The Wizards of Technology

Apple OS X "Leopard"

Apple's release of Mac OS X "Leopard" last weekend was a stunning success with over 2 million copies purchased over the weekend alone. Aside for the early adopter crowd (yes, I have an OS X Leopard shirt from opening day in Palo Alto too), what is the consensus of those that have purchased the product? To use Walt Mossberg's phrase, the new OS is "evolutionary, not revolutionary". The new OS is elegant, full-featured, and functional as any mature product should be, but it lacks some of the stunning feeling that the first OS X versions provided through a then brand-new user experience. This iteration of the operating system was truly more about function than form.

Adding an iTunes look and feel to Finder should appeal to "visual learners." Being able to peek at files without opening them with QuickLook is also very useful, especially when managing large quantities of similar files to wade through. Time Machine is a godsend. I only wish it could have come out in time to help Francis Ford Coppola. Mail looks and behaves much better. It is more functional than ever before, touting amazing iCal integration, notes, to-dos, RSS (Dave is proud I am sure!), and even stationery. iChat is looking sportier than ever. Spaces solved the clutter issue for many users, which can now either clutter up four workspaces or decide to categorize them four different ways! Before this article begins to sound like an Apple commercial, hold the presses.

Leopard introduces some great new features and many improvements overall, but this leopard is no cheetah, as it were. Function and features come with a price. Many users are experiencing slow systems, occasional crashes, or a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). Users' systems may be strained a bit with this new OS. Not all applications are compatible with it, especially if they are shareware. When in doubt, "Archive and Install."

One feature I found annoying was the transparent dock. No worries, however. This problem can be solved in less than 60 seconds, as the Unix core on which the OS is based (which reminds me of our buddy Jonathan Coulton's "Laptop Like You"), added to Apple's methodical software development, makes it easy for an experienced user to "customize" the interface a bit.

Leopard is well worth the wait and definitely worth the price.

Can Leopard please everyone? Clearly not. But Apple in its wisdom has been able to appeal once again to the majority of users, by demystifying technology through form, function, and elegance...thus creating converts from the masses. Move over Übergeeks, soccer moms now have you beat...even while holding one kid on her hip.

Marc Asturias - "Mister Marc"
Wizards of Technology

Author and Editor of "Desktop and Portable Systems: A Guide to Supporting, Repairing, and Troubleshooting Apple Computers" -Peachpit Press