Mac OS X a hit with first users

ZDNet News last week put out a call to early adopters of Mac OS X on several Mac-centric message boards, soliciting their initial reactions to Apple's biggest OS shift in more than a decade.

The consensus from users of every stripe: Despite a few rough edges and shortcomings in the beta, most users are enthusiastic about Apple's efforts to build a friendly interface atop a core of modern Unix features.

Apple (aapl) declined to comment on the number of copies sold, but MacCentral last week reported that close to 100,000 orders had been placed for the beta OS, which ships on CD-ROM for $29.95. While some Mac sites reported early glitches with orders placed via Apple's online store, most users who ordered online told ZDNet News they received their copies on time or a day late.

Most users said installation took less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Several lauded the ability to install Mac OS X Public Beta on the same partition of their drive as Mac OS 9.

Although Apple's official system requirements include 128MB of RAM, user Ben Stansfield wrote that he was able to install it with only 96MB of RAM and encountered few performance problems.

"When I first logged into OS X, I felt like Dorothy not being in Kansas anymore," said Allen Petlock. "I initially rejected the new Finder because it didn't function exactly like the old one. ... But once I started using the stuff they added, I began to see the light.

"My day job is support for high-end storage systems on NT and Unix, so I know a fair deal (about Unix). Apple, in one step, has blown by any GUI existing for Linux and even things like CDE on Solaris into something that is truly functional and intuitive."

Mac OS X's new GUI, dubbed Aqua, provoked the most user comments -- both pro and con.

Many respondents praised the clarity of Mac OS X's Quartz rendering engine, which taps Adobe Systems Inc.'s (adbe) Portable Document Format (PDF) instead of the venerable QuickDraw technology employed by Mac OS 9 and earlier revs.

"It's hard to describe the clarity and sharpness to Windows users," Maury Bousson said. "They just don't get it without seeing it first-hand. One just can't describe how much sharper the text and UI elements appear. The overall effect is incredible, especially with the new scalable icons."

"The graphics rendering is phenomenal," Brian Soltis agreed. "I used to think that Windows was ugly, but now I don't even like booting into OS 9."

Other users praised Aqua's animated touches, from the bouncing icon when an application is launched to the gentle throbbing of a highlighted button in a dialog box, to the Genie Effect of a window minimizing into the Dock. "The way dialog boxes ooze out of windows is inspired," wrote Daniel Bronson.

Joakim Raboff dismissed concerns by some Mac veterans about the flashy touches the GUI provides: "What is important to me, as a 'power user' are the multitasking and protected-memory issues that seem to run fine under Carbon. It is, after all, these features that the professional Mac community has been waiting to use for a long, long time.

"If the animated Dock and fluid windows draw more people to the platform, great! That will further ensure OS development and more applications."

Some users expressed more reservations about the new elements. Robert Sharl, who took the Genie Effect to task: "Windowshade (under OS 9) has one big advantage: The minimized window is exactly where you left it, and you don't have to move the mouse to un-minimize it again. With the Genie Effect, you at least get a visual cue as to its new location, but it's not really enough and takes a lot of mousing to get it back.

"Minimizing apps doesn't make sense, either: This functionality exists through a menu command only ('hide'). If we're putting minimize buttons around, why not for this? Two different methods to minimize, only one to un-minimize."

"Jason" said one GUI element wasn't animated enough: "I want feedback from scrollbars when I click them. They need to darken like the current ones." He also pointed out that under OS X, "The scrollbars could be a bit thicker as well -- with all those big fonts and big icons, I tend to use a higher resolution and that makes the scrollbars get very, very skinny and hard to click."

Other users said the lack of borders on windows prevented them from grabbing them by their edges, and several criticized the slow and choppy way the beta draws windows when they are resized.

The most common complaints were the absence of elements familiar to users of the current Mac OS, including the Apple Menu, Control Strip and popup windows. Shareware programmers have already introduced applications to replicate the behavior of the first two elements, and Joe Gervais suggested placing an alias to the OS 9 Apple Menu in the Dock to access its contents.

