Desktop computers may never be ready for prime time. Back in the early '80s, they didn't do enough for anyone but hobbyists to use them, and now they create complex ecosystems that only the very patient can navigate. Meanwhile, there's that huge swathe of people who Just Want Things to Work. People don't expect their phones to crash. People don't debug their phones. Well, okay, they do with the new crop of phones that run Java apps, but you get the idea: we want seamless experiences.
This week I installed Mac OS X Panther, and there were enough teething problems for me to wonder how people at large are coping with administering their own desktop systems. For instance, under Panther, my inkjet printer is no longer supported by either its manufacturer, Apple or the open source GIMP Print project. I knew this before I installed, but was certain I'd figure something out. And after many hours of research, I did come up with quite an elegant solution: I had to get a hold of Acrobat Reader 4 for OS9, and place an alias of it in a new directory, "/Library/PDF Services", so I can seamlessly open -- from the Print dialog box -- a PDF of the document I want to print in the Classic compatibility layer, which does support my printer. But I noticed that after opening Acrobat in Classic, my Mac would slow down appreciably. I opened up Panther's new integrated Activity Monitor, and noticed that when Acrobat's open and doing nothing, it chews up %30 of the system-wide CPU usage. Same with the otherwise excellent NetNewsWire. So I'm sure to close Acrobat when I'm done printing, and I've replaced NetNewsWire with Shrook, which is much less of an attention-seeker, and can also export RSS newsfeeds to my iPod (yay!). All very good. But unless they like pottering around with this kind of shite like I do, how are people supposed to figure this kind of stuff out?
Update: NetNewsWire's CPU leakage problem has been fixed in the latest version. But I'm still sticking with the iPod-tastic Shrook.
Things That Work — oh yeah. Earlier this year my iBook actually connected to a server and found the printer all by itself the first time I tried it. I didn’t have to hunt around for anything. I was amazed. It’s the only time that has EVER happened. That’s when I decided I really liked OSX. But have they broke it again with Panther?
It’s the manufacturer’s responsibility to write drivers, but when an OS’s frameworks are being updated every year, you begin to wonder. To be fair, when the drivers do work for you, it’s great — with Panther, Apple have incorporated the open source GIMP Print stuff seamlessly, so the stuff written by volunteers to ensure compatibility with old printers looks like it’s part of the system.