Gizmodo
Those of you who haven't been poring over all of Mac OS X Leopard's feature list (because you actually have lives) probably only know a few things about it. There's this new backup software...and...some iChat stuff? That's where we come in. We distill all the features down to ten points to help you decide whether or not the upgrade is worthwhile for you. Here are Ten Things You Should Know before you upgrade to Mac OS X Leopard.
1. Leopard works fine on old machines as long as they're not too old. Leopard only works on Intel, G5 and G4 Macs that are 867MHz or faster—meaning your really, really old PowerBooks or iBooks are borderline. You can try rigging up an install on Macs that aren't too old (like the one we tested on), but you don't get the Core Animation or other fancy effects. It's slightly slower to start up and shut down compared to Tiger, but you get more features.
2. Veteran Windows users probably won't change their minds about switching. If you're thinking of making the switch to OS X, Leopard doesn't provide a dramatic change over Tiger—so if you didn't like OS X before, you're probably not going to change your mind now. That said, the improvements over Tiger just makes it all the more worth your while to give OS X a shot. Depending on whether you absolutely need certain Windows apps (you can find many Mac equivalent apps), you can have the option of dual booting with Boot Camp or running both operating systems at once with Parallels like myself.
3. Time Machine provides the easiest built-in backup software on any OS. Even compared with the built-in backup software on Vista, Time Machine is super easy and super automated—all the while keeping functionality high by including easy-to-use file versioning as well. If you're not already backing up your Mac with apps like the similarly powerful SuperDuper, Time Machine is a big reason to upgrade. All you need to do is plug in an external USB hard drive and everything's taken care of for you, all in the background without any input from you. If you're already happy with your backup method, this will be a marginal feature, but if you're tired of dealing with backups or losing data, Leopard is for you.
4. iChat gives you powerful video, screen and document sharing. Another one of the major improvements in Leopard is in the iChat app. Not only do you get video effects, there's lots of work-focused document sharing and screen sharing as well for working with people over long distances (totally would have been useful when I was writing my book). There's also iChat recording for recording your video chats or meetings for later viewing. That's a killer feature for some, totally useless for others. But if you're going to be doing any kind of screen-viewing with other people, iChat is probably the easiest way to do it since it launches right from your chat application.
5. Leopard is the only way you can dual-boot Windows on your Mac. Boot Camp may have been free before, but your old copy will expire at the end of the year. That means you need Leopard to dual-boot Windows and OS X. You can still use virtualization software like Parallels or VM Ware for using Windows at the same time as your Mac, but you're sharing system resources between the two applications. If you only need to use Windows—and you need to maximize your RAM and CPU—you're better off with Boot Camp.
6. Leopard probably will work with your applications. It's likely that Leopard will work with just about all your applications and plug-ins, but there are going to be a few bumps along the way. For us, our Griffin PowerMate, a NAS driver (which caused us a massive chain of consecutive kernel panics), various Unsanity add-ons and Mail.app plug-ins all have to be updated for Leopard before we can use them again. You should make sure all your critical apps are Leopard-compatible before you upgrade by checking their web sites, otherwise you're going to find yourself actually downgrading back to Tiger while you wait.
7. If you use your Mac every day you should upgrade now. On the other hand, if you use your Mac for more than just a few hours a day, chances are you're a hardcore user. If this is the case, you should definitely buy Leopard. There might not be one glaring feature that makes you rush for your credit card, but all the small improvements—from iCal to Mail to Address Book to Finder—will make your day-to-day computer use that much more convenient that you'll be glad you upgraded.
8. Leopard is not much more resource intensive than Tiger. We've noticed slightly more RAM usage compared with Tiger, but as long as you have more than 1GB of memory it's not a huge deal. You do need about 10GB of free space to install Leopard, but after you're done there's no real noticeable storage increase demands. In fact, we're pretty sure that our MacBook Pro runs faster now after upgrading to Leopard than it did back on Tiger. You probably don't need to buy more RAM for this, but it couldn't hurt.
9. 64-bit performance speeds up newer Macs. If you're on a Core 2 Duo Mac (that's pretty much all new Macs purchased in the last year or so), Leopard will eventually give you 64-bit versions of your apps. It's a bit technical when we get down to talking about frameworks and the building blocks for new applications, but just know that 64-bit versions of the same applications will run faster than 32-bit versions. Plus, you have no performance penalty for running 32-bit applications along-side 64-bit ones.
