Mac OS 10.2

[ViRGE]

smp, you're right, one of the features of 10.2 is "Quartz Extreme", the OpenGL accelerated rendering layer Apple uses. Supposedly, it'll make the computer feel much "snappier", especially where transparancies are involved. Oh, and you don't need to buy 10.2; it comes with the iBook.

 

[Eug]

It's the best Mac OS ever, and it's speedy even on my iBook (older one with Rage Mobility - no Quartz Extreme). Integration with Windows networks is much more seamless, and now my DVD-RAM works with FAT32 for both read and write with no extra drivers. I can even format my DVD-RAM to FAT32 within Mac OS X. Gotta luv these 4.3 GB floppies. (Win XP also has integrated FAT32 DVD-RAM support.)

However, there are a few bugs. Finder display is a bit wonky at times, but the most significant bug is with ISO 9660 CDs. OS X reads them fine, but it can no longer properly burn them in Disk Copy. Apparently they removed the option to make hybrid ISO 9660/Mac OS Extended discs, and now all "Mac OS Extended" discs are supposed to be hybrids. However, somehow when they did the change the PC part of the hybrid got screwed up.

I never noticed this until somebody mentioned it, since I've been using Roxio Toast to burn my hybrid discs. Toast works fine.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp
Apple is lagging w/ the hardware IMO .. sure they got the new dual powermacs out .. but they lagging with those i-books. I'm very dissapointed that they won't be coming out with a G4 i-book, that's a shame.

While that would be neat, I believe the only "downside" to the g3 is the missing altivec. The g3 sahara (the 700mhz version in the newer ibooks) is supposed to be a great processor.

10.2.1 is rumored to be in testing already

 

[smp]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Apple is lagging w/ the hardware IMO .. sure they got the new dual powermacs out .. but they lagging with those i-books. I'm very dissapointed that they won't be coming out with a G4 i-book, that's a shame.

While that would be neat, I believe the only "downside" to the g3 is the missing altivec. The g3 sahara (the 700mhz version in the newer ibooks) is supposed to be a great processor. 10.2.1 is rumored to be in testing already

'supposed' to be? What, it runs photoshop at blinding speeds or what?
No seriously, is it somehow different from the other 500 and 600 G3's?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Apple is lagging w/ the hardware IMO .. sure they got the new dual powermacs out .. but they lagging with those i-books. I'm very dissapointed that they won't be coming out with a G4 i-book, that's a shame.

While that would be neat, I believe the only "downside" to the g3 is the missing altivec. The g3 sahara (the 700mhz version in the newer ibooks) is supposed to be a great processor. 10.2.1 is rumored to be in testing already

'supposed' to be? What, it runs photoshop at blinding speeds or what?
No seriously, is it somehow different from the other 500 and 600 G3's?

I havent tried it personally, and I cant think fo anything I know for sure off the top of my head. But I think its supposed to be a .13 micron chip. The ondie cache is 512k I think, 100mhz bus unlike the 500mhz iBook I have (66mhz). I think the newest 600mhz maybe one of these saharas too, but Im not positive.

 

[smp]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Apple is lagging w/ the hardware IMO .. sure they got the new dual powermacs out .. but they lagging with those i-books. I'm very dissapointed that they won't be coming out with a G4 i-book, that's a shame.

While that would be neat, I believe the only "downside" to the g3 is the missing altivec. The g3 sahara (the 700mhz version in the newer ibooks) is supposed to be a great processor. 10.2.1 is rumored to be in testing already

'supposed' to be? What, it runs photoshop at blinding speeds or what? No seriously, is it somehow different from the other 500 and 600 G3's?

I havent tried it personally, and I cant think fo anything I know for sure off the top of my head. But I think its supposed to be a .13 micron chip. The ondie cache is 512k I think, 100mhz bus unlike the 500mhz iBook I have (66mhz). I think the newest 600mhz maybe one of these saharas too, but Im not positive.

