I love Mac OS X. For the most part, people seem to have a love-hate relationship with Mac OS X, and it has been amplified with the latest 10.1 update. However, I don't hate any part of OS X. Some stuff might not work quite right, but it's a brand new OS, what do you expect? So, without further ado, I bring you my top ten favorite features in OS X.

#10 Free Unix applications Because Mac OS X is built upon a Unix foundation, it takes developers very little work, for the most part, to bring Unix and Linux apps to the Macintosh. All sorts of things from system administration tools, to text editors, to photoshop replacements are free to Unix users, and now free to us.

#9 Protected Memory Another advantage of the Unix core is this thing called protected memory. The best way I can describe it is that when each program is launched, it builds a brick wall around itself, so if it crashes, everything else keeps running fine. The three major advantages to this is a Force Quit command that doesn't bring down the system, processes themselves are killable, and a much more stable system.

#8 No more allocating RAM Mac OS X has a virtual memory scheme the likes of which have never seen before on the Mac OS. Instead of a single block of hard drive acting as memory, Mac OS X elegantly gives and takes RAM to and from applications as needed. One of the greatest advantages to this is allocating memory to applications is a thing of the past. They will now take as much as they will use, and take and give more while running if needed.

#7 Easy multiple users Mac OS 9.0 brought us a multiple user scheme that we never had built into the OS before. Mac OS X brings this to a new level. Setting up, and giving permissions to users in the new OS is much easier, which means everyone gets their own system on the same computer, and your files are secure from peering eyes. Great for offices, dorms, or other places where you might not trust everyone with your important files.

#6 Network locations In the classic Mac OS, if you wanted to change your network settings from home to office, or on the road, you would have to go through a bunch of complicated steps, or set up scripts, which can be just as complicated. That's a thing of the past with OS X. Now, you can have as many networking locations that you wish, which will quickly change your settings for ethernet, dial-up, or whatever you need.

#5 Menu Widgets Something that came along with the Mac OS X 10.1 update was little menu widgets. These things are very handy, letting you change display, sound, and other settings. Plus, you can monitor your dial-up connection, battery level, airport signal strength, and more. This opens up room in the dock, and gives much quicker access to the things you access all the time.

#4 SMB file sharing Another feature brought to us by the latest update is SMB networking. This is the default type of networking that Windows and Unix boxes use, allowing you to connect to these computers without special software. Apple one-ups Microsoft again, by allowing us to connect to them, but they cannot connect to us.

#3 Aqua One of the first things you'll notice in Mac OS X is that controls are bright and flashy, stuff is moving all over, and transparency is abound. This is all due to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) called Aqua. This is definitely the best User Interface that I have ever seen. Some people don't like these flashy graphics, but I think it adds to the experience. Genie effects, transparent menus, save and open sheets, traffic light and pulsating buttons, and much much more are all parts of this wonderful User Interface.

#2 The Terminal One of the most handy tools in OS X is something the Mac world has never had before, a command line interface called the Terminal. Here, you can do everything you want, but by using words and symbols, instead of mouse clicking. Not only does this give you greater control over your system, but also allows you to show your PC using friends that you too can run "DOS-like" commands.

#1 The Dock My absolute favorite part of Mac OS X is the Dock. This is what replaces the Apple Menu, Control Strip, Pop-up windows, and Collapsed Windows. All I can say to those technologies is "goodbye forever!" In the Dock, you can store your favorite applications, documents, folders, etc. And have docklings for control over your system ala the Control Strip. Also, when you minimize something in X, it gets sent down to the Dock. But the greatest of all, is the trash can being there. Some people may not like it, but I'm glad that my trash can will no longer be hidden behind windows, when I'm trying to trash stuff.

If you have never used Mac OS X, I suggest checking out Apple's web site, or your local Mac reseller for a live demo. You will be blown away by how far the Mac OS has advanced over the last few months. I can't wait for the future.