10. You might not need Leopard right now if you're on an old machine. Although Apple lists 300 new features in Leopard, on a few of them are critical—and none of them are showstoppers. If you're going to buy a new Mac soon, the new Mac will come with a copy of Leopard, saving you $129 in the process. Plus, the cost of iLife '08 isn't included in Leopard, meaning you're going to have to shell out another $79. If you buy a new Mac, you get both of these for free. Even if you're not planning on a new machine, you need to take a good look at the features listed above and see just how important they are. If they're only marginally crucial to your every day usage, it's safe to wait until you really need Leopard for something before upgrading.
Bonus: There are three very tangible reasons to upgrade to Leopard: Time Machine, iChat and Finder/Quicklook upgrades. If you have a good backup solution now, or don't use iChat video, and don't have to browse a lot of multimedia files in finder, you might not need to upgrade.
Comments
How do you always come up with 5 or 10 or 15 numbers of item. Why can't it be 8 or 13 items you got to know about leopard.
what camera can you use on a mac mini for iChat to work?
Thanks
#6... Vista? Huh?
@jawzxy: Oops, nice catch. :)
@Type-E: Because I don't have 8 or 13 fingers?
@genius74:
iSight? Try ebay or craigs list.
- Xidius
@Jawzxy:
Jeeney-mac! You're right! Que le fuck gizmodo?
@Xidius:
Try any DV camcorder, just plug into the firewire port.. will be a lot better than any "webcam"
#2 should read "Running both operating systems at once"
Really? Apple is going to cut off folks who are already dual booting? That seems questionable. Then again, they are Apple, so I guess no one will question that.
@Monty:
Don't worry - the expiration can be circumvented, and will be. I've never met an expiration i couldn't get around.
@Xidius: Too bad they discontinued iSights though.
As you can only get them used on ebay or craig's list
Every iMac and laptop comes with a camera now, so they stopped selling the iSights (which were kinda overpriced anyway)
I would listen to RCOLES and just hook up any DV camera and use that if you want some nice quality video!
actually 64 bit allows you to access more memory space but its not necessarily faster.
Missing Sync is not compatible with Leopard, in case no one had caught that one.
Jason, nice wallpaper. Think you could give me a link for it?
No, Apple has stated already that the old version of Bootcamp on Tiger will still work- you just won't be able to edit the partitions.
To use iChat, your buddy should also have iChat....right?? None of my friends have mac. All the features of iChat will work with my buddy who is using Tiger??
Is 1.25GB RAM enough to feed Leopard?
Why did I switch to a Mac? Because I was in the market for a new laptop to replace my LifeBook last year and was looking for a thin-and-light. The MacBook weighs about 5 pounds, has a 13" screen, and surfs the web and runs Word just fine. Moreover, it was the cheapest.
Security isn't a concern because I'm not a moron; I know how to use a computer. The BSOD was a similar non-issue for me.
Does my MacBook crash? It has. Do I get error messages? No, but that doesn't mean some of the applications aren't unstable. I've had minor problems although no more or less than with my LifeBook. Notably, the last subpoint upgrade broke several things (which is bad). If Leopard is less buggy than 10.4.10, I'll be happy.
I'd like to know, however, if Leopard will be nice and zippy on an Intel Core Duo (not Core2Duo) MacBook with 1GB of RAM. If it is laggy, I'll switch back. I believe that a 1 year-old computer should be able to run an OS with the same vim as a 1 month-old computer.
@Xidius:
Ok, so nothing i can buy retail then?
Thanks
OMG-Ponies:
Runs about the same as Tiger as far as I can tell on my 1.83GHz CoreDuo MacBook. I've got 2GB of RAM though. I'd say if you're totally gung-ho for the features (can't say I am really), go for it. You can upgrade to 2GB (2x1GB) for around $80 if you find it slower than expected...I doubt you will though.
Some downsides to Leopard for me:
1) InsomniaX just doesn't work.
2) Still no fucking trackpad options/control panel in Boot Camp. Why can't I right click the same way in Windows as OS X? Why can't I tap to left click? GRRR
3. Time Machine provides the easiest built-in backup software on any OS. Even compared to the built-in backup software on Vista.
I'm not crazy about Vista's backup.
In fact, I use Cobian Backup. ► [www.educ.umu.se]
But Vista's Shadow Copy is priceless. Even more so than backups.
@werk: Many thanks.
As far as upgrading the RAM, the math doesn't really justify it. $120 for the OS + ~$80 for the RAM is $200. That's 1/5 of what I'll pay for a new MacBook. If it only helps Coverflow, I say meh. If it's vital, I'd rather go whole hog and get a replacement, which would also include the new iLife suite.
whats up with the weird square characters?
Now that the yoke of NDA is off...