Many of the old features' functions are supposed to be built into Mac OS X's Dock, an expanding toolbar that holds icons at the bottom of the user's screen.

However, many users said they were less than impressed with the Dock. "Use of the Dock for minimization requires tooltips in order to function at all," Daniel Bronson complained. "Text must pop up above the dock icon for you to know what you're looking at. This kind of defeats the purpose of having a graphical user interface, doesn't it?"

Some users said they were confused by the decision to place the Trash in a mobile location on the Dock rather than anchored on the Desktop, and others said they were frustrated by the way the Dock blocks access to other items and open windows.

"I like the Dock less than I like the idea of the Dock," Sharl said. "If you make it small, the detailed, colorful icons are unusable. ... It's possible to end up with multiple minimized icons for a single application, its windows and non-modal dialogs. The Dock fails to relate these in any way.

"Make minimized windows that belong to a docked app available from within the app's own icon," he suggested.

Not everyone disparaged the Dock, however. Bousson described it as "simple and straightforward to the first-time user," while Matthew Cecil said, "The Dock is growing on me. It keeps me organized."

The file structure of Mac OS X reflects its Unix pedigree and includes user, library, application and system folders. Unlike Mac OS 9 and earlier versions, certain files and applications must reside in specific directories under Mac OS X.

While some users said they found using the new structure frustrating, unnecessarily complex and Windows-like, most appreciated the logic behind the placement of files. Dave Thomson enthused, "I find navigating a snap."

"It is easy to see how the new Finder could be very easy for newbies and yet very powerful for power users," Cecil said. "Some people might have a hard time adapting, but I think I am actually beginning to get it and like it." Especially well-liked is the new Column mode in the Finder, which lets users follow files down their hierarchy and preview graphics, text and multimedia files without opening them.

One point about OS X on which users agreed: It's rock-solid. Only one user claimed to have been able to crash the system on a blue-and-white Power Mac G3, by executing the command "ssh localhost" from the Terminal.

Every other user expressed admiration at the robustness of OS X public beta. "One thing I really like about this OS is the stability," wrote Viviana Wong. "I think 9 is quite stable, but I can crash it by doing something really stupid. I have yet to freeze my Mac since I installed this beta."

Gervais went one step further: "I'm so impressed (particularly by the progress since [May's Developer Preview 4]) that I'm moving my development machine over to OS X Beta full time. Naturally I've backed up all my data, but OS X Beta has proven impossible to crash here."

Mac OS X is also designed to provide a truly pre-emptive multitasking environment that sets processor priorities according to the importance of each task. "Though not yet fully optimized for speed, the power of the preemptive multitasking is clear, " wrote Michael Sneier. "Playing MP3s while launching another app and surfing the Web simultaneously -- with no hiccups in the MP3 audio."

New to Mac users is a command-line interface accessed via the Terminal application.

Most familiar to programmers as well as Unix and DOS users, this option provides a powerful method of communicating with the elements of the operating system. Power users and geeks such as Gervais lauded the capability. "The best part, IMHO, is being able to pop open a csh terminal window and have full access to Unix. I've been a Unix geek personally and professionally for nearly 15 years now and an Apple user for nearly 20 years. Having the marriage of the two is downright giddy for this geek."

For less technologically advanced users, the command line can be safely ignored. Wong claimed, "I have yet to come face to face with a command line a la Unix, which I do not care about at all." Daniel Bronson concurs, "I really think the OS is doing a brilliant job of shielding Unix from the user and vice versa."

For users brave or experienced enough to try it, the Terminal application works like it does in other versions of Unix and Linux. The terminal offers secure communication and prevents unauthorized access. Although more-advanced compiler tools were not made available with the public beta, some Mac sites describe how to acquire and install them.

Third-party developers can take a couple of tacks when it comes to rewriting their applications to take advantage of Mac OS X. The first way they can do this is called Carbonizing, which requires only a partial rewrite but cannot access all the advanced features of the new OS.

Alternatively, developers can choose to write their programs in a new language called Cocoa, which runs completely native under OS X. So far, however, few developers have adopted either route.

