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Tiger is an essential upgrade, but don't rush the changeover.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

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Upgrade to OS X 'Tiger'? Most Apple users should be cautious


April 20, 2005


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, The Post-Standard

   Apple has a new version of Mac OS X, code-named Tiger, with a lot of new features. Is it time for you to upgrade?
   You might be surprised by my reticence. I think it's time to wait.
   The new operating system, OS X 10.4, will be released April 29 at a list price of $129. A family pack, for installation on up to five computers, lists for $199. You can order directly from Apple, at www.apple.com/macosx, or you can buy Tiger from your local Apple dealer. Discounters such as Amazon.com are selling the new operating system at a slight savings.
   OS X 10.4 is Apple's first chance to show off some flashy new ways of organizing everything you do on your Macintosh. Microsoft, Apple's big rival, will adopt similar functions in a future version of Windows a few years from now.
   And that means the only way to impress your neighbors with what their future Windows PCs might be like is to upgrade to Tiger right now.
   But I'm not impressed. First, let me tell you what Tiger has to offer. Then I'll tell you why you should wait.
   OS X 10.4 has many new features along with dozens of minor improvements. Among the big changes:
   Spotlight, which automatically indexes everything (including mail, Web pages, pictures and songs) stored on your computer. It uses that index to locate practically anything in a second or two. Those who have tried out preview versions of Spotlight are ecstatic. Some of them say it's the best thing to happen to personal computing since the original Mac was introduced 21 years ago.
   Smart Folders, which store anything you want and update themselves automatically. If you're a power user of the latest iPhoto software, you already might know about Smart Folders -- they're built into the current iPhoto program. (Try them if you haven't done so already.) OS X 10.4 turns this idea into a system-wide delight.
   Dashboard, which lets you assemble mini-programs called widgets on your desktop to get updates on stocks, weather forecasts, airline and rail schedules and much more. The Tiger Dashboard can be zoomed open or closed at the click of a function key.
   All these improvements, along with other new features you can read about at Apple's Web site, would seem to make Tiger an essential upgrade for current OS X users. But I think most of you should wait a few months, then choose to upgrade only if the early adopters are still enthusiastic.
   Unlike the so-called "point upgrades" of OS X, Tiger's changes are nearly all of the hang-it-all-out variety. Big changes like that require a lot of testing, and no testing method works as well as testing by real users doing real things.
   You guessed it. This means Apple needs those early adopters to report bugs and problems. I'm not saying Apple failed to test OS X 10.4 thoroughly. Apple does much better testing than Microsoft does, but Apple needs the experiences of normal users, doing normal operations that aren't part of beta tests, before it gets my vote on an operating system as new as Tiger.
   If you're buying a new Macintosh this spring, you'll probably get Tiger already installed. That's OK. Apple has always done a good job matching new operating systems to new hardware. But those of us who are facing an upgrade decision ought to give Tiger a chance to breed awhile.