Be aware that you cannot use FileVault (home folder encryption) with Time Machine. Well, to be more precise, with the file by file function of time machine. When a user's home folder is FileVaulted, one can ONLY do a full backup and/or restore. Everything or nothing...none of the fancy picking and choosing of what you want to bring back. Since our data at rest policy requires encryption, one of the major enticements to upgrade is taken away from us. :(
Also, if you do enable FileVault, don't check the box for secure erasing files automatically. It takes FOREVER to log out of your account.
@omg-ponies:
Agreed. Didn't know if you had it bad for a particular feature and had to have Leopard.
I'm almost afraid to ask given the "moron" status I'm likely to achieve in response, but I'll do it anyway. What about those of us who are still using iTunes 7.4 with the iPhone (remember that gadget) in order to use custom rings (which is arguably one of the most important aspects of everyday communications). I assume 10.5 automatically updates to iTunes 7.4.2 which kills the rings. Any work around? Even just not syncing ringtones when I sync the phone... will the ones I have on there already stay on the phone even though they dont show up in 7.4.2? If anyone has any insight that would be awesome, because I've stopped eating, sleeping and talking to other people due to the untold amount of worry this is causing me. :)
@RColes: so firewire is the culprit? M JVC GZ-MC 500 only has USB 2, and I have always been trying to use that as a webcam, but no chance/luck so far. I think, Apple should have dropped USB 2 discrimination by now. I would like to boot from a USB 2 external harddisk and use my USB 2 video camera as a webcam, or sometimes I would also like to connect it directly to my video app, thank you...
no Classic is a no-no for me currently. Or does anybody know of a working scanner driver for the Canon BJC 55 with scanner module? I tried Gimp-print, no luck.
And I am still running Dreamweaver 4 and all the newer versions do stuff I don't need and create code that I have to re-edit even more and also I don't want to spend another x00 euros on a program I love to hate. And also my Photoshop is still for Classic, don't need any newer for the web stuff I do.... I'm a programmer first and a designer only if one is not at hand.
Had a chance to use it already and have to say that I wasn't totally impressed. Time machine is cool, but the best two features for me have to be Spaces (since I multi-task way too much) and quicklook, so that I don't have to open specific programs just to see a quick video or a word doc...
@yogibimbi: You can boot from an external USB drive; I've done it. Google for instructions.
10gig install?? jeez.
@yogibimbi: Come to America, my friend. Do what your European compatriots do and go shopping. Enjoy record exchange rates (in your favor). At present, 1 euro is worth $1.43.
Your best bet is to go shopping in, of all places, Delaware, which has no sales tax. There is an Apple Store in Newark DE and if you're nice to the salespeople, they might give you a "student" discount.
If customs asks you coming back if you have anything to declare, do what we Americans do - fib.
do i see boobs?...
Does it check how many machines you are using? I want to get the non family pack, and use it on multiple machines I have.
So the iLife apps aren't 64 bit?
@omg-ponies: thanx for the invitation;-) Problem is, I really don't see the point in buying something if what I have is all I need. I would rather buy a nice sailboat considering the exchange rate, but currently I am 120 k$ short. Somebody willing and able to fulfil a hopeful sailor's dream? :-D
@EL_RIEL: and it seems like our estimated Mr. Chen is pretending to be sucking on them or do other things that improve his humour.
@Ricky: Super Duper seems to be the way. Already downloaded it. I have checked too often in Google during the last couple of years that now, that it would have actually yielded results, I was too frustrated; thanks for pulling me out of that frustration:-)
So, has anyone found out yet if Leopard now natively supports play-back of Blu-Ray media?
I'm really looking forward to this as I'm planning on purchasing a new Mac very soon, and I am also planning on upgrading said Mac to have an internal Blu-Ray drive.
So now with 64 bit will the macbooks utilize 4GB of ram now? Or is that just built into the framework of the system?
Lol @Type-E:
Haha, I've always wondered the same thing.
I like your comment on the ease of use of Vista backup. You've got it to work at all? Come stand over my shoulder and observe the majesty of the ubiquitous error code 0x8007045D suffered by me and so many other users.
A bug (apparently relating to large external discs) which has been outstanding for 7 months now. Does that make Leopard look much more interesting?
get a bottle of gin, drink it all and watch how your worries disappear. Trust me on this one!@Jolyrogr:
@werk:
System Prefs -> Keyboard and Mouse -> Trackpad -> Tap trackpad with 2 fingers for secondary click.
can somebody post more videos of the photobooth/ichat backround thing goin on?? are there any other videos on any other websites??
thanks
I hate to say this, but Jesus Christ you guys are fanboys.