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How extreme is Quartz Extreme? Is dumping the task
of drawing screen graphics to the video card really
going to increase performance? Um, YES.
Having messed around with Quartz Extreme for a while,
I've seen a significant performance boost in screen
redraw and performance from 10.1. The improvement
seems to be across the board - from iTunes visualizer
to OpenGL accelerated graphics to post-effect redraws
in Photoshop.
Aqua is Crystal Clear
Something you
may or may not immediately notice in Jaguar is
that Aqua looks a little cleaner, feels a little
crisper. It's not your imagination. Everything
is indeed clearer in OS X. Compare a button from
10.1 to 10.2 below
In layman's terms, Quartz Extreme renders every open
window as a texture in OpenGL and applies the textures
to simple polygons "floating" in your workspace
(I think - I don't pretend to be a graphics programmer,
just a designer and weekend gaming warrior). If I
understand the process correctly - the Quartz Extreme
workspace is actually a hybrid 2D/3D environment.
To really see the benefits of this technology, you'll
need a nice big video card. OpenGL acceleration used
to be the mainstay technology of 3D artists and gamers
- but Apple has redefined how OpenGL can be utilized
in a practical manner.
I have to admit, I was really intrigued as to why
Apple built a GeForce 2 MX card with 32MB RAM into
the flat panel iMacs - it was not enough card to entice
the hard core gamer, and way too much card for the
"just want to check email crowd." Now we
have the answer - those cards really speed up Jaguar
screen performance.
I tested Quartz Extreme on my PowerBook G4 with a
Radeon 7500 (32MB) and a Digital Audio G4 with a GeForce
3 (64MB) and an Apple Cinema Display. Not really having
a handy way to measure Quartz Extreme performance,
I am basically relying on overall performance impressions
and one Apple application that specifically uses a
lot of OpenGL acceleration - iTunes 3.
Under iTunes 3 - I ran four "tests" using
the visualizer at full screen on my PowerBook and
compared the FPS - frames per second screen rate:
Low quality visuals
OpenGL acceleration OFF
30 FPS
OpenGL acceleration ON
63 FPS
High quality visuals
OpenGL OFF
24 FPS
OpenGL ON
55 FPS
Obviously OpenGL acceleration speeds up the screen
redraw process. The biggest difference you'll notice
is that windows, screen refresh and genie effects
REALLY move in Jaguar. The animations are smooth and
easy on the eyes, and everything just seems a lot
snappier. Part of this is because the graphics card
GPU (graphics processing unit) is handling the workload
- which also theoretically opens up the computer's
processor to handle more critical operations.
There also must be updated OpenGL drivers in Jaguar,
because I picked up around 20 FPS in most of the games
I could compare. Return to Castle Wolfenstein picked
up a little over 30 extra FPS, which hasn't hurt my
accuracy with the Sten a bit...
I wish I had better numbers for you - but I'm not
much of a techie in any sense. I can tell you that
with a good graphics card, you will see a very noticeable
jump in screen performance in Jaguar.
Inkwell
Aside from better display performance, Inkwell handwriting
recognition was the other feature that really got
me drooling about 10.2. Does it deliver? Yes and No,
as it turns out...
It is very easy to get started with Inkwell, but
it takes a little effort to get used to the process.
I spent some time getting really frustrated before
I figured a couple of things out - this might save
you some time. For the love of Pete - don't click
on Help unless you have ALL DAY - as Help in Jaguar
runs slower than molasses rendered in Windows in January.
First off: turn it on. If (and only if) you have
a tablet hooked up to your Mac, the Ink panel will
appear in the System Preferences. Click the panel
and then choose "turn Handwriting recognition
on." You will then want to experiment with the
rest of the settings during your own experience, depending
on how well the handwriting recognition works for
you.
However, I have to recommend setting Ink to "only
allow you to write in the InkPad." I found that
freestyle writing on the desktop is not only impractical
- it's annoying. If you are trying to use the tablet
in Photoshop or Illustrator (or whatever) it won't
let you use the tablet as a brush - it will just try
to capture handwriting.
Writing (above) in InkPad,
and the rendered text (below).
When you turn on handwriting recognition - a floating
window will appear on the desktop. The first icon
in the window should look like a mouse arrow. I'd
leave that button alone - it will toggle between drawing
in InkPad and drawing anywhere.
The next few icons should look a little familiar
- they will allow you to modify text with Command,
Shift, Option and Control keys. The little "pad"
icon opens the InkPad - which is what we want to do.
