I installed an Epson
USB2 flatbed scanner (Photo 2400 Perfection), this was a
non-event. I tried to find an application that I could
use with the scanner and couldn't find one easily. I
decided to just press the large highlighted scan button
and an Epson scanner application appeared. This allowed
full control of the scanner. One issue with the Epson
application was that I didn't know the scanner settings
were available for change until I un-maximised than
application and found there was actually a drawer for
this on the right side.
It was really a case of "just
plug it in", and it just worked.
I installed an Epson
USB printer (Epson Photo 830U), and just like the
scanner, it was a non event. Plug it in and try to print
something.
It was the only printer to have been
connected to the Powerbook so it was automatically used
as the default printer, I did not have to do
anything.
It was really a case of "just plug it in",
and it just worked.
If the
above sounds repetitive,
well, it's meant to. Just like the Logitech MX310 mouse
from Day 3, the printer and scanner just worked when
plugged in. I know this is not an OS, or hardware design
issue. It is just great deal making on behalf of Apple.
The Epson utility most likely came from Epson, and the
mouse driver, well, Logitech I guess. In any case,
anything plugged into a USB port works without
problem. Printer, storage device, scanner, mouse or
camera, it all works flawlessly.
I installed
"Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast" by Lucas Arts this
evening. Game was installed by dragging it to the folder
I wanted it in. Then to run the game double click on the
application icon.
I changed the settings to be
1024x768/32bit with shaders on, and everything set to
high. The game ran perfectly, no hiccups or slowdowns at
all.
Compare this to my experience with UT2004 which
is not at all playable, no matter what I do. I do
realise that "Jedi Knight 2" is not a very recent game,
still it pushes the Thinkpad A31 hard
(ATI 7500/32MB) and runs almost as well on the T40p
as it does on the Powerbook.
Framerates range from 30
to 100.
Update: a new version of
the demo was released fixing any performance issue I had with UT2004.
I also downloaded and installed Adobe's trial
versions for GoLiveCS, PhotoshopCS and InDesignCS. All
three installed simply and ran quickly.
I am really
getting the feeling that all software must be easy to
install on MacOSX. It's either drag and drop or it's a
matter of a few button clicks.
