My assessment of OSX

So I've spent the last few months exploring OSX and how it positions itself in the OS marketplace.

I purchased a used iBook G4 for RMB 3300 (~$500 at the time of this entry) and upgraded the RAM from 512mb to 1gb and promptly reloaded a fresh 10.5.x from Disc.

Now, this machine is largely underpowered for 10.5 I have heard online, but I was surprised at how well it coped with all the overhead of OSX (see more on this in a bit).


Likes:

• Expose - Using Expose to manage switching applications is fantastic. In my opinion, much better than alt-tab (Windows or Mac) or choosing applications from the Start Menu Area (Windows). I have it set up so that I can just move my mouse in the upper right corner and pick from a preview which application I want to switch to.
  
• Spaces - Although I don't use Spaces as much due to how great Expose is, I am fond of having only 2 spaces, and then running a movie in a separate space. When some action occurs in the background I can quickly move my mouse to the lower right corner and see what's going on.
  
• Dashboard - I don't know if you do this or not, but I have a pile of little apps open all the time in either Windows or Mac... Calculators, notepad/post-its, translator, etc. With OSX, you can put the all in their own uncluttered space. Oh and this is set up to come up by moving your mouse to the lower left corner of my screen (notice a trend here?)
  
• Zoom - Zoom on anything, anywhere at anytime with an always on keyboard shortcut. This may not sound like such a big deal, but how Apple has implemented it is flawless. I use it to show my Chinese girlfriend words I need translated, or to zoom in on sites that don't support zooming (sometimes I even use it for YouTube).
  
• .DMG File Format - Take the .ZIP format, add in some .ISO similarities and use that with way OSX packages programs and you have a good recipe. I especially like trying new software out without having to install. I run it right from the .DMG file. Slick. I also like how the File Format is 'mounted' instead of having to decompress somewhere and waste duplicate space. Smart.
  
• Battery Life - My G4 consistently runs 5 hours+ on a single charge with WiFi on. Wow.
  

Dislikes:

• It's huge: 20gb Base Install - I understand Snow Leopard is supposed to make an attempt at de-bloat, but seriously 20 Gigs? Nothing like wasting my backup space with a bunch of OS junk.
  
• No 'Maximize' for Windows - I have heard time and time again from Mac pundits about how "I don't use it right" when it comes to 'Zooming' windows as the Apple crowd calls it, but I grew up in a time/space of full-screen apps. I want them. I prefer them. It makes me single-task. Is there an add-on to remove this 'feature'? I'm just not drinking the cool-aid.
  
• Wireless Network Key Index non-existent - Is this a joke? Several occasions have left me unable to connect my iBook because there is no support (officially standardized or otherwise) whereby you can connect to a WiFi hotspot that has a Wireless Index of anything other than 1. Ok, Thanks Apple. You basically prevent my machine from attaching to networks no other machine has problems with.
  
• No NTFS write support for large USB drives - I really wish someone (Governments?) would ratify a universal file system protocol standard. You buy a new big USB drive and you can't write to it with OSX? I have to move my stuff off and format it and move them back? This is stupid. I blame the industry. Please EXT/FAT/NTFS/UFS/etc, find a way to cooperate.
  
• USB 'deleting' - You have to empty the trash before things are actually removed from your USB keys. Someone please explain the value of this feature to me.

As a result, I will be making a move to Apple Hardware and OSX at my next upgrade opportunity.

I have also learned that Apple has a no per-seat licensing mail server option, I will certainly have to check that out.