pple Computer's Mac OS 8.0, available this week, is f
aster than its predecessor and has a prettier face. But other than some interesting bundled software and minor technical improvements, it's substantially similar to Mac OS 7.x. Also, users of older Apple systems won't be able to take advantage of the new operating system-it runs only on PowerPC and Motorola 68040-based systems.
Mac OS 8 is still a cooperative multitasking operating system, like Mac OS 7.x, so it doesn't multitask programs or utilize virtual memory as effectively as a preemptive multitasking operating system such as Windows 95 or Solaris. Users will have to wait another six months to a year for the merged Next system release, called Rhapsody, for a preemptive multitasking operating system with a high-performance virtual memory subsystem.
The major technical change in the Mac OS with this release is a new PowerPC-native Mac OS Finder-the user-interface portion of Mac OS. The Finder is now multithreaded, which lets it handle a number of file operations at once.
A new Web Sharing feat
ure lets users share the contents of any directory on their system over the Web simply by enabling the capability through the Control Panel. Once the feature is turned on, anyone on the Internet or intranet can access the user-specified directory with a Web browser. Access is limited to the directory contents and can be set on a per-file basis by using the standard Macintosh file-sharing permissions-permissions are read-only by default.
One problem with the Web Sharing feature is that there's no way for a user or administrator to set the MIME types for documents and applications. Some file types may not be recognized by Web browsers unless DOS-like file extensions are added, for example, .DOC for Microsoft Word files.
Mac OS 8 also includes the Mac OS Runtime for Java, a Java virtual machine. While bundling a VM is a step in the right direction, the Runtime for Java VM is hardly state of the art-it's more of a features-list checkoff item than something useful for end users. It's a slower interpreter
instead of a JIT (just-in-time) compiler, and is only at the Java 1.02 level. Apple should be releasing Mac OS Runtime for Java 1.5 by the end of summer with a JIT compiler, though still at the 1.02 level-a 1.1 version is not expected until the fall.
The Mac OS Runtime for Java includes an Applet Runner application that interprets and runs Java applets on the desktop. Java applets can also be treated as OpenDoc components, and can be dragged and dropped directly into OpenDoc documents using the OpenDoc Editor.
Netscape Navigator 3.02 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.01 are both included on the Mac OS 8 CD-ROM-Navigator is the default browser installed with the operating system. America Online 3.01, Apple's Cyberdog 2.0 for OpenDoc, and Claris Emailer Lite 1.1 for E-mail are also included.
Big Memory Minimums
System 8 requires a PowerPC or 68040 CPU. Older Macintosh models, which have 68000, 68020, or 68030 CPUs, can't run the new system. Mac OS 8 also has a huge minimum memory re
quirement of 12 Mbytes of RAM plus 8 Mbytes more of virtual memory; 32 Mbytes of RAM is probably a sensible minimum. A full install of all the optional components creates a System Folder of close to 100 Mbytes.
Multimedia users should take a shine to Apple's support for the "Firewire" IEEE 1394 Serial Bus standard, which is supported in Mac OS 8. The Universal Serial Bus standard is not supported, though software support could be added by third parties. Apple representatives say they are considering future Mac OS support for USB.
Compatibility with existing applications is excellent. The main area of incompatibility is the new Finder, although any application that uses the standard system calls shouldn't have problems. Despite the good application compatibility, though, sites should probably wait for the Mac OS 8.1 release before upgrading.
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pple Computer's Mac OS 8.0, available this week, is f
aster than its predecessor and has a prettier face. But other than some interesting bundled software and minor technical improvements, it's substantially similar to Mac OS 7.x. Also, users of older Apple systems won't be able to take advantage of the new operating system-it runs only on PowerPC and Motorola 68040-based systems.
