Mac OS X: All The Way

By Enza Sebastiani

San Francisco, California - December 26, 2002

A few days from Jobs’ keynote, magazines, papers and web sites reflect the anxiety of many users with regards to the status of Mac OS X. In fact, while you are reading this article, the next transitional step in the evolution of this rich and detailed operating system is going to be settled: all hardware introduced in 2003 will reboot only from Mac OS X. At least, this is what the majority of people are expecting.

Many questions floating on the net keep users busy getting more acquainted with the Aqua interface of Mac OS X. "Is this really going to happen?" Will Apple respect Steve Jobs’ deadline? Or maybe, for a few months, users will be able to choose OS 9 as a starting point on their machines?

To better understand the direction that this company is headed in, we need to step back and remember that Apple earns most of its profits through its hardware. However, the Mac is alive and well because of its software, mainly the newest operating system X. Which makes every Mac a professional machine chosen by more and more people around the world in every market.

Mac OS X has been the center of arguments everywhere since its release date, March 24, 2001.

Some users may think that Mac OS X changes the way of working. Others had more time to spend on it, realizing that the difference is minimal. The applications are the same and a program, classic or not, works the same way.

Most of us are in agreement in saying that Mac OS X has much more potential than the previous OS 9. And not taking advantage of this potential, with inactive applications, is completely non-productive.

It is just a matter of willpower: what changed is the Finder interface, our traditional way of finding things in the same place. Control Panel is gone? Well, there is a System Preference that works just fine. Extension folder gone too? There is a Library the size of The British Museum, loaded with functions and potentials. Exploring, learning, and teaching them is our task...as we already have been doing for over a year now.