Tiger: The Overprotective Parent?
There are a couple of extremely Windows-like elements to Tiger that have bothered me beyond belief.One thing that I never really appreciated about Panther, but was always there, was the fact that the OS rarely second-guessed me about things. With all of the issues surrounding security, spyware and viruses and Windows, the latest versions of Windows have become a little too big-brotherish. I was always warned about not letting Windows update my computer automatically and a clean install of Windows would always tell me that I shouldn't be playing around with system files. As a Windows user, I just put up with the OS telling me that I should be careful when downloading files or removing certain programs. But with Panther, most of those warnings were gone; I'd get a message making sure that I knew I was deleting something, but that's about as far as things would go. With Tiger, it looks like Apple is playing the role of big brother a little more.
The changes aren't overboard, but they are little annoyances designed to protect the user from his/her actions - just the type of thing that I hate to see. First of all, if you double-click a zip attachment in Mail 2.0, you now get a warning that tells you that your file "may contain an application". You can get around this warning by just telling Mail to save the attachment(s) and open them yourself in Finder. If you do it that way, Mail thinks that you know what you're doing and doesn't play its motherly role.
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Brian23 - Saturday, April 30, 2005 - link
Does Tiger Direct carry tiger?JarredWalton - Saturday, April 30, 2005 - link
11 - The Windows XP-64 write-up is in progress, as indicated on page 3. While I can't speak for Anand, the stuff I saw at WinHEC didn't give me any reason to upgrade just yet. Those pesky drivers still seem to have issues, and there are software applications that don't work properly right now. (Benchmarking apps in particular.)Unlike Panther to Tiger, the change from XP to XP-64 is literally just a change of architecture. Unless you're doing high-end computing or running servers and workstations, I think waiting for a few months is probably the best case scenario.
daniel1113 - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
Check out the PearPC site for speed comparisons. Basically, PearPC runs at about 1/40th the speed of the host processor, so there is no comparison between native Mac hardware and and AMD or Intel equivalent.vailr - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
Any comments on using Tiger 10.4 with the PearPC? Comparing speed on, for example, an AMD FX55 vs. speed on native Mac hardware?Thanks.
chennhui - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
Why as a hardware review site doing a software review? May be include a windows 64bits in future? Mac to me is nothing but an expensive system full of eye candy that does run game well. A Powerbook G4 can't even run DOOM3. Lolslashbinslashbash - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
You forgot to mention that there's a Family Pack of Tiger for $199. It's 5 licenses. Even with only 2 Macs (say, a desktop and a laptop), you're looking at a ~25% discount. Great for those who aren't students. With 3 Macs, you're already doing better than the student discount.Cygni - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
Good piece, for sure. I think im gonna hold off on Tiger for my 15in Powerbook, even though i can get the student discount. The bugs and such kinda un-nerve me, and i cant really see myself using alot of the new features. Maybe after a few patches, i will move on up.Netopia - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
Great job and interesting article Anand.You might want to correct the following typo though:
Like it or not, there is a lot that has changed in Tiger but obviously the question is whether or not it is worth the $129 entry [b]free.[/b]
I think you menat FEE.
Glad to see any review from YOU!
Joe
Atropine - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
Yeah Jbog me too, don't want the wife seeing my porn browsing..........................Jbog - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
"...Safari has grown old and now complains about those darn kids and their programs that they are downloading these days."Ha ha :)
"Private Browsing" -
If this feature is exclusive to Safari, how come no other browsers have thought of this before, I wonder. As a Firefox user, I find myself cleaning history, cache and other junk every so often.
* In second paragraph of Page 4 - Tiger: The Overprotective Parent?
"... to protect the user from him/her actions -"
should read "his/her"