When it comes to new operating systems, there’s a world of difference between the developer machine and your everyday laptop. I’ve had Jaguar on my developer Mac since May. As of this weekend I have the shrinkwrap version on my 667 MHz TiBook. Hmmm … what possessed me to do that!
All kidding aside, my Mac is running smoothly with a few minor exceptions. So I’ll start with the positive comments, then post a couple disappointments with questions that I hope you have answers to.
Starting with the positives:
- Installation is a snap. I decided to do a clean install, then dumped my old system folder after I was confident that all was OK. Beautiful. But set aside about 90 minutes for the process.
- Quartz rendering is pretty. I like the way type looks in Jaguar, and graphic rendering is snappy.
- Improved speed in many areas including logging out, and back in. Nice.
- Cool screen saver stuff! Check it out.
- Most existing apps work just fine.
- Printing, networking — all good.
- CD burning, Software Update, Sherlock — much better!
- Jaguar is just plain fun :)
But like most Apple products, Jaguar is not without its oddities. Such as:
- Screen shots are now saved as PDFs. Who came up with that one? I had to open the files in Photoshop to convert them. Does anyone have a workaround?
- Junk mail filter doesn’t seem to be “learning” that mail in a language other that English should be ID’d as Junk, even though I’ve tried to instruct it to do so.
- There is some occasional stalling that I didn’t get in 10.1. Little things like while switching identities in Entourage.
- I can’t synch my Handspring Visor using Palm Desktop 4.0. Since Jaguar, the app “Transport Monitor” won’t load, and that prevents synching. Does anyone have a workaround?
Before you install, make sure you have your old print drivers handy. I had to reinstall my HP Photosmart drivers before the inkjet would work again.
Best part is, I had a bunch of work this weekend, and the upgrade has made it just a little more fun being stuck on the computer. And I haven’t had any real problems. (But I’m keeping my fingers crossed just in case).
Stupid … yes. But I have a lot of confidence in Mac OS X, and it came through again.
If you have any answers to my questions, or if you have your own observations and questions, put em here!
Screen shots as PDFs
Hey Derrick,
Not a work around so much as an alternative. I use Snapz Pro from Ambrosia (http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/utilities/snapzpro/) for all of my screen shots for the articles I write for you. You can choose to capture the whole screen, objects, or rectangular regions and save it in a variety of formats. You can also grab a sequence of actions and save them as a QuickTime movie.
As far as your problems with Entourage, I believe the recommended workaround is to stop using Entourage. :->
Best, Daniel
International support
I'm a little dissapointed to find that Sherlok and Address book aren't supported fully for international users. It's not a big deal, but Movie listings and Yellow Pages simply don't work: Try searching for something simple like Harrods, London?
Simmilarly, the map function in new address book app sounds great, but doesn't work for me. Try mapping an address in Hong Kong, or any of the countries not listed in the 'change address format' country list. I've had to settle on a map of China as an alternative!
Macoshints tip ...
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20020824215539350
Much more than just command line... -- Sun, Aug 25 '02 at 10:53AM Authored by: dim ben
I found this tip in a newsgroup:
"You can change the screenshot format with the string
< defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleScreenShotFormat JPEG >
in the Terminal. Log-out, re log-in required to change the format."
But I didn't try it out (don't have 10.2. yet). I assume you can use TIFF or PICT, too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://radio.weblogs.com/0100490/2002/08/14.html#a265
Cool New 10.2 ScreenShot Feature
For the longest time, OS X has supported the classic (back to, what, 1986 or so, at least) Mac OS means of taking a screen shot. Namely, shift-cmd-3 takes a full shot of the screen as PDF (default -- this can be changed). For multiple monitor systems, only the screen that the mouse is on is taken.
Shift-cmd-4 allows the user to select an area of the screen to "shoot". There are some additional options. Namely, if you hit the space bar while the capture cursor (a little target) is on the screen, the cursor turns into a camera and the screen shot will contain only the window under the mouse.
Also, if you hold down the ctrl key as the shot is taken, the resulting image will be written directly to the pasteboard.
Nice!
