天佑的自由天地

雖然本人並不是一個 Mac 用家，但一直以來，我都是很認同 Mac OS 的那一套，介面華麗之餘，又真正方便用家，例如之前 Mac OS X 10.3 Panther 的 Exposé，到現在 Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger 的 Dashboard，Spotlight － 功能等同 Microsoft Longhorn 備有搜尋功能的檔案系統 WinFS（但已經確定延期，不能及時嵌入 Longhorn ）等，都是完全為用家而設，而 Microsoft Windows 不論在功能及介面上都是一直跟著 Mac OS 走的，如今一個資深的 Windows 用家 Paul Thurrott ，亦他寫的一篇 Windows Longhorn Build 5048 Review 中寫了以下一段說話，可見 Mac OS 的確有它的一套，當然如果想了解多些 Windows Longhorn 的話亦都可以看看這篇評論． :P

I have to be honest here. After a year without a single new Longhorn build and very little concrete information about what was going on with the project, I had high expectations for build 5048. And a pre-WinHEC briefing with the software giant did nothing to assuage those hopes. Plus, I've seen advanced Longhorn UI work and I knew how cool this thing was going to be.

Build 5048 communicates none of that. And that's a shame, because Microsoft had a chance to ramp up the momentum of a product that, quite frankly, could use a little momentum. On the one hand, we have Windows XP with SP2, which many people describe as "good enough," a phrase that will haunt Microsoft for years to come as it tries to foist new Windows and Microsoft Office versions on them with decreasing success. On the other hand, I present the competition, Linux and Mac OS X. The Linux market may be convoluted and disjointed, but Linux, too, is "good enough," and it's free, along with "good enough" applications like OpenOffice.org and better Web browsers, like Firefox.

It gets worse. Apple's Mac OS X, recently upgrade to version 10.4 ("Tiger," see my review) is more than "good enough." In many ways, OS X is simply better than Windows, especially for experienced computer users, and Tiger rubs Microsoft's nose in the embarrassment of shipping a key Longhorn feature--instant desktop search--a full year ahead of the software giant. That's right folks. We already knew that Microsoft was facing smaller, nimbler competitors. But those competitors are now starting to outperform Microsoft in the feature department too. It's time for Redmond to stop pretending Linux and OS X don't exist.

Anyway, Longhorn build 5048 is pretty boring. That it's boring by design doesn't make me much happier. I do know that the company will add back major new functionality in time for Beta 1 (currently scheduled for June 30, 2005, but you know how those release dates have a way of slipping) and then again for Beta 2 (a nebulous release that Microsoft will not commit a date to). But sitting here in early May 2005, surveying the state of Longhorn, it's not pretty. Longhorn build 5048 is a disappointment. Here's what I found out about this build during a busy week of testing.