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Subject: 10.2 Impressions
From: Sneaky Pete <sneaky@ihatespam.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2002 05:58:48 GMT
I have two Macs. A 667 TiBook and a Quicksilver 733 along with an Airport
Base Station to connect to the internet and network the two computers. I
replaced 10.1.5 w/ 10.2 (build 6C115 which is supposed to be the GM) a
couple of days ago. Here's what I found out so far:
Jaguar seriously rocks. I find it to be faster in all facets. Windows open
and close instantly. Dragging them feels just like OS 9.2.2. Any and all
hesitations and slight delays that I was used to in the Finder and in general
use are gone. Vanished. I thought my machines were pretty quick using 10.1.5
but not near as fast as OS 9. Now, any speed difference between 9 and 10.2
is insignificant IMHO. With 10.2, I now have the speed to go with the
stability. I'm in seventh heaven.
[An aside: Since 10.1 came out, I turned my back on OS 9, because its
quickness wasn't worth its instability. Again, in my opinion. By comparison,
9 crashes a lot while it seems as if OS X never does. Restarts for freezes,
bombs, and unexpected application quits takes more computing time than a
slightly sluggish OS that always works. And I've never lost a bit of work
since switching to OS X. Never. Can any of you reluctant OS 9ers say that?]
But I've still got a couple of Classic apps I need to run. In 10.2, Classic
has arrived. It starts faster and runs smooth as silk. It feels like good ol'
OS 9 to me. I find it completely usable in a way I never felt before. I'm
stunned. It runs that good on my machines.
One of the things I've always liked about having an Apple PowerBook and a
desk top machine is the way you can network them with an Airport Base
Station. While Airport networking works great in OS 9 (until it crashes
,
you still have to know the IP number of the machine you want to connect to to
use the much faster than Appletalk TC/IP connection. I've always liked the
way OS X scans the network and comes up with the IP address for you. That's
quicker and easier than running downstairs to see what IP number the Airport
assigned like I often had to w/ OS 9. Admittedly, 10.1.5 takes longer to
connect than does OS 9, but file transfers are more stable and faster in OS X
in my experience. With 10.2, connecting to another machine over Airport is
now lightning fast. Right now with no waiting just like it was in OS 9, but
with the more stable connection and faster transfer speeds that OS X always
had. It's works nothing short of terrific.
Ever try USB Printer sharing over an Airport in OS 9? Not very often I'm
betting. It seldom worked. But USB printer sharing wasn't available at all in
OS X. Until now that is. All you have to do to use is turn it on in the
sharing control panel of the machine with the printer connected to it. That's
it. The first time I tried printing upstairs with my PB to my downstairs
machine under 10.2, I just hit print and okay when the print dialog came up.
My PB acted as if it was physically connected to my printer. I thought it
didn't work, because it was so fast. Instead, it was so fast because it
worked perfectly. It's totally seamless. I noticed the third time I tried it,
that when the print dialog comes up, a line at the bottom said, "connecting
to printer" and is gone in about 2 seconds. Hit okay and it's in my printer
downstairs. This is terrific for anyone who fought with OS 9's lame USB
printer sharing.
If you're getting the idea that I think 10.2 is all kinds of wonderful,
you're right. While I liked and was committed to 10.1.5, 10.2 blows it away.
I think this after only two days of using it. Any machine already running
10.1.5 WILL be much faster with 10.2. Naturally, your mileage may vary, but I
can't believe anyone upgrading from 10.1.5 won't agree that their computing
just became significantly faster and smoother in all respects. Also, while I
can't back it up with proof, I believe machines that were/are marginal under
10.1.5 will be quite usable with 10.2. It's that good.
BTW, I make my living doing LAN, WAN and Windows support. I think I'm
qualified to say that OS 10.2 is the best OS that has EVER existed. Apple's
hit one over the fence in my opinion. I can't recommend it enough.
Considering how far OS X has come since its initial release, I'd say the
future looks bright for us Mac users. The next major update is gonna really
be unbelieveable if the performance improvements in 10.2 are any indication.
SneakyPete
PS 10.2 is suppose to be able to connect to a Windows network. I can't wait
to try it.
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