Oh yeah .. the 600's are 100fsb ... were the 500's a .18 die size? Interesting, I didn't know that the G3's underwent a die shrink .. cool. How large is the cache on the 500's? 256?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Apple is lagging w/ the hardware IMO .. sure they got the new dual powermacs out .. but they lagging with those i-books. I'm very dissapointed that they won't be coming out with a G4 i-book, that's a shame.

While that would be neat, I believe the only "downside" to the g3 is the missing altivec. The g3 sahara (the 700mhz version in the newer ibooks) is supposed to be a great processor. 10.2.1 is rumored to be in testing already

'supposed' to be? What, it runs photoshop at blinding speeds or what? No seriously, is it somehow different from the other 500 and 600 G3's?

I havent tried it personally, and I cant think fo anything I know for sure off the top of my head. But I think its supposed to be a .13 micron chip. The ondie cache is 512k I think, 100mhz bus unlike the 500mhz iBook I have (66mhz). I think the newest 600mhz maybe one of these saharas too, but Im not positive.

Oh yeah .. the 600's are 100fsb ... were the 500's a .18 die size? Interesting, I didn't know that the G3's underwent a die shrink .. cool. How large is the cache on the 500's? 256?

I think so (dont have mine with me right now). Im not positive about the die shrink.

 

[smp]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Apple is lagging w/ the hardware IMO .. sure they got the new dual powermacs out .. but they lagging with those i-books. I'm very dissapointed that they won't be coming out with a G4 i-book, that's a shame.

While that would be neat, I believe the only "downside" to the g3 is the missing altivec. The g3 sahara (the 700mhz version in the newer ibooks) is supposed to be a great processor. 10.2.1 is rumored to be in testing already

'supposed' to be? What, it runs photoshop at blinding speeds or what? No seriously, is it somehow different from the other 500 and 600 G3's?

I havent tried it personally, and I cant think fo anything I know for sure off the top of my head. But I think its supposed to be a .13 micron chip. The ondie cache is 512k I think, 100mhz bus unlike the 500mhz iBook I have (66mhz). I think the newest 600mhz maybe one of these saharas too, but Im not positive.

Oh yeah .. the 600's are 100fsb ... were the 500's a .18 die size? Interesting, I didn't know that the G3's underwent a die shrink .. cool. How large is the cache on the 500's? 256?

I think so (dont have mine with me right now). Im not positive about the die shrink.

Ahh .. I see. So you work for apple then? Spouting misinformation and rumours so that I'de buy an i-book then eh?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Apple is lagging w/ the hardware IMO .. sure they got the new dual powermacs out .. but they lagging with those i-books. I'm very dissapointed that they won't be coming out with a G4 i-book, that's a shame.

While that would be neat, I believe the only "downside" to the g3 is the missing altivec. The g3 sahara (the 700mhz version in the newer ibooks) is supposed to be a great processor. 10.2.1 is rumored to be in testing already

'supposed' to be? What, it runs photoshop at blinding speeds or what? No seriously, is it somehow different from the other 500 and 600 G3's?

I havent tried it personally, and I cant think fo anything I know for sure off the top of my head. But I think its supposed to be a .13 micron chip. The ondie cache is 512k I think, 100mhz bus unlike the 500mhz iBook I have (66mhz). I think the newest 600mhz maybe one of these saharas too, but Im not positive.

Oh yeah .. the 600's are 100fsb ... were the 500's a .18 die size? Interesting, I didn't know that the G3's underwent a die shrink .. cool. How large is the cache on the 500's? 256?

I think so (dont have mine with me right now). Im not positive about the die shrink.

Ahh .. I see. So you work for apple then? Spouting misinformation and rumours so that I'de buy an i-book then eh?

If I worked for Apple Id have a powerbook right now

I looked up some of the information though. The 500mhz and original 600mhz g3s had 256kB of L2 on die cache. The second 600mhz iBook, and the 700 mhz iBook have 512kB cache. Still havent looked up the die shrink thing yet though

 

[smp]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Apple is lagging w/ the hardware IMO .. sure they got the new dual powermacs out .. but they lagging with those i-books. I'm very dissapointed that they won't be coming out with a G4 i-book, that's a shame.

