In planning Tiger, Apple has identified the most important productivity add-ons that users install, such as desktop search (DST), instant messaging, video conferencing, and really simple syndication (RSS) readers, all built into the operating system itself. There are reportedly 200 plus improvements or additional features in the Tiger version over OS X 10.3, including several class-leading productivity tools.
Spotlight is a ubiquitous search tool that is available from all applications, as well as the desktop. Unlike other DST tools it not only dynamically indexes files, but, because it is built into the operating system itself, it can also discover applications. The Dashboard feature is a collection of HTML-based personalized accessories (known as Widgets), such as calendar, weather feed, or currency conversion, which can be brought to the desktop with a single mouse click.
An RSS feed detection and display reader has been built into the Safari browser, and the Automator feature enables a group of tasks, such as Spotlight searches, transfer and conversion of files, to be constructed using drag-and-drop, to create ‘codeless’ desktop automation.
The ‘coolest’ feature, however, has to be the iChat tool, which allows four-way video conferencing, or eight-way audio conferencing, between (Mac) users, without the need for a third-party service provider. Admittedly a top-end iMac is required for four-way interaction, as is a minimum of 384 Kbps bandwidth, but the way the software automatically displays the images around a virtual table on screen, with a level of ‘reflection’ on the tabletop, is an absolute delight.
However, it is the Server variant that deserves most attention, as here Apple has directly addressed the objections to migration from other platforms onto OS X and in using Apple’s Xserve servers. It has full 64-bit support, and as a direct challenge to data center managers who might dismiss using Xserve, and OS X in mixed environments, the Server variant includes support for Access Control Lists (ACLs) and native file permissions of Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory environments.
The Server variant also includes an iChat server to support secure and managed deployment of Instant Messaging within an organization. Integration with the existing directory services provides the control, and the use of secure sockets layer/transport layer security encryption ensures the privacy.
It also includes Xgrid for building a virtual computer out of a number of Xserves and iMacs. A demonstration of power and scalability of the operating system when deployed in this manner involves the 1,100 Xserve G5s running OS X 10.3 at Virginia Tech in the US. This rates as the world’s seventh most powerful computer system, operating at 12.25 teraflops, and is used for dealing with problems such as computational fluid dynamics.
OS X 10.4 Tiger, both in its desktop and server variants, is a professional enterprise-class operating system with the consistent and intuitive usability of a consumer product. On one level the ‘cool goodies’ will throw some IT managers, but then the availability of the Solitaire game within Windows saved them all a fortune in training, because it encouraged people to use the software. With Tiger, Apple has produced the best desktop operating system in the world to date, and with the server variant it is a serious contender for the data center.
Source: OpinionWire by Butler Group (www.butlergroup.com)
