Elementary, Dear Watson
September 12th, 2002Caution: More Mac enthusiasm ahead!
After using Mac OS 10.2 for a couple of days now, I’m going to have to go against the grain and admit that Jaguar’s Sherlock 3 implementation is actually better than the oft compared Watson. I’m not going to get into the ethical dilemma of the obvious similarities between the two “web services” tools either. That’s already been done and, unfortunately, both parties have decidedly met at an impasse.
But I will say for the amount of use I get out of either tool, I think Apple has done a much better job, especially at refining the interface and excluding most of the bulk. For example, the reference channel in Watson appears at first glance to be more robust. However, to me that equates with more time spent digging around for information. It took me a few minutes to find a pronunciation for a particular word in the many sub-channel services of Watson when Sherlock was able to give it to me effectively on the first try.
Furthermore, I am getting tired of the constant updating Watson requires. After giving into the nagging requests to update the application, many times services still need updated. That’s twice the maintenance! Crazy talk, ya hear?!
But it’s still “to each her own” I guess, and in the end there’s no doubt that Watson is the more powerful of the two. And just so I don’t feel too much like I’m recommending Wal-Mart over a family owned pharmacy—for my money, Watson has been well worth the easy $30 purchase. But don’t take my word for it.