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 TEST CENTER Mac OS X delivers clean, refreshing Aqua By P.J. Connolly, InfoWorld Test Center October 25, 2000 Window clutter is reduced in the new Mac OS X, but will it make a difference to corporate buyers?
Since then, Microsoft's commercial muscle has wiped out any of the Mac's remaining "pioneer's advantage." These days, GUIs are so tightly coupled with their operating systems that meaningful competition between them has all but disappeared. After all, it hardly matters if Mac's GUI is more user-friendly than others in the market. Companies do not choose among GUIs; they treat them as features of the operating system itself. People may bemoan the below-par GUIs that this dearth of competition has spawned, but most customers have no choice but to throw up their hands, open their wallets, and buy Windows. For better or worse, the GUI wars are over. But there is hope for Apple yet. True, the Microsoft Windows family as well as the Windows derivatives that open up Linux machines will continue to dominate the desktop marketplace. But the Mac OS remains in the ring with a very steady group of followers. And Apple recently released its public beta for the desktop version of Mac OS X, which showcases a wholly revamped GUI, known as Aqua. OS X, which ships early 2001, just may boost Mac OS's relevance in corporate eyes. Mac OS X represents a fundamental and long-overdue restructuring of the Macintosh environment. In many respects, the architecture reads like an all-star squad. The kernel is Mach, the core functions are from BSD 4.4 Unix, the printing features use Adobe PDF, and the 3-D imaging uses an implementation of the OpenGL standard. The combination of these features and Apple's new Quartz 2-D imaging technology (which also uses PDF) has the potential to provide a rock-solid, graphics-intensive computing experience. To really give the Mac a push in the market, this foundation must prove solid and reliable. Apple had this in mind, no doubt, when it configured such a hotshot combination of architecture. For more than 16 years, the primary business case for Macintosh systems has been ease of use. In our experience, they are easier to support and troubleshoot than either Unix or Windows systems. Admittedly, many Macs are islands in a sea of remotely managed desktops. But in most organizations, they are clustered in a graphics production department of loyal Mac users who often provide better mutual support than IT can deliver. Aqua enhances the Mac's reputation for elegant simplicity. It takes advantage of the underlying OS's graphics and multitasking capabilities to deliver a noticeable improvement to the user experience. For example, dialog boxes are more closely associated with their parent applications, sliding down from the title bar instead of popping out in your face. A host of changes such as these gives the OS a sleek and simple feel, evoking possible GUIs of the future. Mac OS X's pre-emptive multitasking is a joy to anyone accustomed to the (not very) cooperative multitasking used by current versions of Mac OS and Windows. Print and save processes no longer monopolize the foreground, allowing users to focus on immediate tasks, instead of waiting patiently while a window displays the status of a save function or counts down the number of pages remaining in a print job. Overall, Aqua presents a radically simplified approach to GUI design principles, to the benefit of users. Portions of the application display that aren't constantly used, such as tree views, can be placed in "drawers" which slide out of sight when not needed. By avoiding "window proliferation" and by using the underlying capabilities of Mac OS X, Aqua provides better use of screen real estate and a more pleasant user experience than any of its predecessors. This is crucial in terms of user productivity and workflow. Come early next year, Mac-heavy companies should get ready for a real treat: Their employees won't want to go home. Return to the Test Center End-user package P.J. Connolly is a senior analyst in the Test Center who first laid hands on a Macintosh in 1984, and realized that the world had changed forever. Send him e-mail at pj_connolly@infoworld.com.
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