Is Mac OS X Right for you?

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Is Mac OS X right for you?

A I write this I remember a time where people were in the same panic state of mind. This was back when System 6.0.x was bring replaced by System 7. The horror of some of my favorite applications not working! How dare Apple for releasing an OS which cannot run my favorite INIT! I am afraid this is happening again...

Mac OS X is very comfortable for the NeXT user, and is somewhat comfortable for the Mac OS user. Why? Some of the comfort level of Mac OS 9 is gone! I cannot drag my System Folder to another volume and have it boot up. I cannot find that darn document that I just saved in my classic word processor. These issues are legit. We must work through this.

Now is the grace period. During this period we will see Mac OS X not function as well as Mac OS 9 with our perception. Remember perception is reality.

Did Apple goof up? I believe no they did not. When the Mac OS changes, there is a new shift us Macintosh users must adjust to. Like it or not, the patching of Mac OS in general is gone. This is a good thing. The new robustness of the Mach kernel will give us benefits we only heard of before, but never experienced.

I am not bashing anyone for not being comfortable with Mac OS X, I understand where they are coming from. You just need a little hand holding with this change. At one point in time I too did not like change. I like to try out new things. Things that I am comfortable with I did not like changing. I had to adjust because the world was not adjusting to me.

Off of my soapbox

No one said you must move to Mac OS X now. I see a group of "classic" loyalists still using their Mac OS 9 Macintosh for the next few years. There is no shame for doing this. It is ok! Mac OS 9 is not junk that needs to be replaced. it will serve a lot of people for many years. Go ahead and wait for your applications and utilities are ported to Mac OS X. There is nothing wrong with waiting.

For those who crave new things, Mac OS X is that. From using Mac OS X, I am placed in a somewhat familiar world. My background has a few years of Unix, Next and mostly Macintosh. This combination is ok for me to explore the inner workings of Mac OS X. If I had more of a background in NeXT, I would say "All right! My old back cube is reborn!!" I am finding new ways to go familiar tasks. I am accepting this change with open arms.

Conclusion

It is ok to wait. Games, productivity applications and utilities will continue to be shipped for Mac OS 9 for a while. Wait until you must move, then you will be happy in this new nirvana like I am.

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