OS updates 'optional'
by Alan Zisman
(c) 1999. First
published in Toronto Computes,
August
1999
The Macintosh and Windows operating systems both stem
from visits made
by Apple?s Steve Jobs and Microsoft?s Bill Gates to the Xerox Parc
research
lab. There, they were able to see then-new technologies like the mouse
and now standard user interface features like resizeable windows,
icons,
and menus.
With the same ancestry, it should be no surprise that
these two siblings
have been developing on parallel courses ever since, and in recent
releases
have more and more come to resemble one another.
Now, even their timing of new releases seems to be
happening in sync.
Both Apple and Microsoft, for example, seem to be
planning late 1999
for major operating system releases?with both OS X and Windows 2000
looking
to be big changes that will require many users to upgrade their
hardware.
And both companies chose this Spring to release more
modest updates
to their present mass-market operating systems.
Apple beat Microsoft in releasing OS 8.6. As the
number suggests, this
is a relatively minor change to OS 8.5, and is available as a free
download
or $30 CD (www.apple.com/macos)?but only for the approximately 3.6
million
Mac owners who are currently using the previous version. At least
initially,
if you run earlier Mac OS versions, you?ll need to upgrade first to
8.5,
and then get the free upgrade to 8.6. (The new version should be
shipping,
pre-installed, on new Macs by the time you read this).
The most talked-about new feature in OS 8.5 was the
Sherlock search
engine?offering speedy hard drive searches combined with natural
language
searching a variety of Web sites. The upgrade lets you search the
content
of HTML pages and Adobe Acrobat PDF documents stored on your local
drives.
As well, it adds over 25 more Sherlock plug-ins (most available
separately),
adding the ability to search Amazon.com, CNN Interactive, Rolling
Stone,
and more. (There?s talk that Apple would like to make Sherlock the
easiest
way to comparison-shop on the Web?with Apple getting a commission from
each resulting purchase).
Powerbook owners will be pleased to get improvements
of up to 37% in
their computers? battery life, along with the ability to use popular
cell
phone models from Ericsson, Nokia, and more for wireless email and Web
connections.
DVD-RAM, USB and Firewire device support is improved.
The newest version
of Macintosh Runtime for Java is included (also available separately).
Enhancements to Apple?s Game Sprockets technology should make the Mac
more
appealing to game developers. Finally, hidden ?under the hood?
improvements
allow Apple to promise improved system stability.
As I write, Microsoft?s next-generation release of
Windows 98 has been
sent to manufacturing but has not yet officially hit the streets?it
should
be available as you read this.
Windows 98 Second Edition, like OS 8.6, is a
relatively minor upgrade
to the previous version?in this case, Windows 98. Like Apple?s upgrade,
it will be offered as an easy upgrade to current users?either a free
download
(lacking the new features) or a cheap CD. Unlike OS 8.6, Microsoft has
also announced plans to sell a full version that can be used by current
Win 3.1 or Win95 owners to upgrade to the latest version?for the same
price
as the existing Windows 98 version.
Like Apple?s new version, W98SE promises updates in
hardware support?in
this case, Firewire, Device Bay, and cable and ADSL modems. And all the
bug and security fixes that have been made available to Win98 users via
the Windows Upgrade feature, along with other downloadable features
like
Internet Explorer 5 and the latest DirectX version.
The big new feature will be of most interest to users
with home and
small business networks?Internet Connection Sharing. Like proxy server
or gateway software available from a number of other companies, ICS
lets
multiple users on a small network share a single Internet
connection?whether
a dial-up connection, or a networked connection via a cable or ADSL
modem.
When installed, networked machines can all connect to the Internet via
the IP address of a single, connected host-machine?forcing that machine
to dial-in, if required.
Bigger business networks will welcome improvements to
Virtual Private
Networking, tightened encryption, improved high-speed ATM networking
support,
and Wake-on-LAN, allowing the network to revive ?sleeping?
workstations.
Both these upgrades promise nice enhancements, but
nothing vital for
most users. If you?re getting a new system, you should make sure you
get
the latest operating system version already installed. If you have need
for some of the new features?the enhancements to Sherlock or Internet
Connection
Sharing, for example?then be sure to get a copy. But if your current
system
is working as advertised, upgrading to OS 8.6 or Windows 98 Second
Edition
should be considered strictly optional.