Tips on Computer Technology

By: Bill Michiling

Welcome back. Last week we talked about protecting our Mac hardware, this week we will talk about MacOS X RELEASE.

But first………

If you are looking for some beautiful pictures of Saipan, go to: (http://www.saipanphoto.com)

I would also like to remind everyone that all the year 2000 and after articles on the website ( http://www.mespn.com/forms/tech articles) are now searchable by keyword(s) or article date. This has been requested a number of times from many of my loyal readers, and now it is available, check it out as well as the online version of the Saipan Tribune, which you can access by clicking the banner on that same page.

MacOS X

Well, did you get a chance to try out MacOS X? If you did you found it all Apple promised and much more. Inside the box with MacOS X you found a lot of goodies!

Apple included a complete developers kit. Want to write your own MacOS X programs? Well now you can, and it is right inside the MacOS X box a no extra charge.

MacOS 9.1

Also in the box is a 9.1 CD. Yes the complete MacOS 9.1 Cd, with all its extras. How many of you downloaded the 9.1 Update? Did you think you got all there was to get? No, my friends there is more, and you will find it on the Mac OS 9.1 CD, right inside the MacOS X box at no extra charge.

Why have MacOS 9.1 you ask. It allows you to run most all the existing Mac software you already have, even if it is not for MacOS X!

By the way, when I ran “Classic”, this is MacOS 9.1 running under the control of MacOS X, it ran faster then if I was running it stand alone, honest! I know it may seem hard to fathom, but remember MacOS 9.1 is not being emulated, rather it is just another application to MacOS X. MacOS X takes care of memory management and storage as well inside MacOS 9.1.

Who needs MacOS X

EVERYONE!!! Although, remember if you have mission critical applications that do not yet run under MacOS X or “Classic”, then you may want to wait. Of course is fun to experiment and learn, right?

If your hardware is not up to the task of using MacOS X, you either need to upgrade your existing hardware or (gulp) buy a new Mac. You will find the prices of Macs have been reduced considerably, so it may really be the best choice.

New Macs, have more storage, more memory and memory expansion, Firewire, faster processors, and of course look cooler!

Airport with MacOS X

A lot of you have asked if Apple’s Airport works with MacOS X. The resounding answer is YES! It is great to be surfing the web, sending email and instant messaging, all with no wires in site! With the speed and reliability of MacOS X, it is a marriage made in heaven….

Web and mail on MacOS X

Omni web 4 is now available. If you have not tried Omniweb, you are missing out big time… This is one of the fastest most feature laden browsers on the market today.

So you want to know about email. MacOS X has its own email program built in. You can see it in action at: (http://www.apple.com/macosx/theater/mail.html) check it out.

Summary

If you want to see most of the features in action before you buy, just point your browser to: ( http://www.apple.com/macosx/ ) and see short Quicktime movies of MacOS X in action, live right before your eyes!

Remember, marvel in the great things Apple has included with MacOS X. Oh, I almost forgot.

Itunes, iMovie2, and Appleworks 6.1 for MacOS X are also available. Just go to ( http://www.apple.com/itunes ) ( http://www.apple.com/applworks ) & (http://www.apple.com/imovie ) and get yours, after you get MacOS X. Just download them, all from Apple.

MacOS X is an industrial operating system based on Unix. So if you are looking for an operating system that does not crash and can run multi-processes, with protected memory, and storage management, while being able to run most all existing OS 9 programs, then MacOS X is for YOU!!!

Have a wonderful week.

See you here and on the web next week.

Bill Michling is a computer professional and welcomes any comments or questions you may have. Just send email to: bill@mespn.com or michling@usa.net.

You may also go to Marianas Electronics and ask help from the friendly staff there, or call them at: 234-5424, Just ask for Annie, Jun or Joseph.

For world access this Wednesday column is also on the Saipan Tribune website at: ( http://www.saipantribune.com ) or at the mespn.com site at: (http://mespn.com/forms/tech_Articles/ ), now connected to the internet via broadband high speed T1+. Soon to be upgraded to a 3mb connection!