Once InkPad is open, you can write in the pad with
the tablet tool, and Ink will attempt to convert your
handwriting to text. Use block letters, as cursive
tends to result in gibberish.
I've had great results when using block letters,
even with my serial killer handwriting. The only problem
I have is that my letters are sometimes interpreted
in the wrong case.
Once the type is rendered, you can push the buttons
at the bottom of the page to either clear the text
- or send the text to an application. To Send text
- just place a mouse text cursor in any application
where you want the text to appear, and click send.
Used in this manner, I've found Inkwell to be fairly
handy on occasion.
You can also click the "star" button in
the lower left corner to actually draw in InkPad -
and then send your drawing to applications that can
accept graphic data. It's a small resolution image,
but it looks nice.
Right now, Ink appears to be a little more gimmicky
than useful, but the potential is there for robust
and practical handwriting recognition.
Generally, the features in 10.2 are quite impressive.
With a nice video card, you will see visible improvements
in display performance - and the tablet stuff is fun.
Check back next week, as I'll cover administration
features of 10.2 and 10.2 Server as it shows up in
my lab.
Stuffit
7 (10-18-02) Dr. Neale Monks. What purpose does file compression have
in this day of 100 GB hard drives? Is version 7 worthy of the upgrade fees?
Fireworks
MX (10-8-02) Dean Browell. Fireworks is more than just a pretty face;
The last app I needed to convert entirely to OS X delivers in upgrades and
features as well...
Dreamweaver
MX (10-8-02) Joel Davies. Not being satisfied with just carbonizing it's
product, Macromedia made sure that Dreamweaver MX was the killer app for web
design.
SliMP3
(9-6-02) Pat St-Arnaud. The SliMP3 is a small, simple and elegant network
devices that connects to any audio component with RCA inputs and lets you
browse, search and play music directly from your computer's MP3 collection.
Voyager
III v.3 (8-16-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Carina's Voyager is the grandfather
of Mac planetarium programs, but does it still have what it takes to keep
up the current generation?
CodeWarrior
8 (8-16-02) Douglas A. Welton. Doug dives into the latest version of this
robust multi-platform programming tool.
STM
Sports Backpack (8-9-02) Pierre Igot. How will this backpack designed
for the "global digerati" stack up when Pierre puts it to the test
with his mobile digital lifestyle?
Scope
Driver (8-2-02) Dr. Neale Monks. An alternative to the 'point and click'
telescope control paradigm: a powerful list-based utility for Autostar and
LX200 telescopes.
Apple
Final Cut Pro 3.0 (7-19-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate reviews the video-editing
powerhouse Final Cut Pro 3 and sizes up its competition. Does Final Cut Pro
3 hold its ground?
Strata
DVpro RME (7-16-02) Matt Frederick. Matt Frederick. Matt takes a comprehensive
look at Strata DVpro, Strata's pro-level non-linear editor for digital video.
Stargazer's
Delight (6-28-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Looking for a viable shareware alternative
to the big commercial astronomy software packages? Neale may have found one.
TheSky
(6-21-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Neale takes a look at the easiest to use planetarium
program for the Mac.
NI
FM7 (6-21-02) Matt Frederick. Matt takes this software replica of Yamaha's
DX7 synthesizer for a test drive.
The
Digital Universe (6-14-02) Neale Monks. Planetarium program, astronomy
encyclopaedia and space flight simulator all rolled into one - could The Digital
Universe be the ClarisWorks of astronomy software? Neale Monks takes a look.
After
Effects 5.5 (5-31-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate reviews the OS X native
version of After Effects and likes what he sees.
InDesign
2.0 for Non-Professional Designers (5-24-02) Pierre Igot. In the second
part of our review of Adobe InDesign 2.0 for Mac OS X, Pierre Igot looks at
InDesign from the point-of-view of the non-professional designer - and finds
plenty to like.
Corel
Graphics Suite, Part 2 (5-24-02) Dean Browell. CorelDraw returns in full
force and Corel R.A.V.E makes its debut.
Corel
Graphics Suite, Part 1 (5-17-02) Dean Browell. CorelDraw is back, and
it's brought some powerful friends that makes this Suite worth the look...
OmniGraffle
2.0 (5-10-02) András Puiz. Analog napkins are so 20th century --
this gem from OmniGroup knows (almost) all about diagramming. András
Puiz wishes all Mac developers developed a similar understanding of Aqua,
and of Mac OS X in general.
Watson
(5-03-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate discovers a 'Swiss Army Knife' for OS X...
it's called Watson.
