Apple Computer's new Tiger operating system debuts tomorrow. From the online blurb at apple.com: "Meet the world’s most advanced operating system. Again. Instantly find what you’re looking for. Get information in an instant with a single click. Mac OS X Tiger delivers 200+ new features which make it easier than ever to find, access and enjoy everything on your computer.
"It leaves Windows XP in the dust," says the Wall Street Journal's Walter S. Mossberg in "Tiger Leaps Out in Front" (subscription only), a rave review for Apple's new edition of the operating system for its Macintosh computers that "finally solves the missing file problem," [who knew?] and introduces other features, including a "Dashboard" that offers quick access to stock quotes, yellow pages, flight data and other information. It goes on sale tomorrow:
The new release, called Tiger, is the latest version of Apple's excellent Mac OS X operating system. Its key feature, called Spotlight, is the first universal, integrated search system ever offered as part of a mainstream consumer PC operating system. In seconds, Spotlight can peer inside e-mail, office documents of all kinds, photos, songs, address books, calendars, and all manner of other files to see which ones match a search term you type in.
Along with a similar built-in search capability Microsoft is working on for its next version of Windows [c. 18 months down the road], Spotlight could spark a major change in the way people use computers. Instead of hunting for documents or clicking on programs, people may now start activities by searching for relevant files and then opening them as needed.
On the downside:
In my tests, on three different Macs during the past couple of weeks, Tiger performed generally well. Installation took about an hour and went smoothly in each case. None of the computers ever crashed, and every program I tested worked fine, despite the change in operating-system versions.
The only significant problem I noticed was that the computers seemed to run into slight, but greater-than-normal, delays from time to time. Certain functions, like Spotlight searches and the updated Safari Web browser, were very fast. But with other tasks, I noticed more spinning beach-ball icons, Apple's symbol for delays, than I had with the prior Panther version of the Mac operating system.
Apple acknowledges it will need to tweak Tiger to eliminate the delays, and it promises to address the problem within a few months.
More mouth-watering details (file under "They saw us coming"):
Spotlight even finds words inside Adobe's PDF files. It also can search on the data stored inside music and photo files, such as the names of artists and camera information. If picture files are found, thumbnails of them are displayed right in the list, and you can view them in a slide show.
With the press of a single function key, a new translucent screen appears that holds large, stylish icons for useful little programs you might want to get to quickly. These programs, called Widgets, include a dictionary and thesaurus; a calculator; a weather display; a calendar; a language translator; a weights and measures converter; a stock tracker; an electronic yellow pages program; and a flight tracker.
The search thing is huge, especially for Windows XP users like us. Whenever we do a search within Windows, we hold our breath, as perhaps 40% of searches lead to a frozen window. To get back to normal, we have to log off and on again, losing our place and our temper. Like Adam, we're tempted. This may just be the moment to take a bite of the Apple. We'll be looking to Susan at Mind of Mog for cues. She's been talking about Tiger for months and will be the first on our blogblock to take it for a ride.
Sissy,
I have Mac-envy myself, especially with the release of Tiger. Since both my wife and I work in Windows-only shops that use some Windows-only software, however, we're stuck in XP-land.
Google Desktop Search http://desktop.google.com is an excellent (and free) tool to install on your PC. It searches most file formats, including PDFs. Give it a try.
Posted by: Barry Campbell | April 30, 2005 at 12:30 PM