The macosxhints Rating:
[Score: 8 out of 10]
- Developer: Apple / [Product Page]
Yes, I've chosen this week's WWDC as the Pick of the Week. I had some software candidates at hand, but after watching the keynote and the press and user response this week, I felt it was only fitting to select WWDC as the PotW for its impact on the future of the platform -- as measured by announcements of Apple software, Apple hardware, and other related stuff.
I don't do a lot of (any?) editorializing on the site, but there are some things I'd like to say about the WWDC announcements. If you'd rather not read my editorial, don't read the rest of the article -- just stop now, knowing that I believe this week's WWDC is well deserving of its PotW status. But if you'd like to know why I feel that way, read on...
On the consumer software front, iChat AV is a truly breakthrough application on the Mac. With but a few button clicks, you can be having audio-only or full video conferences with users around the world. I've used it quite a bit this week, and if there are two broadband connections in place, the quality of both the audio and video is quite impressive. I can see iChat AV selling a few Macs on its own to non-Mac users, to people such as my father who might like it to keep in touch with a couple of the family members! The Safari web browser reached version 1.0, and the new Pixlet codec seems like a revolutionary piece of work as well.
On the system software front, Panther seems to be shaping up to be a top-notch evolution in the OS X product family. Though I'm not keen on the name, Exposé looks to be somewhat of a revolution in managing the multitude of windows we all handle every day, and the rewritten Finder is something I'm definitely looking forward to using! Add in the reworked networking features, fast user switching, a speedier Preview, and other enhancements, and Panther looks like a winner.
For developers (which I'm not, by any stretch!), Xcode looks to be a great time saver in the development process, with features like distributed builds and the ability to make changes in running code. I've got no idea how it compares to CodeWarrior, but it seems Apple is trying to make the OS X development cycle as easy as possible.
Finally, and by far (to me) the most significant, was the rollout of the G5 PowerMacs. I've been a Mac user for a very long time -- my first box was a Macintosh II -- and I don't think I can recall a performance improvement as dramatic as what we're (apparently) about to see with the G4 -> G5 migration in the high-end desktops. Although both 68K to PowerPC and G3 to G4 transitions had some speed bumps, they were mainly about making technical changes at the chip level (RISC vs. CISC, Altivec, etc.). The new G5 machines, even in the single CPU varieties, seem to offer an amazing increase in performance, and at relatively good price points.
As an example, my single-CPU G4/733 with a GeForce3 card in it sold for something around $3,750 just 2.5 years ago. The new dual 2.0ghz G5 with similar features is around $800 less expensive, despite having a faster Superdrive, faster hard drives, comparable video card, greatly increased RAM capabilities, and tremendously improved motherboards with lightning-fast bus speeds and other architecture improvements. The fact that it's quieter is almost the most amazing fact, given the presence of the dual CPUs! Yes, there's always a feeling Apple could do more on pricing, but I think they've priced the machines in a competitive manner for their customers.
The fact that PC users are now looking at the benchmark results and finding ways to make their machines come out on top tells me that Apple is actually finally close to having a machine that has no speed deficit against the competition -- and I'm not sure I've ever felt that way about the Mac product line. The G5s really do help level the playing field.
In the "related stuff" category, the most interesting announcement is that there are now over 300,000 registered OS X developers. As of March 2001, that figure was only "over 10,000," according to Apple themselves. Even discounting that there are a large number of free online-only developers who want the Dev Tools downloads, this is a substantial increase in the developer population in only two short years. To me, this is the single WWDC announcement that best indicates that the Mac platform is alive and well -- and we should see quite a lot of new software in the future as those developers start producing code!
In short, after this week's WWDC, I'm more excited about the future of the Mac than I have been at any point that I can recall. We may not be the majority, but I think our ranks are growing, and will continue to grow, thanks to OS X and Apple's incredible touch with physical design.
So why only 8 out of 10? I docked the WWDC two points -- I wanted immediate G5 availability, and I wanted Panther by September or so :-).
And now, back to your regularly scheduled hints :-).
-rob.

