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From:Apple
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#6 |
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1 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
 Disappointing ... Wait ... , 2007-11-04
As a new Mac convert (1 year on a MacBook) I was actually eagerly looking forward to Leopard largely for Time Machine - to easily and simply manage backups for our family's 4 Macs.
Sadly, Apple stripped out the most important network backup functionality from Time Machine just before retail release and further ... I (and frankly many others) have found curious disk compatibility issues with Leopard and Time Machine that are reproducible and worrisome. I have several USB disks that I attempted to use with Time Machine (even after extensive reading of Apple's support forums) that are corrupted and unusable after the attempt to use with Time Machine.
I remain unsuccessful in getting Time Machine to reliably work.
The other features of Leopard are nice, but few are really compelling other than Time Machine.
I would wait as Apple should have done .. until this product is really ready for end users.
3 of 13 customers found the following review helpful:
Eye Candy....Not functional, 2007-11-04
I switched to Mac 6 years ago, and have convinced others to do the same, But over time I've begun to feel that this OS was designed by people who grew up playing video games, not working. The basic problem is the lack of one simple screen that summarizes everything that is open, and easy navigation up and down the heiracarchy. I know that hip folks smirk at such quaint things as directory structures, but like it or not, even on an MAC, the files are placed on a directory structure. But rather than admit that, the philosphy seems to be throw the files anywhere, and then use spotlight to find them later on. Incredibly inefficient, I also noticed that every action seems to require 5 or six mouse clicks which just slows me down. I am running windows on my MACbook, using VMware, (a great program by the way), and I'm truly impressed with how much easier navigation is on Windows (yes I've said it). Every application opened creates a small summary box at the bottom of the screen, with more than enough information as to the app and the document. Navigating is as easy as clicking on the summary box, and bam you're there. In the application, each new document similarly is summarized. So in one location, all the open apps are listed at the bottom of the open document. Moving between is as easy as click on that box, with more than enough information to know what the document is. Compare that to MAC. Leave your application, slide your cursor to a corner, and get a riot of open boxes, none of which provide enough information to see what it is (particularly on a laptop screen).. You can then go window by window, but even rolling over a window doesn't tell you what application your working in. So you can then randomly click on each window, look at it, figure out if it's what you want and then move the cursor back to the corner, get the same group of windows, and try your luck with the next one. If you have 12 windows open (which I frequently do, you can waste 10 minutes just trying to get where you need to go. Same thing with saving files. In Windows, as you're about to save, you can instantly get a diagram of the entire directory structure, to be certain that the file is going EXACTLY where you want it to go,.If not you can move up or down, one level at a time, and quickly put the saved document in a different location. On OS X, as you go to save it will show you a location, with absolutely no indication where the location is or how to get there again. If you want to be sure where it is, or change a location requires going to the root device, clicking the sub, clicking the sub, clicking the sub, until you end up perhaps one level above where you started. 4 or 5 clicks to do what in windows took zero to 1. Add this up all day long and you're wasting hours of time. Overall it's a nightmare, and I've been searching for a decent 3rd party software that could create what I would call, in APPLESPEAK, a windows like "Cockpit". One screen that neatly summarizes everything that is open, with decipherable information that I can just move my mouse to and get there, with 1 click, not 5, not requiring 3 utilities (spotlight, smart folder,stacks), and 3 different interfaces (docks, sidebar, recent view). Spreading this stuff all over the map instead of uniformly available in one location is truly absurd, and all the WOW factor in the world doesn't change this. So if anyone knows an application that will allow me to make this OS X more organized and "Windows-Like", I would be most grateful. Short of that I may be forced to increasingly run Windows on my MAC and ditch OS X entirely, as crazy as that seems.
4 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
 The Best Operating System on the Market!, 2007-11-03
Apple has done it again! Leopard is a fantastic new OS. But, a caveat must be entered: it's not a brand, spanking new operating system. Rather, the system is built upon tried and true technology from the very first OS X. For the past six years Apple has been steadily improving this technology, and this is the new incarnation of their efforts. This is no Vista, which is a dramatic step away from the previous version of Windows...which was a dramatic step away from the one before that...which was a dramatic step away from the one before that....
The whole point is that Leopard is a stable platform. Every one of its advertised features works perfectly right out of the box, and with the restart after initial installation. And speaking of installation: have you noticed that with Windows you need to set aside 2-3 hours for the darn thing to install? Not with Leopard.
