.Mac-speak

NetWorks recently had the opportunity to interview Darren Sng, Apple’s Asia-Pacific product marketing manager for software. Based in Singapore, Darren is in charge of both .Mac and Mac OS X v10.2 for Asia.

The .Mac online service is Apple’s Web-based, pay-for-use suite of services that bundle Web-based e-mail, online storage for photos, movies and audio files as well as an assortment of utilities. NetWorks also took the opportunity to get more information on the new features of Mac OS X 10.2, also known as the "Jaguar."

NetWorks: Can you explain the concept behind the .Mac online service?

Sng: .Mac is a subscription-based, members-only service. It is a significant upgrade to the services found in iTools. (iTools was a free online service with some of .Mac’s basic services.) It provides five times more storage space (100MB) iDisk, 15MB of storage for Mac.com e-mail and enhanced features like anywhere-access Webmail, HomePage website hosting and group file sharing. .Mac also provides a suite of valuable new applications like Virex anti-virus and backup software. .Mac membership is designed to evolve. For example, iCal, that will be released later this year, will allow Mac OS X 10.2 users to manage and share their calendars online.

NetWorks: What benefits do Mac users have over PC users in terms of .Mac’s features? Are there existing Wintel PC-focused services that compete with .Mac or is this truly a unique online service?

Sng: Users of Mac OS X 10.2 will be able to enjoy even higher levels of integration with .Mac. For example, members are able to check their available iDisk storage and manage file sharing privileges without installing additional software. iPhoto users will also be able to publish their albums online with a single click. A soon-to-be released application called iCal will allow you to publish a calendar to .Mac for yourself, your family, group or community and subscribe for automatic updates.

While most of the individual services are not new, .Mac is a unique combination of services. .Mac members enjoy a Mac.com Email account boosting WebMail, IMAP, POP access with photo signatures. Additionally, membership includes Virex anti-virus software from McAfee and new backup software that backs up your data to iDisk, CD or DVD. .Mac also includes 100MB of storage space with an option to purchase more storage space, plus Homepage hosting and customizable iCard e-greetings. Individually, comparable products would cost you an estimated $260.

NetWorks: Is .Mac useful even to users with older, OS 9-based machines? Or is it fundamentally an OS X-compatible application?

Sng: Backup and iDisk Utility require Mac OS X. All other software and services, including Virex anti-virus, iDisk, Email, HomePage and iDisk, work in both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. iDisk and Mac.com Email also work with most Windows operating systems.

NetWorks: Which of the .Mac services, if any, will remain free to the public?

Sng: iCard will continue to remain a free service. Standard iCards may be sent without a .Mac membership. Custom iCards using your own images will require membership.

NetWorks: How do the .Mac features integrate into the iApps like iTunes and iPhoto?

Sng: iPhoto users will also be able to publish their albums online with a single click. You can also host your iMovies online. With a few simple steps, a QuickTime movie file can be exported and streamed using themes available from our standard libraries.

NetWorks: Will the .Mac online service have country-specific versions for countries in Asia?

Sng: There are no plans to have language-specific versions for countries in Asia, except for Japan.

NetWorks: What is the concept behind iCal? Can this be integrated into existing Palm-based handhelds?

Sng: iCal is a new calendar program with built-in Internet sharing that lets business users, consumers and educators manage multiple calendars, share them over the Internet and automatically keep them updated.

In addition, Apple’s new iSync application allows users to sync their iCal calendars with the new generation of Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, Palm OS devices and the iPod for access to their most current address books and calendars on the go.

NetWorks: How much does the .Mac service cost and what are included in the cost? Are there other services that will be added on in the near future?

Sng: Current iTools members can purchase a one-year .Mac membership for $49.95 (if purchased by Sept. 30). Standard charges ($99.95) will apply after the first year.

Customers who have already paid for an upgrade to their existing iTools account (for additional storage) will receive the first year of their .Mac membership at no charge. Normal charges ($99.95) will apply after the first year. iCal calendar hosting will be a new service that will be available to .Mac members when the application is released later this year.

NetWorks: What are the biggest improvements of OS X 10.2 Jaguar over its predecessors?

Sng: We have made significant changes to the core technology and made available new applications. Mac OS X 10.2 will run faster through the combination of upgrades to Darwin (Apple’s UNIX subsystem) and Quartz. The original Quartz graphics engine made Mac OS X the first and still the only desktop operating system to deliver composited Windows system.