While that would be neat, I believe the only "downside" to the g3 is the missing altivec. The g3 sahara (the 700mhz version in the newer ibooks) is supposed to be a great processor. 10.2.1 is rumored to be in testing already

'supposed' to be? What, it runs photoshop at blinding speeds or what? No seriously, is it somehow different from the other 500 and 600 G3's?

I havent tried it personally, and I cant think fo anything I know for sure off the top of my head. But I think its supposed to be a .13 micron chip. The ondie cache is 512k I think, 100mhz bus unlike the 500mhz iBook I have (66mhz). I think the newest 600mhz maybe one of these saharas too, but Im not positive.

Oh yeah .. the 600's are 100fsb ... were the 500's a .18 die size? Interesting, I didn't know that the G3's underwent a die shrink .. cool. How large is the cache on the 500's? 256?

I think so (dont have mine with me right now). Im not positive about the die shrink.

Ahh .. I see. So you work for apple then? Spouting misinformation and rumours so that I'de buy an i-book then eh?

If I worked for Apple Id have a powerbook right now I looked up some of the information though. The 500mhz and original 600mhz g3s had 256kB of L2 on die cache. The second 600mhz iBook, and the 700 mhz iBook have 512kB cache. Still havent looked up the die shrink thing yet though

Die shrink <(important) Cache size
Die shrink wouldn't really make the processor faster or anything, but a cache increase is nice. You think OSX.2 would run nicely on one of those 700mhz deals?

 

[smp]

Oh yeah ... In canadian dollars I can save about 500 bucks going with 128 meg and a 12" screen. I've used the 12" version though and it was killing me. If I get an i-book I would have to splurge and get the fully loaded one with the 14" screen. No DVD-R though? Should get one for that kind of money.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp

Die shrink <(important) Cache size

I agree, but its still fun to know

Die shrink wouldn't really make the processor faster or anything, but a cache increase is nice.

But it can make it cooler and consume less power (although the g3 already does quite well in both of these areas).

You think OSX.2 would run nicely on one of those 700mhz deals?

Its supposed to scream, but I havent tried it. It supoprts quartz extreme, and the g3 is supposed to be a great processor.

Oh yeah ... In canadian dollars I can save about 500 bucks going with 128 meg and a 12" screen.

Thats what I got, just about a year ago

I've used the 12" version though and it was killing me. If I get an i-book I would have to splurge and get the fully loaded one with the 14" screen.

I got used to it. I wanted portability. The 14" is bigger and less portable.

No DVD-R though? Should get one for that kind of money.

Name a notebook that has a DVD-R. From what I read one of the parts is too big to fit in these smaller notebooks.

 

[smp]

Name a notebook that has a DVD-R. From what I read one of the parts is too big to fit in these smaller notebooks.

Doesn't Eug have one? Or is DVD-RAM something else?

Originally posted by: Eug
It's the best Mac OS ever, and it's speedy even on my iBook (older one with Rage Mobility - no Quartz Extreme). Integration with Windows networks is much more seamless, and now my DVD-RAM works with FAT32 for both read and write with no extra drivers. I can even format my DVD-RAM to FAT32 within Mac OS X. Gotta luv these 4.3 GB floppies. (Win XP also has integrated FAT32 DVD-RAM support.) However, there are a few bugs. Finder display is a bit wonky at times, but the most significant bug is with ISO 9660 CDs. OS X reads them fine, but it can no longer properly burn them in Disk Copy. Apparently they removed the option to make hybrid ISO 9660/Mac OS Extended discs, and now all "Mac OS Extended" discs are supposed to be hybrids. However, somehow when they did the change the PC part of the hybrid got screwed up. I never noticed this until somebody mentioned it, since I've been using Roxio Toast to burn my hybrid discs. Toast works fine.

I got used to it. I wanted portability. The 14" is bigger and less portable.
Uh huh .. that's why I want the 12" as well, or wanted it .. just cause it's so small, but man, 1024 x 768 max res?? I hate scrolling web pages and everything else? Am I mistaken on that res or is it only 800 x 600? Does the 14" have a higher res?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp
Name a notebook that has a DVD-R. From what I read one of the parts is too big to fit in these smaller notebooks.