I have both a laptop and a desktop, and the installation process took 45 minutes on both machines. That's a fantastically fast install! Not to mention that the entire install operation is blasted easy. You just select to install, where to install, and press Start. That's it. With Windows you're stuck, knowing that after the root files have loaded you need to select the destination; and after that you need to be around to make sure the installer doesn't tell you (after 25 minutes of checking the selected hard drive) that it's not going to install; and after THAT you need to enter your serial right in the middle of the installation, otherwise when you come back you'll notice you've still got another 45 minutes left to go (the installer will stop everything until you enter the serial).
What a totally backwards way of installing!
As for the OS itself: it's impossible to tell you how much fun it is to use this thing. You've just gotta try it out. Is it worth the upgrade from Tiger? I'd say so. The revamped Finder, Boot Camp, Front Row, Safari, and the new Web Clips widget are some great reasons to upgrade.
There are some problems with the OS right now, but that's to be expected. Certain applications won't behave as they should, and there will be some compatibility issues with 3rd party hardware, but subsequent updates will take care of this. Apple is very good about updating its software. It doesn't wait a year to generate a giant Service Pack; rather, it will give you what needs to be installed as soon as it's complete.
Thus, Leopard is highly recommended. It's not essential for Tiger users, but those who are still stuck on the 10.1-10.3 versions should really consider this upgrade. Heck, for $129 you get all the features. Why not?
6 of 9 customers found the following review helpful:
Very Good, but Still Buggy - In Reality This is Still BETA, So Beware!!, 2007-11-03
I installed Leopard last Saturday on a MacBookPro 17" with 2GB RAM and 100GB HD.
The features are impressive. Even though "Hologram" as still shown on the Amazon ad materials was taken out of the final release, Quick Look, Stacks, Spaces and Time Machine work very well. In fact, because of Time Machine, I who never back up data, actually purchased a Western Digital 320GB MyBook as an external drive just to take advantage of it. It's all automatic, no complicated setups and totally secure; someone who stole your backup drive cannot boot up the information. Plus it is easy to permanently delete items from anyone backup or all of them! Furthermore, the aesthetics and speed are second to none. My system works better with this than with Tiger.
So why not a perfect rating? While I know buying a new system or software program entails some risk, Apple dropped the ball in all of their testing.
1) Due to a 3rd Party software called Application Enhancer, many trying to install got bluescreens and computer freezes. I avoided this by checking my system for the problem files. Even though I never got the software, I still found most of the files in my library since some game or other software packages had them written into their installation codes. I deleted them in trash and installed Leopard with no problem. Granted, Apple can't predict everything, so I could willingly give them a Mulligan for this.
2) Less excusable: Full Trash Icon.
A weird alias keeps appearing in Trash even after I have followed all instructions to delete it. Say what you will, but I never had any problems with Recycle Bin in Windows - even the godawful Windows 95 and 98! This never appeared in Tiger. I am disappointed that a slick, new version has created a problem when new systems are in fact supposed to resolve problems. If this were Time Machine, Stacks or others, I could understand, but Trash had been around for a LONG time, there's no excuse!
3) Still less excuseable: StackBundle problem with iDisk
I pay out $99 per year for the mac.com service that includes a 10GB online storage area called iDisk. Well, suddenly I found that I only had 3GB left on my hard drive! MyBook with my TimeMachine storage was showing before only 40-50GB used; that had jumped to 290! So now I have iDisk off, I have excluded FileSync from TimeMachine backups and deleted the offending stack file. Losing or restricting iDisk for a bit is annoying, but is mostly a gadget to me. But the loss of space - even though temporary - was beyond that. I religiously keep 50% of my drive free to ensure good operation. Thank God for User Forums!!
In this case, iDisk is a major feature of Apple. They should have really stress tested this before releasing Leopard. Apple has acknowledged the problem because the same thing is happening to their own Leopard computers. This is not weird, 3rd Party stuff interfering - it is all supposedly proven Apple technologies involved.
So my conclusion here is that as much as I'm enjoying the other features of the system and don't regret buying it, I would still place this as more of a beta quality program. While I can put this up next to the VISTA release by MS, I remember upgrading from Windows 2000 to Windows XP as being flawless and seeing some annoying problems disappear. I guess I expected no less from Apple. No excuses.
(That's it for the main review - you can read further about my other thoughts and history with Apple, but I don't recommend doing so :) )
Why Apple?
I have known rabid Apple fanatics. I also know Apple skeptics. I hear both but disagree.
Apple is not perfect and never will be. As good as it is, it is made and serviced by human beings, so I am not religiously tied to it.
