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Tiger: Worth the upgrade?
- Thread starter alexf
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Why upgrade?
"I upgraded to Tiger. I had not wanted to pay the $130, but got my company to spring for the costs due to some research for a product that was having difficulty on Tiger.
Was it worth it? Not really.
Some changes seem odd. They redesigned the mail program. It does not look like any other program in Tiger.
Dashboard and Expose are lumped under one menu in System Preferences. This is annoying because all it did was add Dashboard as a possible hot key option in the preferences. There are no real preferences for Dashboard. No way to turn it off. It's always there running as something taking up memory. I had to download a freeware program to kill it.
Most of the widgets are fun, but ultimately the usefulness you find in them depends on how much you like eyecandy. I don't. With the exception of the weather and calendar widgets, I found most not worth running all the time. Plus Dashboard runs as a process that has to be displayed. Once you click outside a widget dashboard disappears. This was demoed in all the marketing material. If I could put the weather widget on the desktop and make it transparent so as not to be so in your face it might be worth while.
Spotlight? Yawn!
Automater? Have not found a use for it.
Safari RSS? I have my news sites that I like going to. I checked out some of their RSS sections. Just lists of headlines. At least when I go to the regular website there seems to be some organization to them. So the RSS feature has not won me over
I don't have a .Mac account or a web cam so I can't comment on the .Mac features or iChat. Unfortuantely my job uses MS Messenger, so until iChat can converse with those accounts like it can AIM accounts, I have no reason to use it either.
Quicktime 7 with it's HD capability is pretty cool. Those trailers viewed on the Quicktime site are pretty cool. But alas to get full features from Quicktime it is an additional $30.
Then to top it all off It seems like the system is buggy and slow. I have a program that Software update just won't regonize that it downloaded and installed it. I finally had to make it an inactive item so it would stop showing up. Guess I'll miss the next upgrade to it.
Positives? The RSS screen saver option is kind of cool. And the new desktop pictures that are included are pretty awesome.
I am sure there are things Apple is doing behind the scenes to make OS X a great OS and have to make some seemingly odd choices. Who would have thought that the introduction of the iPod meant Apple was gunning for the online music business. So I am giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Tiger really seems more like a minor upgrade than anything that a major new release. Maybe Leopard will be something to get excited about next year sometime"
This was what I had to say about my upgrade experience with Tiger after I had asked in the Apple Forums "Why Upgrade" Apparently Apple has problems with criiques of the Tiger as my post was removed as 'inappropritate:'
"Your post titled "Why upgrade?" has been removed from Apple Discussions."
The nearest I could figure was it was not addressing 'techinical' issues. Anyway, my suggestion is to wait a while before upgrading. I have not found Tiger to be that worthwhile, and I didn't even pay for this upgrade.
"I upgraded to Tiger. I had not wanted to pay the $130, but got my company to spring for the costs due to some research for a product that was having difficulty on Tiger.
Was it worth it? Not really.
Some changes seem odd. They redesigned the mail program. It does not look like any other program in Tiger.
Dashboard and Expose are lumped under one menu in System Preferences. This is annoying because all it did was add Dashboard as a possible hot key option in the preferences. There are no real preferences for Dashboard. No way to turn it off. It's always there running as something taking up memory. I had to download a freeware program to kill it.
Most of the widgets are fun, but ultimately the usefulness you find in them depends on how much you like eyecandy. I don't. With the exception of the weather and calendar widgets, I found most not worth running all the time. Plus Dashboard runs as a process that has to be displayed. Once you click outside a widget dashboard disappears. This was demoed in all the marketing material. If I could put the weather widget on the desktop and make it transparent so as not to be so in your face it might be worth while.
Spotlight? Yawn!
Automater? Have not found a use for it.
Safari RSS? I have my news sites that I like going to. I checked out some of their RSS sections. Just lists of headlines. At least when I go to the regular website there seems to be some organization to them. So the RSS feature has not won me over
I don't have a .Mac account or a web cam so I can't comment on the .Mac features or iChat. Unfortuantely my job uses MS Messenger, so until iChat can converse with those accounts like it can AIM accounts, I have no reason to use it either.
Quicktime 7 with it's HD capability is pretty cool. Those trailers viewed on the Quicktime site are pretty cool. But alas to get full features from Quicktime it is an additional $30.