Doesn't Eug have one? Or is DVD-RAM something else?

Originally posted by: Eug
It's the best Mac OS ever, and it's speedy even on my iBook (older one with Rage Mobility - no Quartz Extreme). Integration with Windows networks is much more seamless, and now my DVD-RAM works with FAT32 for both read and write with no extra drivers. I can even format my DVD-RAM to FAT32 within Mac OS X. Gotta luv these 4.3 GB floppies. (Win XP also has integrated FAT32 DVD-RAM support.) However, there are a few bugs. Finder display is a bit wonky at times, but the most significant bug is with ISO 9660 CDs. OS X reads them fine, but it can no longer properly burn them in Disk Copy. Apparently they removed the option to make hybrid ISO 9660/Mac OS Extended discs, and now all "Mac OS Extended" discs are supposed to be hybrids. However, somehow when they did the change the PC part of the hybrid got screwed up. I never noticed this until somebody mentioned it, since I've been using Roxio Toast to burn my hybrid discs. Toast works fine.

Its probably an external firewire one or something.

I got used to it. I wanted portability. The 14" is bigger and less portable.
Uh huh .. that's why I want the 12" as well, or wanted it .. just cause it's so small, but man, 1024 x 768 max res?? I hate scrolling web pages and everything else? Am I mistaken on that res or is it only 800 x 600? Does the 14" have a higher res?

They are all 1024x768 I believe (500-700).

I found more information about the 700mhz version (may also apply to the 512k cache 600mhz). The "sahara" is .13 micron. It can reach 1ghz, with a 200mhz bus, and uses 3.6W@800mhz. link here.

 

[smp]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Name a notebook that has a DVD-R. From what I read one of the parts is too big to fit in these smaller notebooks. Doesn't Eug have one? Or is DVD-RAM something else?

Originally posted by: Eug It's the best Mac OS ever, and it's speedy even on my iBook (older one with Rage Mobility - no Quartz Extreme). Integration with Windows networks is much more seamless, and now my DVD-RAM works with FAT32 for both read and write with no extra drivers. I can even format my DVD-RAM to FAT32 within Mac OS X. Gotta luv these 4.3 GB floppies. (Win XP also has integrated FAT32 DVD-RAM support.) However, there are a few bugs. Finder display is a bit wonky at times, but the most significant bug is with ISO 9660 CDs. OS X reads them fine, but it can no longer properly burn them in Disk Copy. Apparently they removed the option to make hybrid ISO 9660/Mac OS Extended discs, and now all "Mac OS Extended" discs are supposed to be hybrids. However, somehow when they did the change the PC part of the hybrid got screwed up. I never noticed this until somebody mentioned it, since I've been using Roxio Toast to burn my hybrid discs. Toast works fine.

Its probably an external firewire one or something.

I got used to it. I wanted portability. The 14" is bigger and less portable. Uh huh .. that's why I want the 12" as well, or wanted it .. just cause it's so small, but man, 1024 x 768 max res?? I hate scrolling web pages and everything else? Am I mistaken on that res or is it only 800 x 600? Does the 14" have a higher res?

They are all 1024x768 I believe (500-700). I found more information about the 700mhz version (may also apply to the 512k cache 600mhz). The "sahara" is .13 micron. It can reach 1ghz, with a 200mhz bus, and uses 3.6W@800mhz. link here.

Hmmm .. 32k of L1 is that normal? How much does the G4 have? How much do the P4 and XP have?
I remember I used OSX on an i-mac 700 mhz G4 and it was nothing to write home about speed wise. I don't want to spend much money on a laptop that doesn't run X comfortably (read fast).
I have seen sites that show you how to OC your i-book, and it's pretty cool. People were OC'ing their 500mhz 66FSB i-books to 600mhz 100fsb speeds
But there was touchy soldering involved and it looked scary .. that's real overclocking for ya though .. none of this panty waist soft bios crap

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: smp Name a notebook that has a DVD-R. From what I read one of the parts is too big to fit in these smaller notebooks. Doesn't Eug have one? Or is DVD-RAM something else?

