I AM BLOG.

Ok, the last post was a bit of a joke. I’m going to share a few initial thoughts about Snow Leopard now that I finally have it installed.

“If you build it, they will come.”
Apple made a Microsoft like move and basically released a service pack for Leopard. Snow Leopard isn’t super crazy. Actually, it’s been more of a headache than enjoyment these past few hours. Honestly, you don’t need to jump the gun with this OS update. It’s not revolutionary to common folk like you and me. But like all other Apple products, the moment something is released, it becomes the new hot thing. Don’t get your hopes up.

Incompatibility but mostly compatible
Because Snow Leopard was newly coded, some of your old apps might not be compatible. I’ve already run into issues with my mouse (Logitech MX Revolution) and an FTP app that I use (Cyberduck). Luckily, Cyberduck issued an update today that is compatible with Snow Leopard. Logitech on the other hand hasn’t, which is surprising, seeing as Cyberduck is a one man show and Logitech is a huge corporation. However, I was able to find a quick “cheat” online that allowed me to reprogram my mouse so I could use most of the buttons. Definitely a backwards step.

On the bright side, the rest of the apps I use work. No issues with Photoshop or Bridge yet.

Bad things happen to good people, but Apple has your back
Apple promised more reliable installation with Snow Leopard. They didn’t lie. The power went out in our neighborhood TWICE while I was installing Snow Leopard. My iMac decided to shutdown TWICE while installing Snow Leopard. That’s FOUR times the installation was unexpectedly interrupted. Well, after a few more tries, Snow Leopard was able to install completely through. I didn’t lose anything important on my computer (remember to BACK UP!), so kudos to Apple.

Less is more
I should take a cue from my own title (this post is getting long), but Apple also promised that Snow Leopard would take up to 7GB of less space as an OS. Installing Snow Leopard freed up around 5-6GB for me. Not bad.

Leopards run faster in the Snow
It’s amazing how simply recoding an operating system can bring about hardware performance gains. Finder and Preview are definitely faster and noticeably so. Other apps however seem to run at the same speed. Apple also promised quicker shutdown and reboot times. It’s noticeable, but the difference isn’t night and day. Waking up from sleep seems to be about the same, if not a tiny bit slower.

Premature conclusion
Overall, I think my lack of enthusiasm for Snow Leopard stems from the nightmare installation process. Twice it wasn’t Apple’s fault. They can’t control power outages. But the other two times, they refused to fix my iMac, and for that, I hate them.

The bottom line is this: Snow Leopard is big. It’s a big update. But will people like you and me who browse the internet and edit a few pictures here and there benefit tremendously from it?

Not yet.

Fedex stopped by a few hours ago and dropped off Snow Leopard. This will be my 4th OS with Apple. I remember getting my Powerbook in high school and waiting for Tiger to come out. I only spent a few weeks with Panther and immediately moved onto Tiger. Then of course, a huge revision was Leopard. Lot of things changed, especially the UI.

Now, we have Snow Leopard. Apple built up Snow Leopard from the ground up. It is now entirely 64-bit compatible and a lot of the staple apps like Finder were re-written in Cocoa. What does this all mean? I don’t know. I’m assuming faster and more efficient. I just read all that other stuff on the interweb.

Since I am no expert when it comes to operating systems, I’m going to share my own take on Apple’s new OS.

The Packaging

Apple has revolutionized the way to package their products. They have consciously gone green and paid great attention to even the finer details… such as packaging. From this photo, we can already see how much less of a footprint (not to mention carbon footprint) the new packaging takes on the desk. If we take a closer look…

… We can appreciate just how thin and petite this box is. But don’t let size fool you. Packaged inside this small box, is an ENTIRE operating system!

Extras!

Apple graciously offers TWO of their white logo stickers so that you can give them to friends and family who don’t actually own a Mac. They can then put it on their Dells or HPs and try to feel better about themselves. Or if they’re feeling really crazy, they can stick it on the back window of their car to show the world their Apple pride.

In all seriousness…
A lot of the changes Apple did with their “new” OS is “under-the-hood” improvements. 64-bit this, 64-bit that… It will mainly benefit when apps are written in 64-bit. Sure the OS itself will run quicker now (which is a good thing!), but we won’t really see anything drastic immediately. As of now, I’m waiting for Time Machine to back up my current data on Time Capsule. I have CRACK DAT PAT software that requires a one-time license and I’m not sure if installing Snow Leopard will affect me in any way.

Sadly… I should expect faster Time Machine back ups with Snow Leopard but alas… I don’t have Snow Leopard installed. Yet.

And sorry. I just wasted 5 minutes of your life.