NYTimes (free reg. required) has a positive review of Mac OS X Panther 10.3, written by David Pogue, popular book author mostly on Mac subjects. Our review is here.
Review of Mac OS X 10.3 at NYTimes
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Hopefully someday soon Linux desktops will be as good as Macs.
The best paragraph of the entire article: “Finally, surely there’s value in using an operating system that, well, isn’t Windows. Mac OS X isn’t just free of viruses; it’s also free from copy protection, “activation” (a Windows XP feature that transmits information about your PC back to Microsoft), and pop-up messages that nag you to sign up for some Microsoft database or clean up your icons. When you use Mac OS X, you feel like it’s yours; when you use Windows, you feel as though you’re using someone else’s toys, and Mrs. Microsoft keeps peeking in on you.”
So, so, so true.
David Pogue is also the author of Windows XP Home and Professional Missing Manual books from O’Reilly.
I ordered mine and it’s supposed to arrive tomorrow! Yeah, I can’t wait! Expose sounds like it totally rocks.
Just as the title states, this was “a good read.” The fact that he also lists several cons are a plus, along with this quote:
…and that the Apple hallmarks of elegance, beauty and thoughtful design aren’t worth paying extra for (a matter of opinion).
I hate seeing people fight over matters of opinion. I prefer Mac (and BeOS), others prefer Linux or Windows, or <fill in the blank>. It’s great that he announces that specific comment as an opinion from the start.
Expose is great. I started playing around with it as a novelty and now I can’t live without it, no apple-tabbing ever again. Have Fun!
Nice article from the New York Times, and I’m really excited with the new OS release.
But I wouldn’t draw the line stating Apple’s OS is 100% virus free. Apple is just lucky they don’t have a billion eyes or people trying to crack or break their OS. Plus the majority of the people rather see Apple succeed against Windows and Linux then see it’s name and rep get rubbed into the dirt.
That’s the main problem with Windows OS. There are just too many people that would rather see Windows suffer and look bad, turning into more eyes and people trying to break it any way possible. Which is why Windows releases a hotfix on a daily basis.
Bravo on an article that is eye to eye with my own
perspectives of Mac OS X.
My daily toil involves managing a Windows network of
200+ computers, so I am fully cognizant of the trials
and tribulations involved with such a system while
attempting to keep viruses and interlopers at bay.
But at least in my home environment I have the
flexibility and freedom to run OS X, which is a breath
of fresh air devoid of all the distractions that are
an inherent part of Microsoft’s products. So I can
count on being able to work on my personal projects
without concern of virus threats or stability issues.
(And I also use my Mac laptop at the office to
effciently manage and administer a Microsoft network.
This is because of the quality of tools available on
OS X platform due to the powerful and efficient Unix
core.)
But I wouldn’t draw the line stating Apple’s OS is 100% virus free. Apple is just lucky they don’t have a billion eyes or people trying to crack or break their OS.
Apple’s not just lucky; they’re also smart: the default user is never root, and the default options are always secure. That makes it much harder to write viruses for OSX than for Windows.
It’s a very, very good idea to learn from other OS’s mistakes.
But I wouldn’t draw the line stating Apple’s OS is 100% virus free. Apple is just lucky they don’t have a billion eyes or people trying to crack or break their OS. Plus the majority of the people rather see Apple succeed against Windows and Linux then see it’s name and rep get rubbed into the dirt.
Virus Free doesn’t mean Virus Proof.
But, given all the press in the last 6 months about the lack of a virus on Mac OS X don’t you think someone, somewhere would be trying to write one? I mean, just ONE PERSON????
yep. I’m working on a good one right now.. look out!!
Good points . . . . also a fine point that Microsoft likes to throw in their ads; “world’s most secure”. They like to throw that everywhere, especially for their 2003 Server line. That’s one thing you don’t see Apple do too much.
That’s another thing to look at, if you throw around your product is so secure, you’re just asking for people to start hacking away.
When will Microsoft learn. Should be interesting to see how MS’s plan for the whole one patch a month will last
Not to say that you could not have a root exploit of OS X, there have been plenty of chances for those, but I think that virus is pretty much impossible. There is just not enough OS X users for a virus to spread. It’s not just that hackers don’t target OS X, it is just that the virus would burn out too quickly.
I do not know exactly how secure and virus proof is Mac OS X but some OS is secure by designed such as Unix/Linux. There’s no auto-opening of attachments and user only runs user process. Is it the same as Mac OS X ?
I do not believe the case because MAC OS is less popular thus less virus on the platform. There’s a lot of Mac haters in the world ( this forum proves it ) and what better why to prove how crappy OS X security is by hacking or unleashing deadly virusses on it.
So far I have NOT seen anything like that
I do not know exactly how secure and virus proof is Mac OS X but some OS is secure by designed such as Unix/Linux. There’s no auto-opening of attachments and user only runs user process. Is it the same as Mac OS X ?
OS X has BSD roots, so it should be quite similar to Linux/Unix. Which is a definite plus as anything before OS 9 was a joke.
None of the reviews I’ve read mention anything about the speed of UFS. Has that improved with Panther? Or are we supposed to still stick with HFS+?
Loved Jaguar and Looking for Panther:
I really enjoyed the article; it was well balanced and as fair as I have ever seen. I became a “switcher” December 27, 2002 and have since become a true “Mac-Addict”. If you had told me a year ago I would be Mac enthusiast today I would have laughed. I had no idea as to what I was really getting my self into; when he said “join a religious war” that is exactly what you become a part of. I like Windows, I really do but I have seen for my self through my blind purchase of my Mac that OS X is simply a better OS. I plan to purchase Panther TODAY and again thank you for this article.
I agree. I switched from Linux to OS X about 6 months ago and I’m one happy camper. As for the cost of Panther, about $130, I figured I was spending that much in Linux distros each year anyway (if not more, actually) so it was a wash for me. I was a SuSE user and pretty much bought a Professional version of SuSE each time it came out.
Anyway, the Fed Ex guy is supposed to deliver my copy of Panther by 3pm EST today! I can’t wait!
Cheers!
You get 4 CDs, a welcome to Panther guide, installation and etup guide, license agreement and software proof of purchase coupons.
The CDs are 3 install CDs and the MacOSX XCode Tools.
Total cost was 19.95 plus tax.
I’ll post a small review tomorrow