Gambit is trying to make the point that the OS 9 users that are complaining about OS X aren't approaching it as a new operating system. It's a lot different than Mac OS 9, and it's not a traditional upgrade, it's a brand new OS. Approach it with an open mind, and you'll adapt easier. I hated OS X for the first month I spent using it, but now I'll never go back to 9.
I'm constantly working on large projects in OS X. My company is currently managing about a dozen clients' projects, and I'm intimately involved with about seven of them on my machine. The largest is for the State of California, we're doing a lot of interactive and server side work for them. It involves me having to work in a handful of applications at any given time. It's a huge project, but I've found that it is actually much easier for me to deal with it in X than in 9. I don't find the speed to be that much of an issue. I really don't care how long it takes to close a thousand windows, but it's just about good enough for me right now. I also run two SGI displays at 1600x1024, so I don't have a problem displaying large amounts of information. I don't see how you can have a problem managing a large project in OS X...
Aqua is a lot easier on the eyes, and it doesn't break a lot of the UI rules to which you might be referring. I've been doing human interface design for close to eight years, and I've yet to use an operating system that was more pleasant than OS X. I'll never go back to 9. Ever.
Has anyone heard if the 10.2 will be released with a new Java sdk? Perhaps version 1.4? It's not uncommon to update Java when the system is updated. This might also explain some delays since the two are usually sequentially released with a few days of each other. 10.1.3 was released and then a java update a week later for example...
This is a strange post from someone with the handle Aqua OS X...
[quote]Originally posted by Aqua OS X:
<strong>
Aqua is also a huge hinderance. White and grey lines, no solid window boarders, gradients galore, and menus at 90% opacity do not make a UI functional. Anyone that has tried to layout a big project in OS X, with light colors and tons of open windows, probably wants to kill themselfs. It's a pain. I've been using OS X since DP4 and I can still navigate OS 9 and Windows faster in professional design apps. These OSs have neutral UIs that have been tested by PSYCHOLOGISTS and put in front of FOCUS GROUPS.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I don't think Platinum was ever tested by psychologists. It was part of the whole, doomed "Business Mac" initiative, and a nod to the doomed Copland project.
The original Macintosh UI was tested by psychologists, however. It was white, at a saturation level, partly to conjure paper, which people were familiar with, and partly (in conjunction with the Mac's later use of pastels) because bright colors cheer people up, and Apple was keenly interested in doing that (c.f. the "Happy Mac" that appears at bootup).
The intention was never to offer neutral colors, which are (allegedly) psychologically neutral as well as color-neutral - and which I, for one, find dehumanizing and depressing.
Given what Amorph just said, there IS something inherently 'happy' about Aqua. There's definitely energy there, and it's almost a joy to work with. The other OS interfaces just look and feel so BLAH in comparison. Neutral gray is SO last century. heh
[quote]The best interfaces I've seen had colour. Kai and Aqua included.<hr></blockquote>You didn't just say Kai was a good interface, did you?
Either retract that statement or from here on out be laughed at and derided. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
According to Railhead Design (NOT a rumor site, but a fact site; the owner of said site does not post rumors he's not sure about):
Another 10.2 Seed Released
Another seed of Apple?s next major OS upgrade has been made available to select premiere developers. This latest seed sports drastic Finder revisions and major ?tune-ups? in performance, sorting, auto-scrolling, spring-loaded folder action, contextual menu handling ? and the new print foundation (CUPS) is also being thoroughly pushed, jammed, and slammed into place by developers.
A few ?Apple people? are also hinting that Apple will be showcasing the new additions coming to OS X 10.2 on their website within the next six weeks ? but I?m still trying to get more solid information, though this makes (obvious) sense if we are to expect 10.2 to be released in July. But again, we?ll have to see?
Sounds groovy, huh? Time to start scouring the underbelly of the internet!
I saw that as well. Very encouraging. The guy at Railhead is legit, I agree....
The only thing I disagree with (in theory) is the release date. MWNY would be too late for the educational buying season as far as most major universities and such are concerned. WWDC seems much more likely given both the amount of time that's past since 10.1, and the audience and timing of that event. On that count I hope I'm right and not him, but who knows with Apple. None of their timing seems particularly logical anymore....