Originally posted by: Eug It's the best Mac OS ever, and it's speedy even on my iBook (older one with Rage Mobility - no Quartz Extreme). Integration with Windows networks is much more seamless, and now my DVD-RAM works with FAT32 for both read and write with no extra drivers. I can even format my DVD-RAM to FAT32 within Mac OS X. Gotta luv these 4.3 GB floppies. (Win XP also has integrated FAT32 DVD-RAM support.) However, there are a few bugs. Finder display is a bit wonky at times, but the most significant bug is with ISO 9660 CDs. OS X reads them fine, but it can no longer properly burn them in Disk Copy. Apparently they removed the option to make hybrid ISO 9660/Mac OS Extended discs, and now all "Mac OS Extended" discs are supposed to be hybrids. However, somehow when they did the change the PC part of the hybrid got screwed up. I never noticed this until somebody mentioned it, since I've been using Roxio Toast to burn my hybrid discs. Toast works fine.

Its probably an external firewire one or something.

I got used to it. I wanted portability. The 14" is bigger and less portable. Uh huh .. that's why I want the 12" as well, or wanted it .. just cause it's so small, but man, 1024 x 768 max res?? I hate scrolling web pages and everything else? Am I mistaken on that res or is it only 800 x 600? Does the 14" have a higher res?

They are all 1024x768 I believe (500-700). I found more information about the 700mhz version (may also apply to the 512k cache 600mhz). The "sahara" is .13 micron. It can reach 1ghz, with a 200mhz bus, and uses 3.6W@800mhz. link here.

Hmmm .. 32k of L1 is that normal? How much does the G4 have? How much do the P4 and XP have?

I think the p4 and XP have 64k. From a quick google, it looks like the G4 has 32k also.

I remember I used OSX on an i-mac 700 mhz G4 and it was nothing to write home about speed wise. I don't want to spend much money on a laptop that doesn't run X comfortably (read fast).

Was it 10.2? There have been some major speed improvements in 10.2. I dont have a copy yet, but from what I hear from friends, it feels much speedier even on older iBooks (toilet seat style).

I have seen sites that show you how to OC your i-book, and it's pretty cool. People were OC'ing their 500mhz 66FSB i-books to 600mhz 100fsb speeds
But there was touchy soldering involved and it looked scary .. that's real overclocking for ya though .. none of this panty waist soft bios crap

 

[smp]

Nope .. it wasn't 10.2 .. it was the one before .. 10.1 I guess? Was there a plain old 10? I did like OSX a lot though .. a lot.
Can you run samba on it? Can you basically do everything that you can do with *nix?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp
Nope .. it wasn't 10.2 .. it was the one before .. 10.1 I guess? Was there a plain old 10?

Yeah, I have retail copies of both 10.0 and 10.1.

I did like OSX a lot though .. a lot.
Can you run samba on it?

Search freshmeat for xamba. Its an "easy to install" Mac OS X type package of Samba.

Can you basically do everything that you can do with *nix?

I havent had any problems with anything so far.

fink even gives you an apt-get work-a-like for software installation goodness.

 

[smp]

fink even gives you an apt-get work-a-like for software installation goodness.

Wow! That is SWEET! apt-get rules.
Okay well, I'm sold. I want a mac sooooo bad .. too bad that my next "big purchase" is gonna be a drum kit
Hey a guy's gotta do things other than geek out all the time
After that it's a motorbike .. but I'm thinking I need a laptop first, so I can take on my north american road trip with me
Anyone feel like sponsoring me? I spent all my money on prada shoes and my credit card bills are through the roof. I accept paypal
</obscure OT karyn ref>

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: smp
fink even gives you an apt-get work-a-like for software installation goodness.

Wow! That is SWEET! apt-get rules.
Okay well, I'm sold. I want a mac sooooo bad .. too bad that my next "big purchase" is gonna be a drum kit
Hey a guy's gotta do things other than geek out all the time
After that it's a motorbike .. but I'm thinking I need a laptop first, so I can take on my north american road trip with me
Anyone feel like sponsoring me? I spent all my money on prada shoes and my credit card bills are through the roof. I accept paypal
</obscure OT karyn ref>

Uhhhh ok. Heh, I drink when Im not "geeking out."

