" Hi Mike,
Just thought I'd let you know a couple of quick impressions or our New ibook.

The graphite is noticeably darker than the older ibook SE. It is also much faster than the older ibook SE in everything including booting.

The interesting thing was that it was also considerably faster than our Powerbook 400. We have a custom excel application that has a recalc that takes just under a minute on even our fastest G4.

Old iBook SE 1 minute 55 seconds

PowerBook 400 1 minute 20 seconds

New IBook SE 1 minute 7 seconds

G4/450 single Processor 52 seconds

All machines running OS9.04 and all machines having 192MB RAM
I think the fact that even though the ibook Cache is smaller, the fact that it runs at full processor speed more than makes up for it. (This has been true of the PIII and Athlon CPUs also.-Mike)

I am now in the process of running full benchmarks using your standard tests. I'll let you know.
And the TV output for DVD is very nice.
George Snover"

When I saw the specs of the new iBook SE I suspected it will not be long before we see new Powerbook models (speed bumps at least). I'll post George's full apps test results as soon as they are received.

The software bundle includes Arcsoft Photostudio and Photobase as well as OmniPage 8 SE (not Pro). OmniPage 8 SE would not work for me (lost communication with the scanner during the scan), despite allocating over 40MB of ram to the app. (many times the size needed for the OCR scan). Restarting and trying every setting possible still resulted in failures to scan. The error message dialog suggested only common tips (many applying to SCSI scanners only).

The more expensive 1220U model (1200x2400 dpi) may include the Pro version of OmniPage. I saw no updates to the SE version at their web site nor any tips or information on the problems I saw. The Omnipage manual on the Canon CD was for the OmniPage Pro version, not the SE one. The Canon scanner driver was the latest version (3.8.1 - actually later than what was on their web site.) The test system had OS 9.04 using onboard USB with all current Apple updates. I'm going to contact Canon to see if they have any suggestions, but if anyone has gotten OmniPage 8 SE to work with the N656U, please let me know. (Several readers sent tips like using a powered USB hub, noting they scanned in OmniPage SE with no problems.)

Several Cube owners w/Radeons noted yesterday they received their systems and I've asked that they enter their benchmark and game results in the Mac Game/Video Card Performance Database. (Instructions on Benchmarks like Cinebench 2000, Throughput, many games, etc. are listed on the entry page.)

" Hi all!
Now that I have been using MacOS X PB for a while I though I should let everyone know how I feel about it...

I'll start with the basics.

Installation: This was the most painless part of the entire experience. On both my PB 500 at work and my desktop G3 at home I had zero problems. None. Nothing at all. I expected this on the PB since it is a brand new machine, but my desktop machine was a great surprise! My machine at home is tricked out with 3rd party HD drivers, dual displays using a VooDoo 3 card, a USB card, USB mouse and keyboard, a 17.2GB drive, and a nice 292/83 OC on the entire system. Much to my surprise it did a co-install on the MacOS 9 partition and has been fairly trouble free ever since. (The only problem I had was some funky extensions that were giving Classic some problems.)

Initial Configuration: Similar to the MacOS, MacOS X has a setup assistant. I just followed along to get everything set up. No problems here either. On my dual display machine at home I had to open the monitors control panel and drag the menubar back to the VooDoo card display to re-establish it as the primary monitor.

Real world use: At work I have been in X exclusively for the last week, overall I have been thrilled with it! At home though I have only been toying with it. This is because I have a lot of software (games and such.) that I want to use that just don't cut it in X yet. For a work platform though it has been great. The phenomenal, amazing stability of the system is something that I really have noticed. I haven't needed to restart the machine in a week. This is even taking into account the expected crashes from beta and alpha software. If something crashes you just restart it, the system is unaffected and remains stable. I also have learned to appreciate the almost instant sleep and wake that the PowerBook now has.

Printing: Network printing works just fine from all the environments, you just can't use desktop printers from the classic world.

Interface: The dock has become a close friend. I was a little turned off by it at first, but just tell it to auto-hide and all is well. It provides effortless app launching and switching. You can even Command-Tab between open applications.

All of your favorite key commands have made it with little changes here and there. Drag modifiers behave as you would expect and option-clicking still hides the active application. Carbon and Cocoa apps can use a Command-H to hide as well.

The new finder seems a little cumbersome at first, and the necessity of 2 open windows to copy is a bit annoying, but I am beginning to appreciate the simplicity of the clean interface. The separation of the app functions from the File menu has been a long time coming. And the death of the Chooser has finally taken place. The column view is just as powerful as it was in Server.

Networking: Ahh, here is the only part that has rubbed me the wrong way. The network browser is here, but it only works with AFP/IP servers. More specifically it only works with servers that use SLP, meaning ASIP and MacOS 9. It isn't enough to be doing AFP/IP and the fact that my LinuxPPC ASIP server is not browseable proves this. You can type in the IP address of the server to hit it, but this throws a lot of people off. Oddly enough you can see the AppleTalk only printers in the Print Center, just no servers in the network browser. SLP is a new standard though, and we should see more servers that use it all the time.

Usability: I can not stress the difference that true pre-emptive multitasking creates. It is great to be able to drop to the dock, launch and application, then shoot right back to your work while the app launches in the background. Things continue to work as menus drop and windows move. The first time you continue to work at a normal pace while printing a huge document in the background you feel like you have been set free.

