A couple of weeks ago, I had acquired a copy of the pre-release version of Apple's upcoming upgrade to OSX called Tiger. I installed it on my iBook G3 and I've been using it almost everyday since. I had planned to write a lengthy review of the update but it would seem Paul Thurrott (of WinSuperSite.com fame) has taken the words out of my mouth. Thurrott and I share almost the exact same view on Tiger. You can read the review here.

A couple things I'd like to point out are:
1. The update that will 'change the way you use a computer' (Apple's words) is essentially a couple of new programs (Automater will probably suffer the same fate as Sherlock).
2. The two new 'programs' are nothing new. Spotlight is Google Desktop Search and Dashboard is Konfabulator.
3. I prefer Konfabulator's method of widget display. Why hide the apps that are supposed to be small and provide information at the twitch of the eye? It's a rather unnecessary step that proves that cool equals better for Apple (even if that's not the case). Oh and only being able to access USA specific information is annoying. I suspect they will fix that in the final release.
3. Safari's RSS support is nice but I use NewsFire which I just love.
4. My god, can Apple decide on a visual style for their UI's? I'm sorry but the buttons in the Mail 2 app are just nasty. It looks like the cheap knock-offs that others create when they want 'that cool glossy look.' The OS is turning into a Dashboard/Konfabulator UI style where every application looks different from the last.

In conclusion, I don't really think this is worth the $150 upgrade price tag. And I certainly don't think it should have been compared to Longhorn in Apple's advertising campaigns. But hey, that's just me. I'm sure every Mac owner will be running Tiger soon enough. Let me know what you think.

I just added a couple of items to the portfolio section of my site (which is actually called 'work' in the HTML version). They are the result of the volunteer time I've been doing for TakingITGlobal.org lately. The map application is still going to be getting some new features in the next couple weeks.

This past weekend I was at FlashInTheCan (FITC) 2005 conference. I wasn't planning on going but Engage managed to score some free tickets (thank you Macromedia!). As usual, the presentations were great for inspiration. And some of the more technical presentations left me thinking that I should start 'looking outside the box' when trying to solve coding problems (don't think I can go as far as neural-net processing a-la Branden Hall).

Oh ya, going two weeks without internet at home is a real pain in the ass. I should be back up and running on Sunday though.