A command line utility is also included such that screen shots can easily be scripted or integrated into applications. Usage is as follows:
usage: screencapture [-icmwsWx] [file] [cursor]
-i capture screen interactively, by selection or window
control key - causes screen shot to go to clipboard
space key - toggle between mouse selection and
window selection modes
escape key - cancels interactive screen shot
-c force screen capture to go to the clipboard
-m only capture the main monitor, undefined if -i is set
-w only allow window selection mode
-s only allow mouse selection mode
-W start interaction in window selection mode
-x do not play sounds
file where to save the screen capture
Use TinkerTool to change screenshot formats
Hey Derrick,
It seems like there are several ways to change the format used to save screenshots! Aside from using Snapz Pro or running a terminal command, you can also download the latest version of Tinkertool (v. 2.3, I think) from Versiontracker. Tinkertool lets you change the screenshot format to JPEG, PICT, TIFF, or PNG--strangely enough, not PDF, though. This new version was tweaked for Jaguar, I believe.
If you haven't heard of or tried this piece of freeware, check it out--it gives some control over the appearance of fonts, windows, etc.
On a different topic--care to respond to the Cnet article by Joe Wilcox from a few days ago stating that Jaguar had to play catch up to Windows XP? Might be a great, albeit controversial, topic for another Weblog....
Palm Sync
I too had problems trying to sync my Palm after upgrading to Jag. I reinstalled Palm Desktop from the Palm website and all my HotSync issues disappeared. Hope this helps...
--
diablo943
Use TinkerTool to change screenshot formats
First, thanks for the tip about Tinkertool. I'll take a look at it this morning.
As for Joe's article about Jaguar "catching up" to Windows XP ... I think in the context he presents it, he makes some good points. Looking at Jag from the perspective that it can seamlessly interact with Windows networks, then yes, Apple is catching up with this release.
If the discussion were more focused on break-through technologies, then I think it would be XP catching up to Jaguar. The two OSs are very different animals, and both are quite powerful. I just happen to prefer the one with spots.
Palm Sync
When you do a clean install, the kernel extension that Palm Transport requires to run is archived. That's why re-installing works.
You could probably accomplish the same thing by finding the Palm kernel extensions in your archives, and using the command line to move them back into place.
Does TinkerTool 2.3 work here?
I've got TinkerTool 2.3 installed, and the controls for altering the screenshot format are present but inactive (grayed out).
Do other people have TinkerTool working for them in Jaguar to change the screenshot format?
Microsoft Exchange Server?
So....
I've read just about everywhere about how wonderful Jaguar is in its compatability with Microsoft Exchange Server.
So, by that logic, I should be able to get Mail to read my Exchange mail, right?
Can someone tell me how to set this up? I'm either totally missing something obvious, or I misunderstood what "compatible" means.
Use TinkerTool to change screenshot formats
Weird thing in the publishing system ...
I'm not Dave!
-- Derrick
Screen shots as PDFs
I agree that Snapz Pro is cool, but it's a tad expensive IMHO.
As for Entourage: I'll have you know young man, that I'm testing both Mail.app and Entourage for the good of the cause ;)
-- Derrick
Why not Junked other than English & Getaround of PDF Screenshot
Hey remember English is not the mother-tongue of many MacOS X users. Japan is a big Mac market and you don't want all of their personal emails tagged to be spam.
For the PDF screenshot gotcha, use the program "Grab" for taking screenshots in TIFF format, and "Preview" to convert TIFF to something else.
Why not Junked other than English & Getaround of PDF Screenshot
No disrespect languages other than English, but if I want to filter out email that I can't read, I'd sure like to.
-- Derrick
Palm Sync -- Works Now
Ah yes, the old application reinstall (after using a "clean install" for the OS) worked nicely. I shoulda guessed as much :)
Take Back My "Positive" CD Burning Comment
For the moment, I'm taking back my positive CD burning comment because I just tested a couple CDs I burned last night.
They work great on my Mac OS X computer, but to my utter dismay when I put the CDs in an XP computer, the Windows box can't open any directories, a QuickTime file, and it mangles my HTML.
Granted, I'm using new CD media that might be the problem. Also, I didn't fiddle with the burning settings -- I just burned as always.
Has anyone else experienced this problem?
--Derrick
MOVE! There now, was that so hard? (screenshots)
Just export your screenshot as tiff from preview:
File-->Export
There are a few export options for file type . . .
Re: Microsoft Exchange Server ?
I can use Mail.app to read my Exchange mail in 10.1.5.
