I am starting to believe.

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I have a Cube running OS X 10.0.4 on a so-so NEC 15 inch LCD monitor and this is the best Mac experience I've seen until now. But today I went into CompUSA today and was just blown away seeing OS X 10.1 for the first time on a Quicksilver 733 with a 17 inch Apple Studio Display. Connected to the machine was an iPod.



I know that it is a huge task to get a Windoze user to move over to the Mac. Until today I thought OS X was nice but I never really got what Apple is trying to do. But what I saw looked so, so much better than Windows that I don't think anyone could NOT notice. The classic Mac has a reputation for ease of use but you have to use it a little while to "get" it. But OS X offers a such a great first impression immediately to the user that it has to intrigue people to play with it more, especially in a setting like the Apple retail store.



If you have not seen iPod in person it looks MUCH, MUCH better than you would imagine. It looks incredible. It's simple and sleek and shiny. And the user interface is a thrill to play with. Learning it is almost effortless. I wouldn't say it requires no effort but it takes about as much concentration as a game of connect the dots. Things just fall into place. People usually find playing with gadgets annoying. They feel out of control like they are wrestling with something. Pushing the buttons on the iPod is fun. I think a good salesman could really get a person excited about how natural it feels.



On my Cube, the effect of windows like the System Preferences panel scrolling up and down to resize themselves was cool but no big deal. On Apple's LCD screen everything about OS X looks gorgeous. iTunes looks so simple that you could figure it out without instructions. And then I walk over to look at Windows XP, a drab, stupidly organized, amateurish POS on clunky looking black Samsung LCD screens.



I think even a non Mac user would get that Mercedes Benz feeling of class and elegance that Apple's products offer after playing around for 15 minutes with a Mac and iPod. A little guidance from an Apple rep about how the Dock works and some other basics might be helpful. I don't think you could feel the classic MacOS's ease of use just playing around for 15 minutes. I don't think you'd notice much difference from Windows immediately. You might think the Apple Menu was nifty but that's about it. I can really see Steve Jobs vision for OS X now.



With obvious elegance and a number of consumer products that do just what the customer wants to do with little learning curve, this is the first time I think Apple has a real chance to win over the Wintel user walking in the store. A free copy of Office v.x or a clone or perhaps OS X on Intel would help too but that's another thread.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    All I wanna know is why are you running OS X 10.0.4? :eek: 10.1 is SOOO much better and it's been out since Sept. 29th. How can you actually put up with 10.0.4?
  • Reply 2 of 18
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Seriously! What's the deal? 10.1 is about a gazillion times better IN EVERY WAY than 10.0.4!



    You may as well be using System 7.5!







    HUGE improvements in 10.1 that are immediately apparent and appreciated...speed being only one of them.



    <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
  • Reply 3 of 18
    I'm too cheap and poor to pay the $20 for the upgrade and was planning to get it when I made my first trip to an Apple retail store. I live about 5 miles down Peachtree Street from the Lenox Mall in Atlanta where an Apple Store will be opening pretty soon.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by spindler:

    <strong>I'm too cheap and poor to pay the $20 for the upgrade and was planning to get it when I made my first trip to an Apple retail store. I live about 5 miles down Peachtree Street from the Lenox Mall in Atlanta where an Apple Store will be opening pretty soon.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    10.0.4 is so bad, I wouldn't be able to handle it. If I were you I'd be in 9.2.
  • Reply 5 of 18
    I didn't realize there was THAT big a difference. I guess I should pick it up.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    He is right about the wintel user walking into an Apple Store and coming out a Mac user. Steve's vision is readily apparent in 10.1, Apple users will be riding a good ship for years to come.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    noahjnoahj Posts: 4,503member
    [quote]Originally posted by spindler:

    <strong>I didn't realize there was THAT big a difference. I guess I should pick it up.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    The difference is night and day... An article I wrote on it when at the now defunct Appleonlooker...



    [quote] Written one week after 9-11

    "My 5G59 Experience"



    Well after a very sad week (I am still in shock) I have decided to take a crack at writing another review for your reading pleasure. As the title suggests the build I will review this time is 5G59. Let me start this review with one word. WOW.



    In the time since my 5G27 I expected a few issues to be fixed, and as far as I can tell, they have. This build is faster (yes faster) than the 5G27 build by a noticable margin. It is as stable as 10.0.4, and a few features have been added.



    Let's begin with installation. In my 5G27 experience the install was plagued with problems. Some caused by the installer, others caused by my own stupid mistakes. Feel free to read the review if you have any questions. This time however the installer worked flawlessly. I could only find one installer icon on the CD and it worked as expected.



    After double clicking the icon I was greeted by an authentication box requesting my password. After entering the correct password it told me that it was going to reboot the machine from the CD and load OS X. The CD Loaded flawlessly and I chose to install the typical componants, Clicked through the license agreement and other buttons, and after a short amount of time (sorry I did not clock it for you stopwatch fans) the installer had finished. It was much faster than with 5G27, but that may be due to the fact that I had fewer files to update as I have been running newer builds on my machine.



    The computer rebooted to OS X and I immediately noticed that boot time in 5G59 is about 10 seconds faster for me. Login is very fast and any applications that I have set to start at login had already started by the time the Desktop was ready to be viewed. There were no obvious interface changes that I noticed during bootup.



    The first application I checked was DVD (what can I say, it is my only reason to go back to OS 9) and found that it was indeed installed on the machine. For those who are wondering if it works, the answer is a resounding yes. In a previous build (5G49) I had one crash using it, but this time it performed flawlessly. In fact, I decided to stress test it to see how it stacked up against OS 9's DVD playback. Let me say, there is no comparison. I moved the window around first while playing. No dropped frames. I then moved the controller around over the paying window, no dropped frames. I also verified and tested full screen capability. It will present the movie on screen and hide all other windows and the dock.



