Macintosh (or Apple, Inc.)
Oh, the wonderful multi-colored Apple. It has changed to a single color since the early days of Apple, Inc. (which is a very good thing) but the company has also recently changed its focus. Apple Computer began by just selling Personal Computers in 1977. I will spare you from the long history of Apple, but if you would like to find out more check out this Wikipedia page (link). Apple has been innovating the Personal Computer industry for a long time and it is no doubt that many great things have come from the Computer. In a recent "top 10 best tech products of all time" list (link), Apple had two products on the list: the Apple II and the iPod. The Apple II was the Personal Computer that "ignited the industy" and theres no need to explain the iPod. After taking many shots at branching out from the Personal Computer industry, in 2001 Apple inserted itself into the portable music player market. Now that you know some of what Apple has done in the last couple of decades, let me tell you some of the specifics about its newest (with the next version coming out this summer) operating system: OS X .
This is the OS X Desktop, this picture is featuring the dashboard widgets that allow the user to quickly check stock quotes, weather, the time, and many other things (link to Dashboard widgets). The Graphic User Interface (GUI), which allows people to interact with computers with visual icons and other graphical elements (most of you probably use this everyday on your computers; Wikipedia link), on Macs is very friendly to users and provides an uncluttered and simple desktop space. OS X, has a number of tools to enhance usability. Some of these tools include: Exposé, which allows users to quickly tile all open windows on the desktop with a keystroke in order to get a quick overview of what is open; Spotlight, a search function that quickly browses all files and folders if find anything on the computer; Fast User Switching, allows multiple users to share a computer without having to logout or close programs when switching. Along with these features, OS X has a slew of organizational tools: Address Book, iCal, Sticky Notes, and others. Tiger also allows users to browse the internet and chat with friends quickly and safely with the Safari web browser and iChat Instant messaging client.
Along with allowing users an enjoyable expierence while using OS X, Apple has created an operating system that is powerful enough to compete with other brands and allows users to connect to each other quickly and simply.
The Networking tool makes connecting Macs over a local network very easy but still provides enough speed across the network. Parental Controls are also a big plus in this system allowing parents to control everything that their children see on the computer. Security is second to none in OS X, with very few viruses and spy ware, allowing users to use the computer without having to worry about hackers or worms infecting their computer. Apple has utilized OS X to its potential, making it safe, secure, and fun for all users. The next version of OS X, Leopard, coming out of Cupertino, California (Apple Headquarters) is speculated to come out in early June(EDIT: It has been pointed out to me that Apple has recently delayed the release until October) and will enhance many of the features available and make the operating system even easier for the users.I hope this post has informed those of you are not familiar with Apple's operating system and for those of you who are familiar with it, please comment on this post and let me know what else I should've included and let everyone else know the other features of this fantastic OS. The next post in this series will cover Windows' operating systems--a little bit of XP and a little bit of Vista.
Official information from Apple's website can be found here: OS X Overview
-Jamie
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