I have been using X since Rhapsody DR1 and every Mac user gets a kick out of moving a window while a progress bar continues to progress or a QT movie continues to play. I know this may not seem like a lot but consider that if you save 2-5 seconds on each task you do every day. It quickly adds up! More than anything MacOS X is the most responsive OS to your actions and commands that I have ever used. So much usability perception is based on not being forced to wait on the machine that people are going to feel that this OS is faster just on the fact that it responds on command. (Just turn off menu blinking on a Mac or the Start Menu delay on a Windows machine and see how much faster it feels!)

Flexibility: I can run MacOS apps, MacOS X apps, and traditional BSD apps. I can go to the terminal to run SSH, Telnet, Mail, and FTP. This is the most flexible OS on the planet.

Later,
Josh"

" Hi Mike,
Just a note on OS X:
First, WOW. Reading about it just can't convey the experience.

Second, Apple shipped it in a box large enough to fit a Thanksgiving turkey. (There have been a few reports of CDs that were not flat, but mine wasn't and I suspect overall that's rare-Mike)

Third, it installed perfectly on my upgraded PowerTower Pro. (I sent in my report on the 23rd ) . Runs perfectly on my "unsupported" machine. I don't have any tips or tricks, nor do I have any problems to report. Some help I am...

My system is a stock PowerTower Pro. The only upgrades are CPU and memory. 400 G3 and 160MB RAM. Stock Twin Turbo video card. Speed is good, can*t crash it (yet) and while different that OS 9, it remains quite intuitive, to me anyway.

Oh, I do not get any sound. Slight bummer, but I'll live.
Tom "

Surprisingly he later noted he's using the original 16X SCSI drive that used FWB's CDROMToolkit (current version) drivers under OS 9. (In most cases non-Apple OEM CD drives can have problems with OS X beta installs.) My PowerCenter Pro and PowerTower Pro came with FWB's CDROM toolkit and had drives not compatible with the standard Apple CD extensions.

" You mentioned various BSD utilities included in MacOS X. Here are a some more, beyond those already named, that caught my eye:

* perl (the Swiss Army Chainsaw of UNIX utilities)
* vifw (program to setup firewall rules in the BSD kernel)
* natd (daemon to create a proxy server)
* dig (DNS debugging/query tool)
* tcpdump (ethernet packet watching/capture utility)
* apache (the premier web server)

Using vifw and natd, you could create a firewall for your local LAN on a DSL or cablemodem connection. A Mac under OS 9 is secure on the internet because it basically doesn't have any internet services. A Mac under Mac OS X can be secure in addition to running various internet services.

If you're curious and want to find strings within an executable, use the "strings" command. It'll often show you options or capabilities of the program. For example, their pppd (PPP daemon) refers to PPPoE.

The Mac has always had a programmerly/hackerly subculture, and with its move to UNIX, that will accelerate into something quite powerful. --
Wayne Folta"

I noticed the Apps/Grab Bag folder has several native OS X apps including an HTML editor, Chess game and CPU monitor utility.

I don't consider this a big issue with the beta but was just wondering if the menu sleep function was working for other users. My B&W G3 system has no PCI cards other than the original Rage128 card installed. (Some PCI cards will not allow deep sleep mode.)

Other than sleep not working, so far I've been pleased with what I've seen of OS X beta. Although disk speed seems slower than OS 9, my OS X Beta install disk is the original 6GB Maxtor which is not nearly as fast as current drives. As I noted in Tuesday's news, the install went perfectly on my B&W G3 rev 2 with a G4 XLR8 ZIF. It seems fairly responsive in general but I've not tried QT movie playback yet.

Many Powerbook owners wrote to say sleep works great in OS X Beta and some commented the PB wakes up before the lid is even fully opened. One PowerBook Firewire owner said he hears a whine during sleep mode however, which changes pitch he said when he disconnects the AC adapter.

• Other World Computing G3/400 in Beige G3 DT (rated 10)
• PowerLogix G3/366 in PowerBase (rated 10)
• XLR8 G3/500 ZIF in B&W G3 (rated 10)
  (includes comments on OS X beta installing fine)

You can find these full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database of over 4,500 entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy.

The Drive Compatibility database had new 6 entries today (current total 1535). (Note - I welcome OS X reports in the database from users of non-Apple CD/DVD/CDRW/Firewire drives - select OS X on the entry form)

Removable Media Drives:
• Imation SuperDisk in B&W G3 using Intech drivers
  (some issues noted, not bootable)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IBM Deskstar 22GXP 22GB in B&W G3 rev 1
  (Data corruption reported)
• IBM Travelstar DJSA-220 20GB in PB G3 Lombard
• Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 40GB in B&W G3 rev 1 (using Intech drivers)
• Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 40GB in G4/AGP (running OS X Beta)
• Maxtor 20GB in PowerBase

If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database.

Software Updates:
• RockNES/MacOS NES emulator claimed to be most compatible
• FarSight (Sims Editor)
• Video Pics (Premier Plug in)
• Beatnik Editor 2.0 (Audio/Music editor)
• Shockwave 8d204

Apple TILs:

OS X Related:

• Mac OS X Public Beta: Internet Applications Do Not Work in the Classic Environment
• Mac OS X Public Beta: Brightness Buttons Do Not Respond
• Mac OS X Public Beta: PC Cards Not Recognized
• Mac OS X Public Beta: How to Change a User's Password
• Mac OS X Public Beta: Capable Apple Computers
  
  Others:
  
• AirPort: How to Set Up Bridging When Using a Cable Modem
• Remote Access: Modem Not Responding Alert
• Memory Configurations: Portable, PowerBook, iBook
• Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White): Keyboard or Pointer Are Unresponsive
• Macintosh: Difference Between Install CD and Restore CD
• AirPort: How to Set Up File Sharing Between AirPort and Ethernet Computer