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Two Months To Real Speed (5/11/01)
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It's tough to judge these things without running actual performance tests, but after yesterday's spiel on Mac OS X 10.0.3's single-bug-fix raison d'être, we're considering changing our tune. After using the new version heavily last night, we'd swear that the system is somehow just a bit faster, especially in launch times. It could be our imagination, of course, but since we weren't expecting a performance boost, we think it's less likely that we're fooling ourselves. Whatever. In any case, Mac OS X 10.0.3 is clearly faster than 10.0.0, which felt like Aqua had been dipped in wood glue and treacle-- the point being, things are getting better.
However, we still don't think Mac OS X feels zippy enough to foist upon a mainstream crowd. Mac OS X users who disagree, try this before you flame us to oblivion: boot back into Mac OS 9 on the same hardware and feel the wind in your hair. Perhaps Mac OS X is faster under the hood, but when it comes to consumer sales, perception is everything, and Mac OS X is going to have to feel at least as responsive as Mac OS 9 by the time the new operating system is preloaded on all Mac systems this summer.
Enter Puma, the first "big" revision to Mac OS X that will probably hit the streets as version 10.1. Puma will be the first release intended for use by "regular people," as opposed to those of us twisted geeks who jumped in on Day One just begging for pain. And as faithful viewer CodeBitch pointed out, the Naked Mole Rat has managed to overcome his grief at the passing of Joey Ramone long enough to mention that Puma is "speedier than Robert Downey Jr. on a Club Med vacation with some outlaw bikers." Hopefully that translates roughly into "perceptibly as fast as or faster than Mac OS 9," but of course we can never be entirely sure.
The Rat is also kind enough to provide details of Apple's development plans for Puma, and it goes something like this: feature freeze on June 1st; user interface freeze a week later; final candidate stage on July 2nd; golden master on the 9th; and, of course, a massive Jobsian unveiling at the Macworld Expo on July 17th. Mark your calendars! We're planning to be there to give it a spin at Apple's booth-- and, with luck, to update our PowerBook by glomming onto Apple's AirPort network right on the show floor. Fingers crossed!
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SceneLink (3046)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 5/11/01 episode: May 11, 2001: Mac OS X is slowly getting better, but the first quantum improvement is slotted for a July 17th unveiling. Meanwhile, Apple confirms a handful of layoffs in its iServices division, but claims it's not a sign of more to come, and Microsoft actually offers prizes to PC manufacturers who rat on customers who try to buy systems without Windows...
Other scenes from that episode: 3047: Fear Of Lurking Pink Slips (5/11/01) Well, we suppose that in this economy it was inevitable; by this time, any tech company that hasn't laid off a sizeable chunk of its staff simply doesn't have any staff left to cut loose. There are notable exceptions, of course, such as Apple-- whose CFO Fred Anderson clearly stated last January, "We are not planning an across-the-board layoff...Ó 3048: I Am Jack's Utter Disbelief (5/11/01) Anyone who's been tuning in to this little show for any length of time probably won't be surprised to learn that the AtAT staff is often plagued with unsettling paranoia dreams involving Microsoft's attempts to subjugate humankind as a slave race of workers and drones, while Bill Gates reigns supreme as World Emperor...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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