David Pogue has reviewed Jaguar for the New York Times (Subscription required, but free). He encourages readers not to be misled by the small version number increment. “This is a polished, innovative and — if such a term can be applied to something as nerdy as an operating system — exciting upgrade.”
He said that Mac OS X 10.2 is “generally as fast” as Mac OS 9 was, and faster in many respects too — helping to resolve a key complaint of past Mac OS X adopters who felt that previous versions were not as peppy as the single-digit Mac OS they left behind. Pogue called Sherlock 3 “one of the most useful” of the new features in Jaguar. Windows networking compatibility is also high on Pogue’s list of Jaguar benefits — he said that file transfer between networked Macs and PCs of this caliber used to cost Mac users a lot of extra money for third-party software.
While Pogue mentioned many of the new vaunted features of Jaguar — iChat, Rendezvous and more — he said that “it’s the little things” in Mac OS X that mean the most when you’re using it all the time. Consistent and easy-to-remember keyboard shortcuts, for example, and spring-loaded folders, a Mac OS 9 feature that’s finally back.
Pogue unabashedly recommended 10.2 for Mac users who have been waiting to upgrade, and said that Windows users “may not be so easily seduced,” despite Mac OS X 10.2’s many improvements. After all, PCs are still less expensive than Macs and Windows software is more abundant.
Noting that 10.2 still has some flaws like “abysmal” online help and a few minor bugs, Pogue called it “the best-looking, least-intrusive and most thoughtfully designed operating system” around. “You’re delighted that you installed it — and for a hunk of software in this day and age, even that’s quite an achievement,” he said.