As an alternative, Apple provides users of OS X with a way to use the software they already have. The Classic Environment runs as a process separate from OS X and allows users to use almost all of their current applications. Users can elect to run the Classic Environment whenever they need it or have it load in when the user logs into OS X.

Most users were enthusiastic about the success of the Classic strategy; many of them likened the ease of compatibility to the success Apple achieved when moving from Macs based on the 680x0 processor architecture to PowerPC chips in the mid-'90s.

"How impressed I am with the Classic Environment!" Rob Butcher exclaimed. "Granted, it takes a little time to load the first time you run a Classic app, but it is impressive the level of compatibility that Apple has achieved. ... Truth be told, I use it as my daily OS."

"With the Classic environment on Mac OS X, I can continue to run Photoshop until Adobe gets around to making a native Mac OS X version, and so on," Petlock wrote. "This way, I'm not limited when in the new operating environment like I would be with Linux or even BeOS on Intel."

Gervais agreed, but with a caveat: "The Classic environment is running all of my legacy apps perfectly, with no noticeable performance degradation in most cases (although I won't bother trying to run real-time games in Classic -- I'll reboot into OS 9 for those Unreal Tournament sessions)."

Not everyone was enamored with the Classic environment, however. One user pointed out the confusion that different OS 9- and OS X-style window widgets will cause when both are simultaneously available. A respondent calling himself Chad also complained, "(The) ordeal of firing up the Classic environment is a painful 3- to 5-minute ordeal just to run one little program that is not Carbonized or Cocoa'fied." Les Harris agreed: "This struck me as somewhat kludgy, but there really isn't a better way for Apple to do it."

Meanwhile, many users provided suggestions to make using the Classic environment easier.

"Don't expect your current Mac OS 9 environment to work in OS X, since current setups can be quite complicated," offered Ton van der Liet. "It's better to install it on a machine with a clean 9.0.4 installation on an empty partition of the drive."

Gary Danko provided an alternative option: "I used to get a bunch of Classic hangups. But I booted into OS 9, and stripped down my system folder, getting rid of things I didn't use or need in OS X. After that, crashes seem to be a thing of the past."

The applications that shipped with OS X public beta came under close scrutiny. Some users were disappointed with the Carbonized version of Stuffit Expander, noting the difficulty it had with .tar and .gz files. OpenUp, an expansion utility available from StepWise, performs these functions much more capably.

Others criticized the Mail application for its lack of filtering capabilities; minimal support for multiple accounts; and, in a glitch confirmed by Apple, closing unexpectedly after being left open for an hour or more.

One user claimed to be using Claris Emailer, last developed in 1997, via the Classic Environment as an alternative.

Microsoft's port of Internet Explorer 5 drew fire as well. Users cited its tendency to crash, lack of full JavaScript and Extensible Markup Language (XML) support, and general sluggishness. Cecil felt especially strongly on the matter. "Internet Explorer 5.5 is nearly unusable. I downloaded OmniWeb 4 and am very happy with it. It's a great looking browser that appears to have tremendous potential on X."

Another user referred to OmniWeb as "a revelation" and admired how it worked as a "proper OS X application," although some others questioned the stability of the browser's Beta 5 release.

Some observers have noted gaps in the public beta that should be filled by the time the final version of Mac OS X ships in early 2001. Most notable was the lack of AirPort wireless-networking support, the lack of native peripheral drivers and software, and the absence of interface elements and commands available under OS 9. With further use, some users have pointed to other shortcomings:

Printing is only available over networks, but even then, print output is often garbled and unusable.

Multiple mouse-button support is limited; only some devices work correctly.

Files are not associated with OS X applications and unnecessarily launch their OS 9 counterparts.

Text cuts off or is truncated in dialog boxes.

File names are truncated on the Desktop.

Directories, most notably the Desktop folder, do not update automatically.

Windows sometimes lose their view settings.

Font selection is overly complex and confusing; why not offer a simpler pull-down menu like in OS 9?

Drag and drop is not fully implemented.

Icons randomly rearrange themselves.

No support for PPPoE DSL connections like those provided by Earthlink.

