Leopard

Finally the new cat is out. Months of waiting, rumors, anticipation and expectation. I installed it about a week ago, I did a complete backup, then erase & Install.

Everything went well, not the slightest problem and I booted into the Leopard World. So what to think about this new version of the OS ? The first thing I noticed, was the improvement in speed. It is obvious  almost everywhere, except maybe when launching iPhoto. 

Finder is a speedy pleasure that it has never been before even when my MacBook was all new. Safari is another winner, speed improvement is huge. It has now become my default browser instead of Firefox with which I have experienced numerous crashes in the past months, so I was a little out of patience.The future will show if I stay with Safari or if I switch back to Firefox. This MacBook is one of the first Intel based models that were available in France, so if you have this type of machine you should see an improvement when upgrading. The overall impression is one of improvement, polish and a more finished product. 

There are a few major additions like Time Machine but otherwise what is new comes gradually with the use of the applications.It is a little bit like getting a new car, driving it makes you realize that the wheel is firmer, brakes works better and you can almost forget the engine as it makes so little noise. Lights and horns levers are still in the same place, and you feel comfortable as with the old one very quickly. Basically it becomes easier and more natural to use.

After a few days of using Leopard the main change for me has been spaces. I’ve been working with window managers before on Windows, Linux and Mac, but it was never a lasting experience.Spaces is a whole different thing than those previous experiences I have had. It is difficult to explain, but it just works the way it should. I now have my applications running in their own space, switching either with the keyboard, the dock (which here finally becomes useful), or with the Expose feature. It is a quick and intuitive way of working.

There are a few minor things that I do not like: I find the space theme is pretty ugly (except in Time Machine), and using a wide screen I always put the dock on the side where there seems to more room. It really is an issue of personal taste.

I’ve had problems with a couple of applications Jer’s Novel Writer, but the solution is underway, ProVoc from Arizona Software who have already solved the sound problem occurring when adding sound to the vocabulary. Jer’s Novel Writer pretty much explains what the program does, whereas ProVoc is a helper to learn vocabulary in foreign languages. Both are very nice programs, and I invite you to visit their respective sites and have a look if those are subjects that you find of interest.  

There are many more things of interest to comment on, a tighter integration of the applications, the vastly improved Finder management of computers nearby (Windows & Mac), Time Machine that works nicely albeit a bit slow (this is true for the backup, I have not yet had to restore, I’ll reserve my definite judgement until then).

I’ve recently experienced the move from XP to Vista, an experience that I did not find concluding. It seems that in Vista changes have been done for the sake of change, and besides the nice interface and look, the usability seems less after migration, which is probably why Vista seems to catch on so slowly. After a couple of weeks I went back to Xp.

With Leopard the situation is very different and the upgrade is a pleasant voyage of improvement, both in terms of quantity and quality.

I have good souvenirs with Tiger, but I’ll definitely stay with Leopard, at least until there is a new cat .