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MillimeterApple OS X Panther v.10.3
Jul 1, 2004 2:46 PM, By S.D. Katz
The Apple computer put personal computing on the map because of the simplicity and consistency of the OS and the software written for it. Developers were encouraged to follow Apple’s GUI conventions, which is why the learning curve on the Mac for the better part of 15 years was much faster than the learning curve on Windows.
With OS X Panther Apple shows its commitment to this same level of OS and software integration. That’s my overall description of what Panther is all about. There are several smaller enhancements, but the summary of Panther is that the Finder behavior has been improved. Managing files and organizing windows on the desktop is even more efficient than before. There is also the addition of File Vault, Font Book, Address, Mail, iCal, Preview, and the latest Safari, Apple’s web browser.
Together this represents Apple’s concept of lifestyle computing. Panther provides a baseline of daily tools required for managing your telecommunications, digital-based entertainment, file management, and small business operations. Apple is able to provide a more integrated and easy to understand user experience for the vast majority of its market. Panther is now a complete enough experience that I no longer feel I am in a work-in-progress environment. It fulfills my computing lifestyle needs with no serious omissions.
With Panther, Apple delivers the balanced OS experience. The software offers a total package of web, home media management, and small business computing. New features, such as Mail and Address Book, are basic tools. They get the job done and provide limited but necessary functionality. I prefer the simplicity, but other users might point to dedicated mail and address book products that do a lot more. I believe that will come in Apple’s later releases. Of course, you can always use third-party software.
Expose is really three window-management techniques controlled by hot keys. The default keys F9, F10, and F11 are used to invoke the behavior. F9 makes all open windows tile across the screen. They are reduced in size to fit on the monitor. Click any window and you return to the layered window environment with the selected window on top. F10 grays out windows except for the active window in the active program. F11 hides all windows to reveal the desktop. That, plus some hot key and GUI customizing is Expose.
A related window technique is to hold down the Command key and drag a window that is hidden below another window. Instead of bringing the selected window to the front, you are able to drag it behind other windows. This is really useful when you are looking for info on a buried window.
The new Finder windows in OS X have been made very powerful with a few smart features. First is the search field on the upper right-hand side of the brushed metal window frame. Unlike the old Command F search window, you don’t have to wait for the search to be completed before an answer is returned. Type a name in the Finder window search field and beginning with the first letter typed, results are instantly returned. This search field is always available and context driven. For example, a search from a Finder window looks through all your hard drives. But in Address or Font Book the search is confined to the relevant database.
You can also customize the tool bar at the top of each Finder window and in applications, such as Address and Font Book. Select View from the menu bar and hit Customize Toolbar. A window with lots of options appears. The available tools are related to the window’s function. They are context driven, and Address Book has different options than Font Book. Customization is drag-and-drop using familiar icons. Typical add-ons are New Folder, Delete, Get Info, Burn, Path, and Eject. I’ve added New Folder and Delete to save a few keystrokes. All these enhancements make Panther a very facile environment.
Column view has been added to List view and Icon view in Finder windows. Column view essentially represents the path from a hard drive to any file destination with each folder. Its contents are represented as a list in columns. The path goes from the hard drives on the left to the destination file on the right. This is the most graphic and easily understood representation of file folder hierarchy that I have used and most of the time it’s what I use to locate files and form a mental picture of how my files are organized. When you reach the file itself it appears as an icon with pertinent information displayed. Movie and audio files are playable, which is a huge help in locating files.
There have been some complaints that the system arbitrarily switches from List to Column view after you close a window and then return to it. This behavior is not arbitrary, but the rules that govern the behavior are not exposed to the user. You should be able to set a preference so that the window remains in whatever view is selected in the tool bar. Despite that minor caveat, Column view is a great new representation of information and by far the best Finder interface to come along in a long time.
One of the new interface changes I’m not thrilled about is the new labeling scheme, which is unattractive and distracting. In OS 9 you could color code file and folder icons. This was not always visible enough, but the Panther behavior overcorrects. Now when you color an object, a color field surrounds the name below the icon. In list view this is far too overpowering.
Why are the Address Book, Mail, Calendar, and Font Book lumped together? This could be because they share the same style interface. They all benefit from the very fast-integrated Search field and the customizable Toolbar. They also share basic functionality, or, as some have described it, minimalist functionality. For me that’s a plus since I believe too many features that are supposed to simplify my life end up having the opposite effect.
Address does everything I need. Start with an All folder that holds all the names. You can create sub folders, for example, Friends, Business, and User Group. You can customize address card information and even add a picture of a person in an address card. Address supports vCards, a common address file format with a .vcf extension. This allows you to import and export vCards with other programs. Or you can import your addresses into an iPod using iSynch. Mail is connected to Address. When you type a name into a new email, Address fills in the name after only a few letters are typed. Sometimes it takes just one keystroke. You can even access your address cards in Mail without launching Address. This is basic, simple, and fast.