This last concern has thrown some users in with new company, according to Cecil: "Unix and Linux experts are already stepping in to plug some of the gaps in the beta. In one case, someone has already ported a Linux PPPoE client over to OS X. Now they are working on a GUI for the port. This is something new and unique for Mac users who aren't accustomed to hackers coming to our aid. I think it's a great thing."

Mason McDaniel was also impressed by the Unix community's assistance. "Amazing that already people are tweaking it and bending it to their will!" he said. "Makes me optimistic about the functionality of OS X, if some feature isn't available in the final release."

"Little Unix apps will be ported to fill in the 1,000 tiny holes that having a first-generation OS creates," Andrew Jennings concurred.

Other users said they were impressed with the improved Sleep function, which puts notebooks to sleep and wakes them up in less than a second.

Danko said network copies ran almost twice as fast under OS X than OS 9. Sharl agreed. "Networking is already faster." He continued, "Things I didn't expect to be here yet are in place (QuickTime, Java, AppleScript, Sherlock) ... I've booted into OS 9 proper maybe twice this week. Things aren't right yet, but I'm beginning to warm to OS X. I could live here, I think."

One issue almost every user mentioned is the dearth of applications that fully take advantage of the advanced features offered by Mac OS X. Guy Gendron expressed sentiments typical of most users. "I want my Carbonized, or better yet, Cocoa apps!!!"

"I am so enamoured of OS X's stability that I will buy nothing but Carbonized and Cocoa apps from now on," Bousson declared. "I hope the developers out there read this: OS X is so good I am willing to pay full retail price for a Carbon version of any Classic app in my possession."

"Native OS X apps are still rare, but that will change now that everyday folk have access to it," Michael Sneider explained. "Shareware will probably be the first to appear (it has been trickling out since the developer-release days), and commercial apps will follow. I'm sure most publishers want the OS to be final before selling people a product -- if it crashes or doesn't work right, users will blame them even if it's the fault of the beta-version operating system."

Cecil voiced his encouragement to developers: "What you have, thanks to the popularity of the public beta, is an opportunity for smaller developers to step into a niche where users haven't yet built a relationship with more 'standard' products. I don't think larger developers realized that Apple would sell 80,000 copies of the public beta. The clear field small developers will find on OS X could be a great opportunity for them."

Even the lack of fully compatible software didn't diminish users' enthusiasm for Mac OS X. Most users seem willing to learn how to use the operating system and adopt it for their daily tasks. "I'm feeling much more comfortable in OS X now," Tod Abbott said. "If it's not yet home, it at least feels like a couch at a friend's house now, rather than a hotel halfway around the world."

Noah Daniels was willing to go even further. "It's really simple to use -- I would have an easier time teaching this to my mother than I did with Mac OS 8 or 9. There's more complexity, but less of it needs human interaction in normal use."

"It will take some time to get used to the fact that many of my tried and true OS 9 features aren't there, but one has to remember that OS 9 was essentially 15 years in the making," Gendron cautioned. "OS X has a lot of room to grow, and I'm sure features will be added over time. I recommend that any user with a nominally compatible system and at least moderate experience troubleshooting should give it a try."

"OS X is probably the first OS that the casual user and the real geek can get into," asserted Nathan Zamecnik. "My mom can get her work done, and I can rewrite my kernel. What more can you ask for?"

Apple's official Mac OS X site provides all the information Apple wants you to have about the new OS.

VersionTracker maintains an up-to-date listing of OS X releases and updates, while StepWise provides links not only to OS X software but to software for OS X Server, Darwin and NeXTstep as well.

Macosx.com is a new site devoted to discussions of the new OS, and MacCentral has also created a forum for discussion.

General Mac OS X News can be found at macosxinfo.org, a new site run by a couple of college students, or MacNN's page charting the goings-on surrounding the new operating system.

Both Ted Landau's MacFixIt and Ric Ford's MacInTouch have roundups of users' reactions and experiences.

A big thank you to all the people who contributed to this story, especially the kind people at As the Apple Turns, MacSlash and MacEdition.