Then to top it all off It seems like the system is buggy and slow. I have a program that Software update just won't regonize that it downloaded and installed it. I finally had to make it an inactive item so it would stop showing up. Guess I'll miss the next upgrade to it.
Positives? The RSS screen saver option is kind of cool. And the new desktop pictures that are included are pretty awesome.
I am sure there are things Apple is doing behind the scenes to make OS X a great OS and have to make some seemingly odd choices. Who would have thought that the introduction of the iPod meant Apple was gunning for the online music business. So I am giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Tiger really seems more like a minor upgrade than anything that a major new release. Maybe Leopard will be something to get excited about next year sometime"
This was what I had to say about my upgrade experience with Tiger after I had asked in the Apple Forums "Why Upgrade" Apparently Apple has problems with criiques of the Tiger as my post was removed as 'inappropritate:'
"Your post titled "Why upgrade?" has been removed from Apple Discussions."
The nearest I could figure was it was not addressing 'techinical' issues. Anyway, my suggestion is to wait a while before upgrading. I have not found Tiger to be that worthwhile, and I didn't even pay for this upgrade.
Aslan said:
Aslan,
Your lengthly review is exactly what I was hoping to hear from someone - it confirms my feeling that upgrading to Tiger would be both a waste of time and money, both of which are a bit tight for me at the moment. Thank you for describing everything in such detail. 🙂
And the return of Power Mac chirping sounds in 10.4 that some users report is the icing on the cake. I am a "quiet computing freak" and I do not want to risk this (although hopefully Apple will fix this in a future upgrade).
You know that Tiger cannot be that special or exciting when Apple talks about Widgets like they are its most exciting and greatest feature. (Not that I have anything against Widgets; in fact I think they are quite cool. Yet does something that is more reminiscent of a fun little shareware app really deserve so much attention? It makes me suspicious of the OS in general when this is all that Apple can talk about...)
I think I'll save $130 and for the moment stick with my trusty 10.3.9 - a wonderful OS, with all of its imperfections ironed out though 10 incarnations.
tech4all said:
I think he means that he doesn't use Spotlight much, as I probably would not either.
I am a bit obsessive about being organized on my computer, and hardly ever use the Panther search. I doubt I would use Spotlight much either, and thus it is hard for me to get excited about it.
In fact, even those silly Widgets seem more exciting to me than Spotlight...
Passante
macrumors 6502a
I think the upgrade was worth it. I use spotlight a lot. There are lots of under the hood improvments. Tiger handles windows file servers much better. Server disconnects are not nearly as tramatic (used to crash my laptop if I forgot to unmount a server before I left work). Mail is much improved. I keep noticing improvements as I use it.
I even think that Halo graphics are better under tiger. Probably my imagination. Anyone else notice this?
I even think that Halo graphics are better under tiger. Probably my imagination. Anyone else notice this?
faintember
macrumors 65816
My 2 cents...
If going from 10.2 or earlier then do it.
If going from 10.3 then either dont or wait until 10.4.2 to make a decision.
I went from 10.2.8 to 10.4.1 and my PB seems much faster starting up, running programs, etc. and i also like a lot of functions (spotlight, dashboard, etc.) in 10.4.1 that i did not have in 10.2.8.
I have had a few issues getting a few programs to run, but they were fixed fairly easily. This happens when upgrading an OS and trying to run programs written for a earlier version of the OS. No big deal, and it is to be expected IMHO.
If going from 10.2 or earlier then do it.
If going from 10.3 then either dont or wait until 10.4.2 to make a decision.
I went from 10.2.8 to 10.4.1 and my PB seems much faster starting up, running programs, etc. and i also like a lot of functions (spotlight, dashboard, etc.) in 10.4.1 that i did not have in 10.2.8.
I have had a few issues getting a few programs to run, but they were fixed fairly easily. This happens when upgrading an OS and trying to run programs written for a earlier version of the OS. No big deal, and it is to be expected IMHO.
I've read on a number of sites that Tiger's primary strength is the substantial rewrite of much of the system core code, simplifying, consolidating, and the like to make future updates more stable and reliable.