[quote]The only thing I disagree with (in theory) is the release date. MWNY would be too late for the educational buying season as far as most major universities and such are concerned.<hr></blockquote>
Demo at WWDC, and further hype for many months after until MWNY. Though it could be released earlier if Q&A goes smoothly.
Ed buying is a tediously long process [for depts and labs], and paperwork takes months to go through, and then you have to find time for tech support to set up everything. Fastest I've seen a purchase go through the system is one month. Timing can work.
moogs: I'd agree but I recieved an email from Apple stating that the next major revision of the OS will be previewed at WWDC. Presumably, it's because they want developers to test their apps on the new OS X version for incompatiblities..... that means that Apple has most likely changed certain APIs, cleaned up some code, and removed the debugging code that has clogged OS X for a year (that last part was a joke), so I'd say MacWorld NY would be the release date of OS X, because it would give developers time to fix anything that was broken.
Presumably developers like Adobe *already* have access to the new APIs and such though...if anyone is kept current on those kinds of issues it would be them. Thus I think the WWDC session (I got the same email) in question is more of a feature overview than anything. Who knows what will go on in all the different developer sessions afterwards that week.
In any event I would hope Apple releases 10.2 by June 1 and that the subsequent application recompiles and dot releases arrive during the remainder of the summer. Which brings up an interesting point; I wonder to what extent developers will recomile their existing apps with gcc 3.1 (given that Apple is doing it with the OS) vs. releasing a downloadable update. I guess if they recompile, they'd have to charge everyone for a CD and shipment, wouldn't they?
Probably the next versions (after the ones we're just now getting) from Adobe and others will be recompiled, but just patched until then?
Of course, but those two companies single-handedly make ours a viable platform. As long as they're content with what's going on with Apple's engineering plans, I'm content with it....
One thing I have noticed is the Control Strip in the Menu Bar. I LIKE IT! Can MP3 Strip and other applets work here?
Also, what happened to Space? I won't install it, because it seems to have stopped development almost a year ago! Maybe Apple is going to FINALLY incorporate Virtual Desktops as a feature!? Off by default, quickly available to pros. Hopefully Apple will keep up with the rest of the *NIX community. WWDC looks killer. M$ Killer! :cool:
Something I just thought of / noted in the software forum:
"Users of Office v. X will be glad to hear that an update, SR-1, will be available for free at the end of May or early June. The update contains 1000 changes, bug fixes and performance improvements; contains full support for anti-aliasing text; ODBC support; and the ability for Office talk to FileMaker servers. "
The above was from a MacCental article yesterday, as noted by Kevin Browne no less. I think this, as much as anything we've seen, is a good indication 10.2 will released during the same time period. Surely MS wouldn't release a huge update like this without knowing it works well on the system we'll all be using for the next 8-12 months....
Comments
I'm constantly working on large projects in OS X. My company is currently managing about a dozen clients' projects, and I'm intimately involved with about seven of them on my machine. The largest is for the State of California, we're doing a lot of interactive and server side work for them. It involves me having to work in a handful of applications at any given time. It's a huge project, but I've found that it is actually much easier for me to deal with it in X than in 9. I don't find the speed to be that much of an issue. I really don't care how long it takes to close a thousand windows, but it's just about good enough for me right now. I also run two SGI displays at 1600x1024, so I don't have a problem displaying large amounts of information. I don't see how you can have a problem managing a large project in OS X...
Aqua is a lot easier on the eyes, and it doesn't break a lot of the UI rules to which you might be referring. I've been doing human interface design for close to eight years, and I've yet to use an operating system that was more pleasant than OS X. I'll never go back to 9. Ever.
[quote]Do we really need to get back into what a bitter and irrelevant old man TOG has become?<hr></blockquote>
It seems you do...
[quote]Originally posted by Aqua OS X:
<strong>
Aqua is also a huge hinderance. White and grey lines, no solid window boarders, gradients galore, and menus at 90% opacity do not make a UI functional. Anyone that has tried to layout a big project in OS X, with light colors and tons of open windows, probably wants to kill themselfs. It's a pain. I've been using OS X since DP4 and I can still navigate OS 9 and Windows faster in professional design apps. These OSs have neutral UIs that have been tested by PSYCHOLOGISTS and put in front of FOCUS GROUPS.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I don't think Platinum was ever tested by psychologists. It was part of the whole, doomed "Business Mac" initiative, and a nod to the doomed Copland project.
