I believe the bet ultimately will pay off, though not without some growing pains. But it'll take some time before other hardware and software makers pump out enough OS X-ready wares to make the upgrade worthwhile for most users. And once users do decide to upgrade, they'll likely start out fumble-fingered as they grope for functions that had been second nature in the comfort of the old Mac interface. But OS X sure is pretty. Windows don't just pop up, they slide and swirl.
Buttons glow and pulse.
Edges curve, icons grow and shrink, and images are shadowed for depth. The effect, while a bit over the top, stays stylish. Longtime Apple fans will likely embrace the new look, even as they acclimate themselves to the new interface. Replacing its former range of options for accessing applications and documents, OS X has an expanding strip of icons, called the Dock, at the bottom center of the screen. Favorite applications and system settings are on the left side, most-used documents and minimized windows on the right.