Font Book is a simple tool for loading fonts into the system. In OS 9 fonts went in the System Font folder. OS X has several font folders, so Font Book is really solving a problem that appeared in OS X. Font Book, however, is a solution that makes installing fonts easier to control and manage than even the simple process in OS 9. You can view fonts in a variety of display modes and group fonts in folders that are easily searched. You can add and preview effects such as drop shadows. There is a new Character Palette that allows detailed control over some of the more arcane aspects of type on a per document basis. For example, one option lets you control the appearance of mathematical symbols. Searching and tool bar functionality is consistent with the new Panther design.
Apple has added some cool security features including Secure Empty Trash. On other systems, a trashed file can still be recovered with Norton and other drive utility software. The Homeland Security folks and the RIAA both have better software than Norton. So when you want to really and truly trash those Napster files use Secure Empty Trash. This overwrites the drive sectors multiple times, guaranteeing you’ll eventually be cleared of those absurd allegations.
Apple’s Safari browser really deserves an article of its own. This is an evolving application in a very competitive market. Safari, in keeping with Apple’s tendency toward simplicity, is streamlined to make web pages load fast. While I cannot offer benchmarks, my impression is that Safari smokes Internet Explorer on complex pages. Here are some things to like: Autofill is not a major technical achievement but it sure does eliminate a major annoyance. The integrated Google search field that echoes the search field in Mail, Font Book, and iCal is another simple and very useful addition to the toolbar. I particularly appreciated the Block Pop Up feature and the SnapBack button. SnapBack is located within a URL field and takes you back to your first search result, even after you have become hopelessly buried in new search result windows. Another good use of screen space is that the URL field does double duty as a page load progress bar.
I highly recommend Safari to anyone on a Mac. Both IE and Safari sit on my dock, but IE is gathering dust, and I don’t see any reason to go back. I still end up using IE because it’s the default Help browser for Adobe and other software products with online Help.
Pixar developed Pixlet. It’s a very high-quality wavelet-based codec for high definition that works in QuickTime. It’s exclusive to Panther. The claim is that Pixlet will encode in realtime on a G4 dual 1Ghz Mac, to achieve 20 to 25:1 compression. Pixlet does not use interframe compression, allowing users to scrub their QuickTime movies smoothly at variable speeds in both directions.
Pixlet is not easy to find, and here’s where I have some questions. The option to encode with Pixlet is hidden under File/Export/Options/Settings of the QuickTime Player. This is all fine, but for a professional codec to be successful it really has to be an output option in After Effects, FCP, and Premiere Pro. With the current hardware, the playback data rates only support 960x540; not 1920x1080 pixels. Or at least that’s the assumption with an inexpensive hard drive and a G5. It’s a useful codec for HD presentation on a G5. And that’s as far as I’m willing to go. I’ll consider Pixlet really big news when it’s in After Effects and Final Cut Pro.
Another Panther feature aimed at content creators is support for the DVD+R and DVD+RW formats. But wait, the support is limited to data backup; not media applications, such as iDVD or iTunes. While this is a step in the right direction, Apple, like Sony, should support all DVD formats. As it turns out, the next-generation DVD format that can play some form of HD might eventually help send one of these formats packing, but not in the near future. We are far from a single HD DVD format, so expect to be stuck in the crossfire of the blue and red laser skirmishes.
Panther is a stylish, fast, and productive environment. Apple is making most of the right moves, but there are exceptions. The Dock is the core of the OS X GUI but it’s a bit messy. It’s a good idea that needs to be less intrusive, aside from the fact that it’s fun at first.
I would like Address Book to have some of the features of contact and client management software, for instance, the ability to send out messages designated in iCal. Since birthdays can be part of an address card, iCal should be able to auto send email birthday greetings.
Jaguar, the previous version of OS X, had me on the fence. Panther crosses the threshold to the place where I’m getting work done without paying attention to the all operations I’m doing in the Finder. I would like to see more functionality in the various OS X applications, but I can live without them. Considering Apple’s market share it always seems like they are only a few mistakes away from disaster. So far they are not making any big ones, and Panther on the G5 sits on the other side of the ledger. Panther: an excellent release of a great OS.
Sidebar
Taming the Panther
There are various shareware enhancements that greatly improve OS X Panther’s usability, including a few of the interface favorites from OS 9, such as the Applications Menu and Window shade behavior. You can find these and other useful things at tucows.com or you can download my favorite enhancements directly.
— WindowShade X (www.unsanity.com): An oldie but goodie in System 9
— Application Switching Menu (www.vercruesse.de/software): From the upper right hand end of the Menu Bar in OS 9
— DragThing (tla-systems.co.uk): A Super Dock with tabs and drawers
— LaunchBar (www.obdev.at): Lets you launch any hard drive, file folder, or application by typing in the first few letters of the object’s name. No more drilling down through multiple folders to get to what you need.