The original Macintosh UI was tested by psychologists, however. It was white, at a saturation level, partly to conjure paper, which people were familiar with, and partly (in conjunction with the Mac's later use of pastels) because bright colors cheer people up, and Apple was keenly interested in doing that (c.f. the "Happy Mac" that appears at bootup).
The intention was never to offer neutral colors, which are (allegedly) psychologically neutral as well as color-neutral - and which I, for one, find dehumanizing and depressing.
[ 04-08-2002: Message edited by: Amorph ]</p>
Ya don't say. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
People talked about it's memory features for years. They're crap.
Aqua is a shiny jewel.
Platinum totalitarian grey(!)is so 1990s.
What is it with people and grey interfaces?
The best interfaces I've seen had colour. Kai and Aqua included.
Lemon Bon Bon
Face it, Aqua X is great and it's gonna get better!
With faster chips and more updates and more memory...in a years time we'll talking about something else...
Either retract that statement or from here on out be laughed at and derided. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
According to Railhead Design (NOT a rumor site, but a fact site; the owner of said site does not post rumors he's not sure about):
Another 10.2 Seed Released
Another seed of Apple?s next major OS upgrade has been made available to select premiere developers. This latest seed sports drastic Finder revisions and major ?tune-ups? in performance, sorting, auto-scrolling, spring-loaded folder action, contextual menu handling ? and the new print foundation (CUPS) is also being thoroughly pushed, jammed, and slammed into place by developers.
A few ?Apple people? are also hinting that Apple will be showcasing the new additions coming to OS X 10.2 on their website within the next six weeks ? but I?m still trying to get more solid information, though this makes (obvious) sense if we are to expect 10.2 to be released in July. But again, we?ll have to see?
Sounds groovy, huh? Time to start scouring the underbelly of the internet!
The only thing I disagree with (in theory) is the release date. MWNY would be too late for the educational buying season as far as most major universities and such are concerned. WWDC seems much more likely given both the amount of time that's past since 10.1, and the audience and timing of that event. On that count I hope I'm right and not him, but who knows with Apple. None of their timing seems particularly logical anymore....
Demo at WWDC, and further hype for many months after until MWNY. Though it could be released earlier if Q&A goes smoothly.
Ed buying is a tediously long process [for depts and labs], and paperwork takes months to go through, and then you have to find time for tech support to set up everything. Fastest I've seen a purchase go through the system is one month. Timing can work.
[ 04-11-2002: Message edited by: Gambit ]</p>
In any event I would hope Apple releases 10.2 by June 1 and that the subsequent application recompiles and dot releases arrive during the remainder of the summer. Which brings up an interesting point; I wonder to what extent developers will recomile their existing apps with gcc 3.1 (given that Apple is doing it with the OS) vs. releasing a downloadable update. I guess if they recompile, they'd have to charge everyone for a CD and shipment, wouldn't they?
Probably the next versions (after the ones we're just now getting) from Adobe and others will be recompiled, but just patched until then?
[ 04-11-2002: Message edited by: Moogs ]</p>
Also, what happened to Space? I won't install it, because it seems to have stopped development almost a year ago! Maybe Apple is going to FINALLY incorporate Virtual Desktops as a feature!? Off by default, quickly available to pros. Hopefully Apple will keep up with the rest of the *NIX community. WWDC looks killer. M$ Killer! :cool:
"Users of Office v. X will be glad to hear that an update, SR-1, will be available for free at the end of May or early June. The update contains 1000 changes, bug fixes and performance improvements; contains full support for anti-aliasing text; ODBC support; and the ability for Office talk to FileMaker servers. "
The above was from a MacCental article yesterday, as noted by Kevin Browne no less. I think this, as much as anything we've seen, is a good indication 10.2 will released during the same time period. Surely MS wouldn't release a huge update like this without knowing it works well on the system we'll all be using for the next 8-12 months....
:cool:
[ 04-11-2002: Message edited by: Moogs ]</p>