Skeptics have told me it was unfair to call Apple better than Windows because Windows operates on many many brands of PCs, whereas Apple makes the OS X and Apple - no one else - makes the computer, so the comparison is unfair. If we're talking about comparing the programmers that work for both companies I would agree. I love OS X but I highly respect Windows programmers because of the fact that their product is going on varying systems that are not in their direct control. Unfortunately, as a consumer, I don't care. As a consumer, I am going to buy the best possible product for my money. Even if comparisons are unfair, Apple is just a lot better as a product for the price. I have Windows XP installed with BootCamp - and it works better on my MacBook Pro than it did with my Dell Inspiron 6000.
Reason I switched.
The MacBook Pro isn't the first Apple I have used. I used to have a Mac 512Ke - it was a friendly little shoe box that had a screen slightly larger than an iPod's, a simple keyboard, and a weird little mouse thing. Back then for work I just needed to have Word - and it came with MS Word for Mac! I ended up giving it away to a friend's kid - which I regret now! For what it was, it was a fantastic little machine! It also introduced me to the elegance and simplicity of the Mac's operating system.
So I have used Windows PCs for over a decade, mostly with no complaint but an occasional call to support. Always respected Apple, but the costs were prohibitive and I need Windows for some things - Lighting Simulation program, my work's network accounting software - and face it - games. I like Silent Hunter, Atari Classics and Taito classics. In the face of valiant attempts by Apple developers, they're just not the same. Apple finally introduced Virtual PC, but it didn't impress me. I don't even like Parallels - I found my Window's programs looked junky on it, and I made the investment in Apple so I wouldn't have to put up with that.
Now, Macs are pretty comparable in price. And further, with BootCamp - it becomes a WONDERFUL Windows XP machine to work with - all of the peripherals, fonts, graphics are in place.
I'll be honest though, I was looking more seriously at Dell's XPS line that used to be AlienWare. However, one unfortunate day, I forgot my power supply, and at the time I was working a good 60 miles away from home! I called two different Dell outlets and told the same thing - no stock but they could order. I called the Apple Store 15 minutes from my office and learned that if that had happened to me with a MacBook Pro, they stock all of the different types of power cords - there aren't many; Dell has too many different types to make stocking them worthwhile. That day, I walked out of the Glendale Apple Store with my MacBook Pro, including an extra power supply I just leave at the office.
Support:
I can't denigrate MS or Dell at all. In fact the worst support for technology I've experienced was with Palm Inc. Palm's support obfuscated, read from scripts, and generally made it that support calls weren't welcome. That is why I don't have any Palm products anymore. May they go out of business forever!
The BEST is BlackBerry - in that I have never once had to call for support or even use an online forum. I just haven't had any problems - I have an 8700 and it is the nearest thing to an absolutely perfect device.
MS: Very good. Their Knowledge Base online was generally ineffective. I had to use their $25 service twice - and both times the problems were completely resolved.
Dell: Also very good. I had to call several times. Their support staff is India based but they're polite and honest about it. You get their real names, not "Hey Buddy, My name is Joe Davis, so how about that game last night?" They weren't condescending either - asking if the computer was turned on and all of that sort of nonsense. Every time I had to call them, the problem was worked out completely.
Apple: Excellent. The people are competent but have an edge that MS and Dell miss - the people you talk to are all Mac users and LOVE their Macs, their company and their jobs. So if there is something frustrating going on, their attitude really helps dissipate the emotional pain and for the most part, the problem's fixed. There was only one time they didn't do well - I had the sound go off and a red light shining out of the ear jack. The support person was correct - there was a fault with the motherboard. But his solution was for me to send them the computer and get it back in 2 weeks! I excuse him because even though this wasn't necessary in the end, his intention was still to fix everything on warranty so "A" for effort! I ended up Googling the problem and found a forum with this issue - the solution was to put a toothpick into the ear jack an depress a tiny switch inside. It worked! I had to do that about 2 more times and the problem disappeared after that - so the fault was just a sticky switch that works well now.
So in judging Mac for support, keep in mind there is a large following of experienced users that can help on any number of issues - in some cases they do better than Apple!
For what it was worth, that is my opinion of Leopard and Apple in general - thank you for reading!
3 of 5 customers found the following review helpful:
Great evolving operating system, 2007-11-03
I upgraded to Leopard the day it came out, and haven't regretted since. Like others have advised, it's best to do a clean install with a backup handy or an archive and install. I like a clean start once in a while, and the nice new features I use in Leopard in my school make it additionally worth it (especially the new Preview with pdf highlighting comes in handy so I don't print as many papers). Of course, keeping the peace of mind with reliable backups doesn't hurt, either. So far, it's performed impressively on my MacBookPro.
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