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Almost. Take several deep breaths and count to ten, slowly. Ever since Apple's modern operating system was a vaporous collection of vague promises named
Gershwin, Mac users have waited for an OS that was not built atop the foundation of an ancient architecture. This week, after enduring eight years of never-ending schedule revisions, Mac users can finally get their hands on a completely new operating system.
Most of us still have to be patient until the UPS driver shows up at our front door. To join the ranks of those who actually got a copy on September 13, you had to fly to Paris (assuming you did not live close enough to take the Metro), stand in a long line listening to your shoes make funny squishing sounds on the wet floor, then plunk down some hard francs for the privilege of becoming a beta tester. And make no mistake, Mac OS X Beta is just that: an unfinished beta.
As I write this in the hours immediately following Steve's Paris keynote, keep in mind that almost no one (including me, unfortunately) has spent any time with this new beast. We know far less about it today than we eventually will. About the only thing we know for certain is that much of what we take for granted about the Mac is about to change. Mac OS X is unexplored territory: a new frontier with few signs and even fewer trails.
I expect that during the next few weeks the Internet will be flooded with Mac OS X details. And I expect a good bit of that information will be either wrong, or at least not entirely correct. The reason for the confusion is simple; Mac OS X is fundamentally different than Mac OS 9. Much of our collective experience to date will be about as valuable as fluent knowledge of French in a Spanish language class. As we grope for ways to describe the new aspects of the OS, we will invariably compare it to Mac OS 9. That makes sense, as most Mac OS X users - especially the beta users - will have used Mac OS 9 already. But it also reinforces a very wrong notion: that Mac OS X is an extension of Mac OS 9.
Do not fall prey to the faulty conclusion that Mac OS X is defective because it does not measure up feature for feature with Mac OS 9. ZDNet came close to taking that road earlier in the week. In an article describing the beta before it was officially released, they highlighted some of the elements of Mac OS 9 that are absent from Mac OS X, such as the Apple menu and contextual menus, and suggested that they are gone forever. Nonsense. Mac OS X does have a lot of growing up to do. Finally, after years of work at Apple, the real work is just beginning.
I have to sit by the window and watch for the UPS truck now.
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"Mac
OS X: Are We There Yet?"
