Apparently kids are getting headaches from spending too much continuous time reading the latest installment in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series. Frankly, I think this is the highest form of compliment to Rowling, and a nice counterattack to the childhood obesity epidemic that has solid roots in kids spending too much continuous time watching TV, using computers, and playing video games.

I'm watching game six of the World Series. It's the top of the ninth, and the Yankees are trailing 2-0. Three more outs and the series goes to Florida...

I've been playing with Mac OS X 10.3, Panther, which I purchased last night and installed on my 600MHz iBook. I've been anticipating this release for a long time, and my expectations were high. Panther's had a great deal of good press during its pre-release cycle, and reviews have been almost entirely positive.

My verdict after a day? It's solid, and it's good. If I were to grade my level of expectations fulfillment, I'd say Panther earned a B. Not bad at all, but not quite as earth-shattering as I'd been hoping for.

When all is said and done, I think I can pin my slightly disappointed spirits to very high expecations- this is an operating system, after all, and nothing more. FLORIDA JUST WON. All right, fantastic- I was rooting against the Yankees all along.

Anyway, as someone who follows operating systems, I tend to build these events up into something that is more than can be fulfilled by a computer product. But whatever- Panther is really, really cool.

Biggest feature? Exposé, hands down. This feature is really clever, well executed, and holds profound implications for interface design. Essentially, here's what it does: slide the mouse into the corner of your screen, and all of your currently running windows appear tiled neatly, displaying their actual contents as they continue to truck along. Click on a window, and it jumps to the foreground, as though you'd chosen to switch to that application.

This is a really cool way to display what's happening on your computer- it grabs you and takes you up to a view from 35,000 feet, instantly, where you can see the big picture. Once I got used to having Exposé around, I began using it as my primary action switcher. Time to move on and do something else? Swoosh the mouse, glance at everything, then grab the window I want to deal with. Very cool.

There are several additional new features, but I've just run out of energy to write this, so I'll end here. Overall? It's very well done. But it's just an operating system. I need to remember that.

My web browser of choice is Safari on OS X. For Windows browsing, I'm currently evaluating Mozilla Firebird, and so far, I really like it.

When Apple announced the 15" Aluminum PowerBook on September 16, an entire community of Mac enthusiasts who'd been waiting for this product since January, when the 12" and 17" variants were announced, was appeased. The gaping 15" aluminum hole had been plugged.

After a few days of debate, I ordered my own 15" Aluminum PowerBook- then eventually canceled my order when I was informed by Apple that it would ship at least a week later than initially projected (and the initial projection had been an oh-so-long week itself). Since then, I've heard numerous reports of further delays in people receiving their PowerBooks, and I have no doubt that had I not canceled, I'd still be waiting.

The way I see it, it's better to know that I will not be getting my PowerBook at all than endure the trauma of waiting indefinitely to receive it, all the while converting excitement to bile.

It's just a computer, and I don't really NEED it.

Anyway, John Siracusa, one of my favorite Mac writers, has come up with a review of his brand-new 15" Aluminum PowerBook. I highly recommend it, and after reading it, I feel even more secure in my decision.