Quartz Extreme accelerates the drawing of composited graphics by using the power of the Macintosh computer’s built-in graphics card, much as a game might. Everything on the screen – 2D graphics, 3D graphics and video – comes through the powerful Mac OS X OpenGL-based 3D graphics engine.

Mac OS X 10.2 also includes new exciting technology such as Rendezvous which lets you create an instant IP-based network of computers and devices without any configuration. This enhances the entire user experience when sharing files, printing to Rendezvous-enabled printers and connecting to third-party Rendezvous-enabled devices.

Compatibility with Windows is also enhanced, and Mac users can seamlessly share files with Windows-based PC over the network and vice versa.

Some of the other technologies that we have included in Mac OS X 10.2 are Inkwell, a handwriting recognition engine, Bluetooth and QuickTime 6 featuring MPEG-4 and AAC. We included iChat, an AIM-compatible instant messaging application, and we added an upgrade to the Mail application featuring an intelligent anti-SPAM engine.

NetWorks: Will most applications that run on previous versions of OS X work with the upgrade?

Sng: Yes. Most popular applications such as Microsoft Office v X, Adobe Photoshop 7, Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand and Dreamweaver MX will continue to run on version 10.2. Users are advised to check third-party websites for updates.

NetWorks: What are the minimum requirements to run Jaguar?

Sng: Mac OS X version 10.2 requires a Power Mac G3, G4, G4 Cube, iMac, PowerBook G3, G4 iBook or eMac computer; at least 128MB of physical RAM and a built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card.

Optionally, Quartz Extreme functionality is supported by the following video GPUs: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX, GeForce3, GeForce4 MX, or GeForce4 Ti or any AGP-based ATI RADEON GPU. A minimum of 16MB VRAM is required.

OS X does not support the original PowerBook G3 or processor upgrade cards. You can verify if your Mac meets the minimum system requirements at http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/requirements.html.

NetWorks: Apple seems to have taken interest in Bluetooth technology. Is this evident in Jaguar? What other applications for Bluetooth do you foresee for Macs?

Sng: Bluetooth support comes with all Mac OS X 10.2 installations. For example, you will be able to discover and pair Bluetooth devices from Mac OS X 10.2 without the need to install additional software. We also included a Bluetooth File Exchange application for you to transfer files between the Mac and Bluetooth devices.

Bluetooth support is also evident in our applications. For example, our upgraded address book supports caller ID and remote dialing and redirect calls to your Bluetooth-enabled phone.

A new application called iSync to be released in September will also allow users to synchronize address books and calendars, including iCal calendars, between Mac computers and the new generation of Bluetooth-enabled GPRS mobile phones.

NetWorks: Can you explain the Rendezvous feature?

Sng: Rendezvous empowers you to easily add an electronic device, like a computer or printer, to an existing network, or to create instant networks of multiple devices without any complex networking configuration. It also makes the services and capabilities of each device – like file sharing and printing – dynamically discoverable by other devices on the network.

But rather than focusing on the device alone, Rendezvous focuses its notification mechanism on the content you want to share. Devices can "advertise" share points for file sharing, playlists for music sharing, print queues for shared printers, and photo albums for picture sharing.

NetWorks: If a user upgrades to Jaguar, will he notice a change in speed or stability?

Sng: The differences in performance will vary from Mac to Mac and from user to user. In general, all users will find the Finder more responsive and file searches extremely zippy. Users working from time to time in Classic mode will find Mac OS 9 starting much faster in Mac OS X 10.2. Users with a 2X AGP and 16MB VRAM video card will experience three times faster windowing redraw.

We also included our new developer tools free with every copy of Mac OS X 10.2. One of them is the popular GNU C Compiler 3.1 which results in improved code generation and faster compilation. This is a real time-saver for all UNIX and Mac OS X developers.

Mac OS X 10.2 still retains most of its UNIX heritage and is as stable as version 10.1. The core operating system in Mac OS X, known as Darwin, is now based on FreeBSD 4.4 and Mach 3.0. With this upgrade, Mac OS X v10.2 features numerous kernel and library enhancements that improve the performance of multi-threaded and resource-intensive applications, and enhance Mac OS X network services, security, scripting languages and file sharing.

NetWorks: Now that Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia MX and other crucial applications have finally migrated to OS X, have many users upgraded?

Sng: Although I cannot share data on specific segments, we have shipped over 4.5 million copies of Mac OS X through MacWorld Expo New York in July 2002, and this makes us the number 1 UNIX vendor in the world. In January, we were so confident of Mac OS X and its acceptance that we have made it the default boot operating system on all new Macs shipped.