That said, Apple had to include something to entice users to purchase it. Spotlight is not eye-candy. It adds major functionality to the OS by indexing not only file names, but file content and associated metadata (info associated with the file...dates, owner, size, etc.). For this to work as advertised requires application vendors to create mdimporters that help the Spotlight engine to index the application's data files. All Apple's apps have the mdimporters already, including for searching the contents of PDFs. The advantage over the long term is that those users who do not carefully hierarchically file their stuff, but just save it anywhere convenient on their hard drives, will be able to more easily find it again later.
Widgets are cute, convenient mini-apps with limited functionality that build into the system some of the functionality we lost from third party apps like Watson. They're a convenient place to jump to check on the latest movies, weather, package shipment status, and the like, without having to drill through websites. I've found them invaluable, and the nicest user enhancement in Tiger.
Whether you buy now, or later, the price will be the same, and you'll need to down the road. The latest talk is that Apple's getting ready to update the commercial DVDs in their Tiger boxes to 10.4.2, establishing a new baseline and reducing the need to immediately commence downloading hundreds of MBs of updates after you install it. For that reason alone, it's probably a good idea to wait a few weeks.
That said, Apple had to include something to entice users to purchase it. Spotlight is not eye-candy. It adds major functionality to the OS by indexing not only file names, but file content and associated metadata (info associated with the file...dates, owner, size, etc.). For this to work as advertised requires application vendors to create mdimporters that help the Spotlight engine to index the application's data files. All Apple's apps have the mdimporters already, including for searching the contents of PDFs. The advantage over the long term is that those users who do not carefully hierarchically file their stuff, but just save it anywhere convenient on their hard drives, will be able to more easily find it again later.
Widgets are cute, convenient mini-apps with limited functionality that build into the system some of the functionality we lost from third party apps like Watson. They're a convenient place to jump to check on the latest movies, weather, package shipment status, and the like, without having to drill through websites. I've found them invaluable, and the nicest user enhancement in Tiger.
Whether you buy now, or later, the price will be the same, and you'll need to down the road. The latest talk is that Apple's getting ready to update the commercial DVDs in their Tiger boxes to 10.4.2, establishing a new baseline and reducing the need to immediately commence downloading hundreds of MBs of updates after you install it. For that reason alone, it's probably a good idea to wait a few weeks.
not worth
it'snot worth the money you pay for it dashboard and spotlight are really only visable new features. otherwise just a interface lift to panther for me maybe not the same for a pro but thats how i feel 🙁
it'snot worth the money you pay for it dashboard and spotlight are really only visable new features. otherwise just a interface lift to panther for me maybe not the same for a pro but thats how i feel 🙁
DJY
macrumors 6502a
I haven't had any problems upgrading.... and three mates with G5 Power PC's have not reported the chirping sound you are talking about.
Best things about upgrading to Tiger for me...
New Mail - much better
QT7 - wow!
iChat - I really was looking forward to H.264 and three way video chat (I run a 1.5GHz PB on the fastest ADSL connection available in Aust 1500/256.. only to discover you need a dual G4 or G5 to initiate three way video chat - AND internet connection both ways of 384!!!! BUGGER! Even just two way video chat I must admit I haven't noticed any difference really from Panther. I'm hoping 10.4.2 fixes this - as I've heard of a number of bugs / bandwidth problems.
Spotlight - very handy and very quickly have started using it alot
Dashboard - cute - I started with a heap off widgets... and madly looked for more. Now things are settling down I've removed a few - but still find it very handy for Conversions (length / currency / metric to imperial etc) TV Guide, weather, Calendar, Phone Book (as in looking up people and businesses phone numbers and address), calculator plus a couple of other widgets I rotate with depending on where I am and what I'm doing.
Safari RSS I enjoy alot! I normally am quite busy - but also enjoy reading news - so RSS allows me to scan more newspapers / s ites faster with RSS - and it is something I do now twice a day.
Automator - like others - I haven't used it really yet.
I am not sure I like the new direction iSync vs .Mac is going?!?!?!
I liked them all under one area... they have now split .Mac out of iSync. Moving iPod sync to iTunes also - makes iSync now only good for phones / PDAs? So I'll have to wait and see what Steve has planned for this... but I suspect there is more to come.
Best things about upgrading to Tiger for me...
