Catch a Jaguar
Mac Tip#70/04-Sept-2002

Fast car? Fast cat? Fast Operating System!

Last week Apple released their latest Operating System: Jaguar, otherwise known as Mac OS X v10.2.

I took the plunge and after carefully backing up all my files installed it on my now 18 month old Powerbook. I’m very impressed and am pleased with the upgrade. lt was a quick and easy install and is so far running very smoothly.

So, what does this mean for you, the reader?

Well, if you bought a Mac OS X v10.1 retail product or a qualifying new Macintosh that did not include Mac OS X version 10.2 on or after 17 July 2002, you can receive a free upgrade. Check with your dealer to see if you qualify. For the rest of us, we have to pay for the upgrade. So should we upgrade from OS 9 or OS X v10.x to Jaguar?

One of the fundamental rules of computing says: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”. In other words: if your computer is working well and doing all that you need it to do without problems, then there’s no compelling reason at this time to change anything.

Running counter to that though is the problem of how we use our computers to interact with others and to get on with the work or fun-related activities of daily life. If I were to spend a lot of time exchanging MS Word documents with others I’d want to run the latest version of Word. That requires OS X.

It might be that if you upgrade to Jaguar you’ll also have to pay to upgrade various pieces of software, such as Microsoft Word, an accounts package or other similar software.

But OS X (and Jaguar) offer so many wonderful features that if you simply use the software which came installed on your computer, or if you already have software suitable for OS X then it’s well worth considering. Have a chat to your dealer and see if Jaguar is for you. And if you’ve been thinking of upgrading to a new Mac, this would be a great time to do it.

[I happen to have a graphics tablet and stylus which I use instead of a mouse. I've used this in the past for selecting items, scrolling, using the Menu Bar and so on. With Jaguar I can print straight onto the tablet and my writing is turned into text on screen! Just like this! How cool is that?]

Oh, and if you’d like to support the (real) big cats just by clicking, visit http://bigcats.care2.com/. Each click from you generates a donation from a sponsor.