I'm assuing this works in 10.2 (mine's in the post)
-Set up the account as an IMAP account.
In the account prefs (Mail->Prefs->Accounts->Edit->Account Information)
-Under Host name: enter the IP address of the exchange server
-Under User name; enter \domain\username (where domain is the name of your exchange domain and username is your NT login name)
That should suffice provided IMAP (and SMTP) is enabled on the exchange server.
good luck
mark.
Re: Microsoft Exchange Server ?
Errata:
I wrote:
-Under User name; enter \domain\username
I should have written:
-Under User name: enter domain\username.
IOW, the first backslash should be omitted.
Sorry,
mark.
Take Back My "Positive" CD Burning Comment
There has been some talk on the OSX talk list hosted by the Omnigroup on this topic.
Some people have concluded that 10.2 is burning either pure HFS+ (non-hybrid) OR, it is burning hybrid sessions but something is going wrong with the ISO 9600 parts
mark.
Re: Microsoft Exchange Server ?
Thanks for your help, Mark, but that's not doing the trick.
The problem is simply that IMAP is *not* Exchange. In order to get it to work, Exchange has to be set up with IMAP activated. Doing so, though, negates the point of having Exchange in the first place, I'd guess.
I was hoping it was a simple client-plug-and-play thing. Having to switch IMAP on the Exchange Server means involving IT guys... that means a lot of hassle and likely will get rejected.
Our company has not... "switched."
Does TinkerTool 2.3 work here? -- Nope
Tested TinkerTool 2.3 and it DOES NOT solve the screenshot problem. The option is grayed out. I checked their FAQs and they confirmed my experience.
-- Derrick
Macoshints tip ... Nope
This command DID NOT work for me in 10.2. Too bad.
-- Derrick
Good Entourage Tip
I got a note from Eugenia at OSNews.com reminding me to take a look at my Login Items to make sure I didn't have more than one Entourage daemon running. I didn't, but thought I'd pass the tip along.
BTW: Performance has really picked up with Entourage after the initial launch and first session.
-- Derrick
Grab Seems to Be Best Solution
Based on the mail I've received today, I think using the application "Grab" in your Utilities folder is the best way to capture a none-PDF screen shot.
When you "grab" a screen shot, you can save it as a .tiff file to your hard drive.
The other suggestion I liked was making a screen shot the normal way in the Finder, but holding down the "ctrl" key which saves it to your Clipboard instead of generating a PDF.
Thanks all for the great screenshot tips!
-- Derrick
ScreenShots...
You can also use the export feature in Preview to turn the pdf into a pict file and a few other formats as well.
PDF screen-shots
It's not really an elegant solution but you can simply change the extension to .tif and open with Graphic Converter and (?).
Also, "Create" from Stone Studio handles .pdf file with ease.
windowshade-x function...
Hi I'm very happy with Jaguar but I just wondering
why handy window bar function we appreciated on OS9 & OSX with WindowShade-X doesn't exist?
One more thing I'm embarrassed is WindowShade-X 2.1 (should be Jaguar compatible) has problem on IE & some apps like DVD player...:-(
Jaguar and MS OFfice X.
As a long-time mac user who had to switch to PC format and am finally now back - I've purchased an Imac G4 800 - superdrive and am having Jaguar installed as I write this. I'm on a MS 2000 server with MS Exchange mail server. I'm forced to use Outlook 2001 under Classic, since Entourage that comes bundled with Office doesn't access exchange servers (certainly more than an oversight by Microsoft - in my view - really weird!!). Anyone know whether just how Jaguar improves networking on MS servers? What should I look for and can/will Entourage ever work for exchange server mail/contacts/calendaring????
Thanks - Dennis
dennis@firstpresyakima.com
Upgrade or Archive & Install
Derrick -
what are the relative merits of one over the other. I've read that Apple recommends a Simple Upgrade. Others suggest the Archive & Install. More purist-types do an Erase & Install (I've never found that one useful, except in extreme cases of system failure).
My system is currently very stable and could probably do with a simple Upgrade. But given the choice, is there a good reason to choose Archive & Install?
Even better: what is the difference between Upgrading and doing an Archive & Install - Save Settings? They rather sound like the end effect is the same, from a user POV. If A&I gives you a fresh version of the system, and keeps your settings, why not choose that one?
Any views?
-David