Daniel SwartzTiger Features: 11-24
Since I am not a programmer of Apple Script, this is an item I will pass over for now, and contain whatever reviews I can give later on. Instead I will move onto Aqua, where I am more familiar. I now continue on with features 11-24, as listed in the features page on Apple.com:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/newfeatures/over200.html
Aqua
20. Calculator Widget: “Perform basic calculations right from the Dashboard with the Calculator Widget.”
Nothing special here. The level of complexity in this calculator is about the same as a 25 cent calculator, performing only simple functions. If you want a more sophisticated calculator, use the Calculator program in the Applications folder. This calculator contains Basic, Scientific and Programmer levels as well as many other features. But for just basic arithmatic, this is your calculator.
21. Dashboard Keyboard Activation Preference: “Easily change the default key that activates the Dashboard.”
I think Apple stretches the ‘200 new features’ boast, as some features as this already existed in Panther and before. While Dashboard didn’t exist until Tiger, changing keyboard preferences certainly existed before Tiger. So this is a bit of a cheat, I believe, on Apple’s part to include this in the list of 200 features.
To access the Dashboard preferences, go to the System Preferences window and select Dashboard & Expose in the Personal section of the window. In the Keyboard Shortcuts area, you can change the key to access Dashboard as well as select a screen corner to activate it as well. You can also access the Dashboard preferences from the Dashboard icon in the Dock. Simply hold down the mouse button for a second, after which a select menu appears with the option to select the Dashboard preferences.
22. Dashboard: “Access mini-applications called Widgets with just the touch of a key ‚Äî everything from a calculator and stock tracker to weather report and address book.”
In touting Tiger, Dashboard has been one of the major features that Apple has been highlighting. Dashboard is a program, but it’s basically a program of many little programs. Each of these little programs is called a widget, which is basicaly a mini helper application. Dashboard comes with a set of widgets pre-installed, such as weather, flight tracker, stock quotes, address book, unit converter, translator, dictionary, iTunes, a small game, a clock, and a date book, all very useful on their own. But one can install many more widgets and can be found here:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/dashboard/
Many of the widgets there are free, but there are several there that are both shareware and programs to purchase.
Some widgets that I recommend are:
I find Dashboard to be a very nice program, as most of the widgets are useful and very easy to access on a moment’s notice. I have noticed though on occasion that sometimes when I have accessed Dashboard, there has been a slight moment of blank screened widgets. It’s not clear why this happens, as the program opens up instantly, but for a short moment I have a series of blank squares where the programs normally appear. Perhaps it’s accessing information online, I don’t know. It’s not such an annoyance, but something I’ve noticed after a few days of using it.
23. Calendar Widget: “Quickly view the current day, date, week and month.”
I know I said that just about all the widgets within Dashboard are very useful, but I am not so sure about this calendar widget. I think the widget actually looks nice and slick and is nice to look at if you need a nice interface to find the date and month you’re in. However, I find this is a bit inconsistent. iTunes has it’s own little widget in which one can change music and lists and the Address Book has a widget in which one can search for information. My gut feeling told me when I first saw this widget that it was tied in witih iCal. It would make sense to me to click on a particular day and have iCal information show up in a small space below the calendar. But, this isn’t the case, and I’m sure I can go on living my life with a great sense of satisfaction.
24. Dictionary Application: “Look up troublesome words in a new dictionary and thesaurus system application based on The New Oxford American Dictionary.”
This is one of the most useful widgets for me, as I love the fact that I can have the Oxford American Dictionary at my fingertips just by punching F12 to launch Dashboard. This widget also has a companion standalone program that Apple has installed with the machine. Both seem to be pretty identical. It has a very elegant user interface and respond instantly to word searches. I hope widgets like this come out for dictionaries in other languages.
I hope you have found this useful. The next five will be up next for inspection.
Daniel
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