Tiger: What’s Cool, What’s Not, What’s To Come.

Tiger. It’s here. It’s hot. It’s all the rage. Everyone but Microsoft (apologists, and company) loves Tiger, right? Mostly. Here’s my view of what’s hot, what’s not, and especially, what’s about to happen.

First, Tiger is notably faster at some functions than Panther, even on older Macs. On a PowerMac G5 it screams. On a nearly-three-year-old PowerBook, it’s quicker. On an older iMac, it’s smooth but not fast.

Finder functions are notably quicker in Tiger. Spotlight is VERY fast on a PowerMac and PowerBook, a bit slower on an older Mac.

Despite a list of new and improved features that possibly totaled 200 (depends on who’s counting) Apple focused on six major features as the so-called “eye candy” of Mac OS X 10.4—Tiger.

Spotlight, Dashboard, Automator, iChat AV, QuickTime 7, Safari RSS, Mail, and .Mac Sync. Those are the featured areas that get your attention first, though it’s what’s under the hood that will get your attention in the near future.

First, should you get Tiger or wait for the next release? 10.4 is fine as is. Every new point upgrade or full upgrade has a few gotchas, and Tiger is no different. But it does make your old Mac feel new again and that’s worth $129.

Spotlight. Searches. They’re fast. They’re comprehensive. How the search results are laid out and how quickly you can find files will impress you. Spotlight shows up in Mail and the Finder and will show up in other applications soon.  Hundreds of Mac applications will incorporate Spotlight searches. Hundreds.

Dashboard. Pure eye candy. Nominal functionality. However, Dashboard’s “widgets” fill a need for a quick and easy way to access what used to be called Desk Accessories.

Plus, Widgets are made using XHTML, CSS, and Javascript, so you’ll see hundreds of new Widgets in the next six months. Hundreds.

My favorite? YaGoohoo!gle. It combines Yahoo and Google search results in a single Safari window. Cool.

Automator. Think of Automator as Applescripts for the rest of us. No programming required. It’s like Leggos. Drag a function to the list and it runs. String multiple functions together to create your own application. Save it as an application. There’ll be hundreds of Automator applications by the end of the year. Hundreds.

iChat AV is an evolutionary improvement on Panther’s version. The new iChat AV does four simultaneous video chats and up to 10 audio chats. But you need a PowerMac G5. Tiger Server also doubles as an iChat Server so business can have secure instant messaging and video conferences.

QuickTime 7. This is the shape of things to come. Remember, QuickTime is at the heart of the iTunes Music Store. This QuickTime also has H.264 which is the video standard for future DVDs and HD DVDs. It’s fast, smooth, looks great, has smaller files. The demo HD videos are amazing in quality and reduced size.

QuickTime Pro costs $30 extra. It’s a way for Apple to gouge you for an extra $30. I’m convinced that QT 7 sets the stage for an Apple-branded “iMovie Store” and a handheld iBook mini later this year or at Macworld 2006.

“Safari’s implementation of RSS is simple, works well, but not as feature-laden as my two favorite RSS readers—NewsFire and NetNewsWire.”Safari. Safari’s RSS will introduce millions of Mac users to the benefits of RSS news feeds, RSS podcast and videocast feeds. The implementation of RSS is simple, works well, but not as feature-laden as my two favorite RSS readers—NewsFire and NetNewsWire.

Still, try out Safari’s RSS. Oh, Safari 2.0 is notably faster than previous versions, seems even faster than Safari 1.3 for Panther. It also suffers from an odd “cascading page draw” that’s annoying.

Safari also saves web pages in an archive format and has plenty of other goodies under the hood.

Mail. Apple’s Mail app is an evolutionary change, too. First, it’s more polished and professional looking with Tiger’s new “Plastic” feel. Second, the “drawers” are gone (fine with me) and the mail boxes line up on the left. Mine had been on the right for the past 18 months of Panther so that’s taking some getting used to.