Ive got no money for you though, sorry. In fact, Ive been considering a 700mhz iBook to tide me over until I can afford a powerbook (it will be a while). But Ive got no money right now even for that

 

[ViRGE]

I got my shippment in today, and all I can say is wow.:Q If nothing else, Jaguar is absolutely screeming fast on my DP533 & GF2MX. While 10.1 wasn't a slouch, it can't make up for how fast 10.2 is; I can never call OS X slow again, as it holds its own(and then some) against every other GUI I've used. Outside of that:

iChat: AIM integration, a tossup. Rendevouz, a must have. I'm going to have IS IM'ing each other by the end of the week.

Terminal: A does it justice. The new shell in use isn't as feature full as tcsh, as ll and some other commands are absent(although you can put them back)

Find: It's good to see Find back in the Finder; I haven't had a chance to try out Sherlock 3 though to see how well it handles

Address Book: This is the future right her folks. Integrates with Mail and iChat, and I hear it'll also integrate with iCal and iSync when they're released. I've seen integration attempts in other software before, but I've never seen it done this well

Other: Menu Items are broken, so ASM and some other assorted applications don't work, but it's no big deal. I'm mad about losing the smiling mac on startup though, although the faster bootup times make up for that.


Tomorrow, ViRGE's review of Jaguar Server. Just got a copy in for the Xserve; let's see how much damage we can do with LDAP and some accross the board improvements in the Server components.

 

[FOBSIDE]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

iChat: AIM integration, a tossup. Rendevouz, a must have. I'm going to have IS IM'ing each other by the end of the week.

Terminal: A does it justice. The new shell in use isn't as feature full as tcsh, as ll and some other commands are absent(although you can put them back)

Find: It's good to see Find back in the Finder; I haven't had a chance to try out Sherlock 3 though to see how well it handles

Address Book: This is the future right her folks. Integrates with Mail and iChat, and I hear it'll also integrate with iCal and iSync when they're released. I've seen integration attempts in other software before, but I've never seen it done this well

iChat has a LONG way to go. its good for a first release. 1. you cant see idle peoples away messages unless you message them. 2. if someone isnt idle but has an away message, youre supposed to be able to mouseover and see their away message but that doesnt work 50% of the time. 3. if you have multiple AIM screen names for one perons in your address book, you get one name on the buddy list. i dunno how you get to choose which one you message if theyre both online.

sherlock is awesome! search movies. thats the ultimate test. itll show you what movies are playing. then itll show you theaters by distance from your zip and show times when you select a theater.

the speed boost is my favorite! i have the first generation g4 powerbook and before 10.2 it was a little sluggish. im ok with it now.

 

[n0cmonkey]

This thread at ars helps fix the tcsh problems. I think its about time I found a ksh for Mac OS X

Illl still use fire, Im not going to bother with iChat, atleast not full time.

 

[Eug]

Name a notebook that has a DVD-R. From what I read one of the parts is too big to fit in these smaller notebooks.

Doesn't Eug have one? Or is DVD-RAM something else?

Laptop DVD-R burners do not exist. Pioneer is said to be working on one for release this year though.

As he said, I use an external Firewire Panasonic DVD-RAM/DVD-R burner, with both my PC and my iBook. My iBook's drive is a DVD reader and CD-RW burner.

As for the current iBooks: the current 600 is significantly faster than my iBook 600. Why? Better CPU and Radeon. Mine has a Rage Mobility with a paltry 8 MB. Thus the new iBooks can support Quartz Extreme, but I can't. Nonetheless, Jagwire is still significantly faster on my iBook than X.1. But the 700 with new chip and Radeon is supposed to scream. That said, I likely won't be getting another G3 because I've started doing some light MPEG2 stuff, and some of the software won't even run unless there Altivec, ie. G4. (Then again, maybe I'll just get an iMac.)

 

[ViRGE]

Ok, here's ViRGE's review of 10.2, even if it is a day late.