    I decided to really put it to the test and launched OmniWeb, Mozilla, terminal, and Mail. There was 1 dropped frame that I saw and it continued to play with Audio and video in sync. One other side note, my terminal is translucent so you can see through it, but the DVD playback was not able to be seen through the window. It was similar to having a Classic App under a trasparent item like the dock. It is there, but not viewable through the transparency.



    Now that I had determined that DVD playback was more than just acceptable I checked on the other portion that I had not had good luck with, CD Burning. This also worked flawlessly for me. I burned a data CD using Disc Burner, and I burned an image using Disk Copy. Apple has been quite busy.



    All of my applications worked as expected, and launch time was the same or faster with all applications since my last review. OS 9 is no longer faster than OS X for me in any aspect. I was unsure what to check now, as I was having to concentrate on keeping my jaw from hitting the floor.



    System Prefrences have not changed from prior 5Gxx builds, and after a cursory overview I was able to determine that this portion was also quite fast and responsive. I have installed TinkerTool 2.0 which places itself in system prefrences as a control there. TinkerTool does indeed work in 5G59 but a few of the options have dissapeared. You can not put the trash on the desktop anymore, and the Blue triangle for the foreground app is also MIA. I am not sure if this is because of changes that Apple made or in TinkerTool, I may be writing a full review of TinkerTool later and will let you know what I come up with then.



    After a few hours of testing the OS I have come to the conclusion that OS X is ready for primetime. The only reason I could see anyone staying with OS 9 is for nostalgia and for applications that do not work in the classic layer. OS X is stable, fast, and the future of the Mac. If Apple is able to make even more improvements by the time that the GM is released I will be astonished. This writer has never been more proud to be a Mac fan than now. The future of the Mac is OS X, and the future looks really, really good.



    NoahJ

    <hr></blockquote>



    I wrote this as a preview of OS X 10.1 and it has only gotten better!! Go get it man. You will not regret it.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by Macintosh:

    <strong>He is right about the wintel user walking into an Apple Store and coming out a Mac user. Steve's vision is readily apparent in 10.1, Apple users will be riding a good ship for years to come.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Yeah, he's definately right. Whenever I've brought friends to the Palisades Apple Store who use PCs at home they've always come out of the store with a new respect and liking for Macs and the OS.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    [quote]Originally posted by spindler:

    <strong>I didn't realize there was THAT big a difference. I guess I should pick it up.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Sorry to break it to you, but the upgrade period for OS X 10.1 is OVER!!! It ended umm yesterday (1/1/2002).

    Sorry man, looks like your goona have to find a friend who has the updater or get someone to burn a copy for you...



    -Paul
  • Reply 10 of 18
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Man, PayPal me $5 and I will mail you a copy.



    Of course I am kidding (I am serious) because that's piracy.



    Don't (do) really email me.



    I am serious, don't. (do)



    I don't know how you could possibly be happy in 10.0.4.... 10.1 kills it.



    [ 01-02-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
  • Reply 11 of 18
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    [quote]Originally posted by murbot:

    <strong>Man, PayPal me $5 and I will mail you a copy.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Actually, since it is a "Free" update, you are allowed to GIVE someone a copy. Making them pay for it is piracy...



    -Paul
  • Reply 12 of 18
    [quote]

    Actually, since it is a "Free" update, you are allowed to GIVE someone a copy. Making them pay for it is piracy...



    -Paul

    <hr></blockquote>



    Hey the $5 is for shipping and handling, right?
  • Reply 13 of 18
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Nooooooo, I didn't mean I wanted to make any money on it!!



    It was just a quick comment to say hey, I'll get it for you.



    I would have to use a CD-R and jewel case and mail it to the guy.



    About that free update, I don't think the stores here still have it any longer - is it still free at all the Apple Stores?



    If not, I'll do it for a couple of bucks - anything to help a fellow Mac user out of the 10.0.4 pits of hell.



  • Reply 14 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by murbot:

    <strong>

    About that free update, I don't think the stores here still have it any longer - is it still free at all the Apple Stores?

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I haven't seen it in any stores since early November.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    Isaw a few 10.1 updater packages just SITTING there at a Mac OS X display at the new The Wiz location in Manalapan, NJ. This was about a week ago. You could just pick it up and walk out, if you wanted, I think. I didn't find any sign of that magnetized (or whatever) price-tag they put on stuff that makes the alarms go off when you walk out, either.



    Of course, that's not really close to Atlanta, but . . . (shrug).
  • Reply 16 of 18
    [quote]Originally posted by CommonSense:

    <strong>Isaw a few 10.1 updater packages just SITTING there at a Mac OS X display at the new The Wiz location in Manalapan, NJ. This was about a week ago. You could just pick it up and walk out, if you wanted, I think. I didn't find any sign of that magnetized (or whatever) price-tag they put on stuff that makes the alarms go off when you walk out, either.



    Of course, that's not really close to Atlanta, but . . . (shrug).</strong><hr></blockquote>



    that's because it's free. Stealing free stuff=not a crime.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by CommonSense:

    <strong>Isaw a few 10.1 updater packages just SITTING there at a Mac OS X display at the new The Wiz location in Manalapan, NJ. This was about a week ago. You could just pick it up and walk out, if you wanted, I think. I didn't find any sign of that magnetized (or whatever) price-tag they put on stuff that makes the alarms go off when you walk out, either.



    Of course, that's not really close to Atlanta, but . . . (shrug).</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Now that I think about it, I think I saw one or two at The Wiz near me too.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Well you're in luck. MacNN reported today that Apple extended the upgrade period until January 31st.
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