I’d been using Spam Sieve for a couple of years but switched back to Apple’s Junk Mail filter in Mail. It’s an improvement, too. Signatures can now be assigned to specific mail accounts.

.Mac Sync. Apple’s overpriced, underpowered, underfeatured .Mac service got a few more features. You can now synchronize your Keychain, Mail accounts, Mail filters between different Macs. But not the mail itself. That’s a shame. You can also have more .Mac mail accounts. And, some time soon, there’ll be .Mac exclusive Dashboard Widgets. I keep waiting for .Mac to be worth it beyond synchronizing Safari bookmarks, iCal, and Address Book.

Under The Hood. Tiger has plenty of goodies under the hood that will enhance security, dependability, and provide an extra platform for future application features. My favorites are Core Image and Core Video.

These two new features embed dozens of image and video processing features into Tiger so application developers can quickly bring them into their applications. By the end of 2005 you’ll see hundreds of applications with Core Image and Core Video features. Hundreds.

For now, check out Imaginator from Stone Studios.

Quirks? A few. I usually do a “clean” install (erase hard drive, install Tiger from scratch). As usual, that worked fine on both a PowerMac and a PowerBook. I also tried an “upgrade” install; installing directly over Panther.

To my surprise, that worked. However, a bunch of applications had glitches, and Tiger was notably slower than a “clean install” of Tiger so I installed again, and re-installed basic apps. No problems.

One PowerMac that’s used for video production gave me a kernel panic (ugly stuff on the screen) during an install of Photoshop CS. That Mac had a few extra Firewire and USB devices plugged in but I hadn’t updated the drivers. Once they were installed all was good. Again.

“Tiger is here. Longhorn continues to be stripped of major features and is NOT expected to hit the streets until end of 2006.”I had a few spinning beach balls using Spotlight, but it’s still faster than any other search I’ve seen.

So, should you get Tiger? Yes. It’s cheap fun, very secure, stable, dependable, and with enough eye candy to keep you busy for awhile. It feels snappier even on older Macs. Tiger and iLife ‘05 come bundled on the iMac mini which makes it the absolute bargain for a new computer.

Oh, iLife ‘05 does NOT come bundled in the Tiger upgrade package. You still need to shell out $79.

If you’ve been reading the press in the past month, you’re aware that nearly everyone loves Tiger. There are constant comparisons of Tiger to Microsoft’s Longhorn (the next version of Windows, possibly available by end of 2006).

Remember 18 months ago when Mac OS X Panther was announced? There were constant media comparisons of Panther to Longhorn. Panther has come and gone. Tiger is here. Longhorn continues to be stripped of major features and is NOT expected to hit the streets until end of 2006.

In the meantime, Microsoft has launched an unprecedented promotional campaign for Windows XP SP2. Over $200-million will be spent during the next 18 months to tout Windows.

Then, Microsoft will finally launch Longhorn (though it will probably be nothing more than Windows XP Service Pack 3 by then). Except that’s over 18 months away which gives Apple time to move ahead. Again.

Assuming that Apple doesn’t drop the kitty monicker altogether, I expect we’ll see an announcement of “SaberTooth” at Macworld 2006 with a launch scheduled for early 2007. About the same time as Longhorn.

How do you like my predictions so far? Here’s a few more.

Mac market share (however it’s calculated) will double by end of 2006. Linux market share will nearly double by end of 2006.

Microsoft will continue to miss revenue projections (happened already) and profit projects and the stock will continue to dwindle and drop.

Microsoft will be caught funding virus development against Mac OS X and Linux.

Apple will launch a Mac iBook “mini” with tablet screen technology. They’ll also launch a “media center Mac” which will be similar to the Mac mini. Oh, and you can expect an “iMovie Store” that works like iTunes Music Store.

All of this will take place between now and the Macworld of 2007 (barely 20 months away; and about the same time as the latest predictions say Longhorn will arrive).

What say you? How’s your Tiger experience so far? Any issues? What do you like about the major “eye candy” in Tiger? Share your thoughts and experiences with other readers and click Comments below.