not only did the developers create a lot of new features for OS X 'Tiger', they also increased its speed. Even in Beta, it runs faster than 10.3 on the same computer. With all the improvements, what's keeping everyone out of the Mac world?
The 'Dashboard'
This is probably the biggest and most noticable new feature that has been added to 'Tiger'. It is always right there, just waiting for you to push F12, and can give you many different kinds of information. From weather and flight tracking, to unit conversions and translating, the dashboard is very configurable and can display just about anything the user desires. There are a number of widgets for the Dashboard available at this time that give it plenty of functionality. You can check the local weather and have many clocks showing times from around the world. There are also more functional widgets at the user's fingertips. You have a calculator, the yellow pages, a world flight tracker, unit conversion, and more. The Dashboard is the all-in-one that everybody is looking for, since you have all the important functions that are used most often.
Customizing the Dashboard is also very easy, and if your computer's hardware supports it, there are also some very impressive effects. After opening up the Dashboard, just click the little plus sign and the widget panel displays. You can add multiple instances of nearly every widget, so you can have multiple world clocks or weather displays. To add something to the Dashboard, you can either just click on the widget that you want to add or you can drag and drop it to the location you want. If there is a widget that is no longer needed, open up the widget panel. Then the option to close the widgets appears. Just click the little 'x' next to them and they'll go away. Or you could drag them back to the widget panel, whatever works best for you. And unlike programs that have similar functions, you never have to wait for the Dashboard to load. When you start up the operating system, so does the Dashboard, and it sits waiting for the press of F12 and out it comes. There's never a wait, and just that one press of a button brings all your widgets back to the screen, keeping the weather or whatever is desired ready for the user's viewing.
Demo of Dashboard
The 'Spotlight'
The next big feature in 'Tiger' is the Spotlight. This isn't just any normal spotlight. This is a quick search tool that will find files that the user can specify with the Spotlight configuration. If you want, you could have it search for nearly any type of file. You could also set it to search only applications, pictures, documents, or any of a number of different categories. To give a comparison to the Windows world, it is much like the desktop search tools that are available, except that it is built into 'Tiger' and is more customizable and efficient at searching. It also shares the quick loading ability that the Dashboard has. Since it's built into the operating system, it's always there, unlike one of the previous search options, Sherlock. Another nice feature of the Spotlight is the categorization of search results. When a user searches for something, the results appear neatly organized by type and relevance to the search query. If the requested file or folder isn't on the first list, a full list of the search results can be opened. You can also broaden or narrow your search, depending on the number of results. As was previously mentioned regarding speed, this is due to the search method. Since Spotlight is always running, it frequently indexes the hard drive to maintain a database of what is there and where it is. Then, when you go and search, it just scans through the database (a fast process) and displays what it finds.
Now, with all the wonderful things that the Spotlight does, it is useless if one doesn't know how to use it or access it. To use the Spotlight, look for the small magnifying glass by the clock. One click and it drops down, displaying a search box. Type in a few keywords and the search is off and running, looking for what the user wants. The results don't open in a finder window at first. They open in a small menu underneath the search box, separated categorically and by relevance to the search string. The idea is to get the user what they are looking for quickly, so productivity can increase. If the files that are found don't fit what was actually wanted, then a finder window will open displaying all matches to the search string. For example, it could be that the right item was found, but just not listed at the top of any of the categories. If the search results still don't satisfy, the Spotlight's search box is still there, so one could easily refine a search and try to find the files again. This powerful search tool is highly anticipated, but will probably not be used nearly as much as the Dashboard, although that would mainly depend on the degree of organization of the user. But with the search being fairly accurate and fast, the need for extreme organization has been greatly diminished, as the files you are looking for are a click and a few short words away.
Quicktime Demo of Spotlight
Safari RSS Support
Besides the two main new features in the operating system, RSS support has also been added to the Safari web browser. On initial installation, there are already two 'live bookmarks' in Safari. There is an option to add more, quickly and easily. Just visit any site with an RSS feed available. When you arrive, a small blue RSS icon will appear on the right side of the address bar. Just click that and the news feed will load, with a configuration panel on the right side that will allow options such as sorting. If you like the news feed that is being offered, just click the '+' button, that would add any normal bookmark, to put the RSS feed in your bookmarks. There it will check for new messages and display a number for any unread messages. There are many functions that can be done with Safari's RSS manager that cannot be done with most other in-browser RSS readers.
Safari Quicktime Demo
Other Features
In addition to these features, Apple has also included many others in Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger'. Although many are designed to help improve functionality of the system, they will likely be less noticed by the average computer user. There is Automator (view demo), which is made to help do repetitive tasks over and over. Trying to list all the things that can be done through Automator would be hard to do, as there are hundreds of different tasks that can be done for the user. Also added is .Mac Sync (.Mac Sync demo) which allows multiple computers to sync different application data and variables, so that items like a calendar or address book only have to be updated once, and then synced to any other computer. The synchronization process can even be scheduled to occur whenever one would like.
Overall, Apple has created a very good operating system. There are loads of new features bringing tons of useful information and tools right to the user's fingertips. The Dashboard has a lot of functionality and customizability with the included widgets, providing everything from weather to a calendar to unit conversion. The Spotlight allows users to find anything quickly and easily. Now Safari can handle all your news feeds, getting rid of the need for another application. The GUI takes advantage of what it can, and it will scale down the effects if 'Tiger' determines that your hardware can't handle the load. The dock keeps everything that is used most in one convenient spot. The system is built on a solid foundation, and being one of the most secure operating systems around, it will keep users feeling safe and secure. Being at least a year ahead of Microsoft's next creation puts Apple way ahead of the competition with OS X 'Tiger'.
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Mac OS X 'Tiger' Homepage
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