As I've said before, I love Jaguar Client. So what about Jaguar Server... it's even more lovable. Where do I start?

Server Monitor: Almost the same as it was last time. Somehow, Apple added a thermal reading for the CPU blower, which is nice considering it was the last thing I was expecting.

Server Settings: This is the depreciated form of Server Admin from 10.1. It's been stripped of most of its controls(read on), and is mainly used for settings that don't involve users/groups/access.

Server Status: This is where the logging from SA went. It features more information in terms of availible logs and statistics than SA did, and is more functional in general now that it's its own application.

Workgroup Manager: This is the workhorse of 10.2 Server. This is where all the controls are for users, groups, access, etc. Besides a new GUI, it features more features than SA ever did. Skipping what's the same, we'll talk about what's new:

You can now see what groups a user belongs to(a much needed feature that dissapeared in the ASIP -> OS X transition).

Password Server: While this needs to be activated outside WM, its main interface is in WM. While it's only compatible with 10.2 forwards, it's still nice. With PS, you can force password length, password resets, logon disables, etc. Not nessisarily new compared to ASIP, but the fact that in theory you can integrate it with other systems via LDAP makes it very interesting.

Quotas: You can now place quotas on printing and home directory size(this applies to network logins only). Printing quotas will probably be popular with a lot of people.

Mail: Slightly different features here for user settings, but nothing major unless you use it much.

Preferences: This is where half the fun is right here.

"Preferences" is the OS X version of Mac Manager, combined with some simple group policy ideas such as what's under Win2K/XP. Among other things, you can explicitly define what icons are in the user's dock, what their internet settings are(default browser, homepage, etc), what printers are listed for them, and other prefs. Most of the preferences come in both the "user can add" and "user can't add" variety, allowing you to go as far as you need to to lock something down. Perferences can be defined for someone 3 ways, per user, per group, and per computer. User and group require that the machine do a network login.

Computer control: By having the machine subscribe to LDAP(but not explicity do a network login), you can control settings by computer by having said machines MAC addresses grouped. This allows you to control a machine's preferences even if it does a local login(I haven't tried a login that's broken network wise). It also lets you set up computer groups where only certain user groups can log in; so the Sanitation Engineer isn't trying to log in to one of the Administration's computers, as this will prevent certain user names from doing a network login from certain machines.

Open Directory: OD is Apple's name for their directory system. Really, OD is 2 things. First, the OD Manager, which sets up the server to serve(or recieve) certain Directory Services, and the Password Server. If OD is on the sending end, it can serve up both the now semi-depreciated NetInfo, and LDAPv3. OD is probably the most powerful thing outside of Unix itself to come to the Mac in a long while when it comes to buisness use.

For starters, setting up a machine to do a network login is far easier under LDAP than under NetInfo. No longer do you have to mess with NI tags, instead you can let LDAP find its way on its own. Also, since it's LDAP, it's cross-platform compatible, and can hold all the usual data types. What this boils down to is integration: OS X Server can serve LDAP information for address books, where half the information is already created by creating users in Workgroup Manager. A little extra editing via the NI Manager(or the LDAP editor of your choice), and you can popular the LDAP DB to be fully functional when it comes to holding data for said address book. The new OS X Address Book integrates beautifully with this, as it can read off the users, complete with phone numbers, email addresses, etc, off the LDAP DB, all with minimal work.

Really, it boils down to the server taking care of everything for you. Under the "ideal situation", you have a Jaguar Server do your email, file serving, LDAP hosting, etc. Because of the integration, when your clients fire up Mail and look for addresses from the Address Book, they'll end up grabbing them off the LDAP DB, which got its information from the mail/file programs themselves. It's not that impressive all things considered(you could do it just as well given the time as resources on any Unix network), but its impressive for how little work it takes.

Outside of that, 10.2 Server has all of the improvements 10.2 client had. While 10.2 client was a nice upgrade for the clients, 10.2 Server really is more of a catipult for the OS X server branch. It's a bit expensive at $1000 for the unlimited CAL version, but even for simple file serving, it really is worth the upgrade. ViRGE's final judgement, 2 thumbs up.