Mac OS X, Apple's next-generation operating system, debuted to great enthusiasm, but ultimately left users wanting more: more speed, more applications, more usefulness. Sure, it looked pretty, but you had to boot up into OS 9 when it came time to do some real work. That has all changed with the recent release of Mac OS X 10.1.

Improvements across the board within the operating system and support from numerous vendors have made OS X a viable upgrade. Internal improvements have brought the performance and reliability up to professional levels, while software from such vendors as Canon, Epson, and Hewlett-Packard make compatible a wide variety of printers and scanners. As soon as 10.1 was released, we upgraded our Dual G4/450 with nothing but positive results. With multiple hard drives on our system, we're able to dedicate drives for booting into either OS 9 or OS X, thus ensuring backward compatibility.

However, since upgrading over a month ago, the only times we've needed to boot into OS 9 was for using a FireWire card reader (for reading compact flash cards from a digital camera) and only because the drivers aren't yet available. But you don't need a high-speed G4 to use 10.1. It's now become the default OS on our PowerBook G3/400 (FireWire model), responding quickly and running reliably. Airport networking works flawlessly, and Internet and intranet access is rock solid.

In addition to performance improvements, Apple has added DVD-video playback. Since OS X is a true multitasking operating system, you haven't really watched a DVD until you've made it a half-size window in the background while checking e-mail, shopping at Amazon.com, and copying files at the same time--without skipping a frame. iTunes for OS X will play and encode music, as well as burn audio CDs using an internal or external CD-R/RW drive. If you need to burn data CDs, simply insert a blank disc. OS X will detect it, and ask how you'd like to format it: Mac/PC data or audio CD?

Additional improvements in AppleScripting, a customizable dock, video card and printer drivers, and networking add to the appeal. One important missing feature is the ability to print to a remote USB printer. With OS 9, Apple included the USB Printer Sharing control panel, which allowed remote Macs to print to any USB-connected printer on a local Mac. This worked flawlessly for us when printing from our PowerBook to an Epson 1280 connected to our G4. However, there seems to be no such facility for printing to remote USB printers under OS X. Aside from that, OS X 10.1 on a contemporary Mac is a solid performer and a glimpse of how things ought to work.--Mike Caputo