New Mail - much better
QT7 - wow!
iChat - I really was looking forward to H.264 and three way video chat (I run a 1.5GHz PB on the fastest ADSL connection available in Aust 1500/256.. only to discover you need a dual G4 or G5 to initiate three way video chat - AND internet connection both ways of 384!!!! BUGGER! Even just two way video chat I must admit I haven't noticed any difference really from Panther. I'm hoping 10.4.2 fixes this - as I've heard of a number of bugs / bandwidth problems.
Spotlight - very handy and very quickly have started using it alot
Dashboard - cute - I started with a heap off widgets... and madly looked for more. Now things are settling down I've removed a few - but still find it very handy for Conversions (length / currency / metric to imperial etc) TV Guide, weather, Calendar, Phone Book (as in looking up people and businesses phone numbers and address), calculator plus a couple of other widgets I rotate with depending on where I am and what I'm doing.
Safari RSS I enjoy alot! I normally am quite busy - but also enjoy reading news - so RSS allows me to scan more newspapers / s ites faster with RSS - and it is something I do now twice a day.
Automator - like others - I haven't used it really yet.
I am not sure I like the new direction iSync vs .Mac is going?!?!?!
I liked them all under one area... they have now split .Mac out of iSync. Moving iPod sync to iTunes also - makes iSync now only good for phones / PDAs? So I'll have to wait and see what Steve has planned for this... but I suspect there is more to come.
I dont think its worth the upgrade. My old G3 900mhz Ibook with 756 Ram seems faster than my 1.33GHZ G4 powerbook with 1.25 Gigs....Spotlight is kinda nice but its not that usefull for me, Dashboard blows for me, it does all sorts of random crap, havent had a need for automator but i could see my self one day having one. Tiger also broke some of my old programs like VLC ahhhhh back to using quicktime(which i hate) for now......
My 2 Cents (not worth these much these days seeing how the US exchange rate is soo bad, I remember back in the day when 2 cents could by you 5 loafs of bread in some thirdworld country, now youd be lucky to get a slice.)
My 2 Cents (not worth these much these days seeing how the US exchange rate is soo bad, I remember back in the day when 2 cents could by you 5 loafs of bread in some thirdworld country, now youd be lucky to get a slice.)
While dashboard is more for show, I do use it everyday still. While on the other hand, Spotlight has truely changed the way I use my computer; I use Spotlight to ran apps, find papers, etc. Definitely worth the upgrade. 😱 😱 😱
Huked on Fonick said:
I gotta agree. I just got a new 1.5gb powerbook and was expecting to see a big speed bump from my old 500mhz ibook (which was running panther). The PB feels SLOWER in many things, most of them Safari related. Downloading files, etc. Maybe it's the powerbook, but I'm hoping it's Tiger, so at least future revs will fix it.
i just installed it on our mini at work and am liking it..
i have a 12" PB 1.33 at home but with only 256ram would it be better to wait til i've upped the memory?
as it is, it works fine and my partner would kill me if anything untoward happened as she's now just gotten used to the mac way of doing things 😉
i have a 12" PB 1.33 at home but with only 256ram would it be better to wait til i've upped the memory?
as it is, it works fine and my partner would kill me if anything untoward happened as she's now just gotten used to the mac way of doing things 😉
DJY said:
I too am looking for reasons to upgrade to Tiger as money is tight and Panther is working fine for me. I have heard this arguement for Mail quite a bit now, however not a single person has expanded on the 'improvements'.
What exactly changed and why is it ''much better''?
alexf said:
Konfabulator has widgets and a *similar* interface I think (have not used Tiger so not exactly sure). With the Konfabulator: 2 you have a widget hot-key that allows you to bring all widgets to the front which I think is similar to how the Dashboard works, but again I do not know for certain since I have not used Tiger. I am sure you will get some other comments clearing this up.
I have used Konfab here and there, but ultimately just for neat factor and it gets old and I always get ride of it within the week I try it out 😛
Mesa Dynamics said:
So what is the deal with the Panther download of Amnesty?
Using Amnesty can you download Apple Widgets and third-party widgets and use them in Panther since it is independant of the Dashboard system?
efoto said:
Yes, exactly. With Amnesty you can run Dashboard widgets under Panther 10.3.9 (which also answers alexf's question above).
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