[iBook] Hello, I am new to the list.

[sloppyagape at christian.net]

> On 10/3/04 6:46 PM, "S. Douglass" <sloppyagape at christian.net> wrote:
> 
> > I have heard mixed reports on Jaguar for the 700mhz iBook.
> >
> Ayah? Compared to what? OS 9 diehards who have nothing good to say
> about any
> iteration of OS X? Jag was the first rock solid version of OS X
> available
> and I've installed it on machines as old as the original iMac and
> iBook.
> >
> > I see a couple of places where I could buy it cheap (And several
> folks have
> > offered to send me disks, many thanks) and I know I could get a hold
> of it
> > one way or another, but several folk have told me to avoid Jag on
> the G3
> > iBooks. Many have said it slows it down, reduces the battery life,
> and has
> > very poor video performance. How are all of your experiences with
> it?
> 
> Again, compared to what, OS 9? The simple truth is OS X feels and
> looks less
> snappy when compared to OS 9. It is also true that OS X boots slower
> than OS
> 9 but it is also tons more stable than OS 9. One day I noticed my
> uptime Jag
> on the iBook was close to 90 days so out of cussedness and curiosity I
> bypassed a security update and a Jag update so I wouldn't have to
> restart.
> Finally gave in at 101 days. Given that kind of stability who cares if
> it
> boots slower? And yes, battery life with OS X hasn't reached OS 9
> standards
> but I can't say it made that huge a difference for me.
> 
> > People
> > keep telling me to save up and spring for Panther and don't waste my
> time
> > with Jag. Last time I tried OSX was the very first release and I
> hated it.
> > It's grown up some and matured, and I think with a new machine, I am
> ready
> > to try it. I know nothing about it, other then what I have read at
> various
> > tech forums. One thing seems constant, and that's avoid Jaguar. Is
> it really
> > all that bad?
> >
> I really don't know where you are reading that Jaguar is bad. It
> isn't. I
> repeat - it was the first stable and really usable version of OS X. If
> you
> can afford Panther, sure, go for it. But if you can't, get Jag by all
> means.
> 
> david
> 
> 
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> 


That's actually very helpful. Thank you. 

Most of what I read about Jag is as follows. With the G3 finder response is glacially slow at times. In some applications there is typing lag. A general feeling of sluggishness. It's CPU intensive, which eats the battery a bit. Memory management is not as good as it could be so it accesses the hard drive a good bit then it needs to. (I hear Panther fixes this, is that true?) These seem to be the general gist of the serious complaints. There are lots of personal beefs as well, and yes, many are from the die hard "OS9er is so much finer" crowd. 

But hearing about 100+ days of uptime... For all the griping and complaining, very few people mention the perks, unless they are trying to convert somebody from Windows. When talking to a fellow Mac user, there is generally nothing good to say because most folks assume said Mac user already knows. I have heard very little of the perks and would love to hear more. 

I will confess, I hesitate to upgrade to a new OS. Every time I have done so I have suffered somehow. Upgrading to System 7... Ouch. Some updates helped, others hurt. System 7.5... Double ouch. Updating to OS8. Ew. Eeew. Lots of eye candy, looked great... But issues. OS8.1 fixed most of my gripes. 8.5 and later 8.6 where just about the only instance I can't recall being injured in migration. OS9 had some hiccups I was none to pleased with. But I upgraded and tweaked my system to where it is rock solid and stable as can be. (Or was, before my iMac started going down hill.) I am wary of OSX. Is more then an expansion of the old OS, it's an evolution. And I am most likely biased. The first version of OSX drove me away. I just hated it. 

I am starting to see things I like, things that I had always wished had been there. I just hope that it finally feels somewhat "Maclike."