I have come to the conclusion 10.6 is actually Windows ME

[NOLF1]

I have been using Snow Leopard since release on my Imac and Macbook Pro. (clean install on both)

I have come to one inescapable conclusion.... this is a silent open beta test.

I have had more beach balls and program crashes on both machines than I have seen since using Windows ME.

Don't get me wrong.... I think overall it is a good release, but it is definitely not nearly as stable as 10.5 was.

It seems to me that Apple was falling behind. They needed a 64-bit operating system. They needed to ditch the PPC code completely. They needed to build support for multiple core processors as a standard. In order to do that they had to re-write parts of the OS (i.e. Finder) and applications from the ground up. Obviously this was not something that could be done and be bug free on the first release.

I think this was also about forcing the hand of developers to get on the 64-bit band wagon.

I think this release is totally about bringing in new technology at the expense of stability and compatibility until the next major 10.7 release.

I also think they are still testing and building compatibility with older Macs. This would explain why so many users report such different experiences. Even I have noticed a significant difference between my two machines. For example, my Imac has considerably more beach balls on average than my Macbook.

Really I see this as Apples "Windows ME". I think they basically built in a bunch of new technology support (and are still doing so such as adding OpenGL 3.0 support on the coming update) and got it working "good enough" until they get all the bugs worked out probably by the time 10.7 comes out. Right now I see this as kind of an unofficial open beta test.

Really I am not complaining. I still use my Imac 95% more than the Windows 7 machine that sits next to it. It is just an observation. My Imac experience would be a lot better if I went back to 10.5, but I'm a sucker for having the newest operating system.

I just hope that apple really gets this thing rock solid again come 10.7.... and I hope they take full advantage of all the support they have built in for new technology by then.

 

[Peace]

And you started a new thread for this?

 

[NOLF1]

And you started a new thread for this?

Yes, why not? This is a discussion forum.

This is just my analysis and it could be totally wrong. I'm interested in hearing others opinions on the matter.

 

[Bennieboy©]

not had any troubles so far, had 10.6 since my 24" C2D iMac, worked like a treat, it runs flawlessly on my core solo mac mini right now too,
it's weird, i expected loads of problems after reading all the complaints people have posted about but nothing, works fast, loads fast, everythings fast

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

I've had the privilege to install SL on quite a few Macs, from an early Mac Pro, 2007 MacBook, 2008 iMac, and my own 2009 MacBook Pro. From what my friends tell me, they've all had no trouble with their Macs. So it's only you because this comes from multiple Macs (laptops, desktops, etc) of varying ages. All have had zero problems.

 

[MisterMe]

Count me among the throng that has no problems running Snow Leopard. I find it interesting that the OP states no specific problems that caused him to arrive at his opinion. "Considerably more beachballs" is not a specific problem. It was certainly not Windows Me's major sin.

 

[ayeying]

I found no real troubles with 10.6 here. However, I'm still using Leopard on my MacBook Air because of compatibility instead of stability problems. However, the iMac is using Snow Leopard with no problems at all.

 

[hakuryuu]

If this is Apple's Windows ME then I have much enthusiasm for 10.7 because it may just bring about some universal level of peace or something. Seriously. I have had no problems to speak of.

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

I don't know man...haven't had a single beach ball or issue with my MacBook, works beautifully with all my apps (Universal and PPC apps running through Rosetta)

 

[-aggie-]

No problems here either on my MBP. Perhaps give some examples?

 

[gibbz]

been running smoothly for me on several macs

 

[robert05au]

Count me in for having no troubles with SL.

I have had a few that I caused myself nothing to do with the system silly user mistakes only

 

[cjmillsnun]

I have been using Snow Leopard since release on my Imac and Macbook Pro. (clean install on both)

I have come to one inescapable conclusion.... this is a silent open beta test.

I have had more beach balls and program crashes on both machines than I have seen since using Windows ME.

Don't get me wrong.... I think overall it is a good release, but it is definitely not nearly as stable as 10.5 was.

10.5 wasn't a really stable release until 10.5.4 . This is why Apple does point upgrades. the .0, and .1 are normally quite unstable .2 is usually the first big improvement, and by .4 most bugs are squashed.

It seems to me that Apple was falling behind. They needed a 64-bit operating system. They needed to ditch the PPC code completely. They needed to build support for multiple core processors as a standard. In order to do that they had to re-write parts of the OS (i.e. Finder) and applications from the ground up. Obviously this was not something that could be done and be bug free on the first release.

Actually Apple had a 64 bit operating system in Leopard. The main change was the Kernel moving to 64 bit (notice though it runs 32 bit as standard so in fact in standard trim is no different to Leopard). Otherwise 64 bit applications can be run quite successfully on Leopard.

There was no NEED to drop PPC code, nor was there a need to build support for multi-core processors as standard. Dropping PPC code was what Apple wanted to do, not what they needed to do. Multi core processors are fully supported in Leopard and Tiger. Apple just decided to make thread handling easier to code for with Snow Leopard (hence Grand Central Despatch)

I think this was also about forcing the hand of developers to get on the 64-bit band wagon.

This is the first thing I agree with you on.

I think this release is totally about bringing in new technology at the expense of stability and compatibility until the next major 10.7 release.

Back to disagreeing with you. 10.5 had similar compatibility issues when it was released. It's about the developers coding to Apple's specs and not using undocumented/unsupported API hacks.

I also think they are still testing and building compatibility with older Macs. This would explain why so many users report such different experiences. Even I have noticed a significant difference between my two machines. For example, my Imac has considerably more beach balls on average than my Macbook.

Disagree again here. The hardware configuration of all Macs is well known by Apple (as supplied) and they would know how to code compatibility with older systems. However older systems are more likely to suffer from hardware faults (faulty caps, hard drives on their way out, overheating due to dust, fans wearing out causing overheating, etc) than new Macs. Newer OS' push the system harder thus causing faults like these to become more widely known.

Really I see this as Apples "Windows ME". I think they basically built in a bunch of new technology support (and are still doing so such as adding OpenGL 3.0 support on the coming update) and got it working "good enough" until they get all the bugs worked out probably by the time 10.7 comes out. Right now I see this as kind of an unofficial open beta test.

Your analogy is flawed here. Windows ME was the last in the line of the Windows 9x releases, being not much more than Windows 98SE with a few minor enhancements, mainly to the UI. Unfortunately it was a rushed release because of the decision to make Windows 2000 a business orientated release than bring NT technology to the consumer. A decision that was regretted, hence XP coming out 1 year later.

Really I am not complaining. I still use my Imac 95% more than the Windows 7 machine that sits next to it. It is just an observation. My Imac experience would be a lot better if I went back to 10.5, but I'm a sucker for having the newest operating system.

I just hope that apple really gets this thing rock solid again come 10.7.... and I hope they take full advantage of all the support they have built in for new technology by then.

Well you are complaining by starting this thread, which was clearly a rant.

Wait for the point releases, and run diagnostics on your hardware to look for any and every fault. Get these rectified if you can and I think you'll be surprised by Snow Leopard. Your experience will get better with time.

 

[MacDawg]

No big, long explanation or analysis here... works fine for me

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I had some problems with 10.6 on my MacBook Pro.

Then my hard drive died.

So either Snow Leopard killed my hard drive; or else my dying hard drive was causing the crashes. I'm leaning toward the latter.

 

[Ploki]

hm, ive noticed some weird anomalies on the Mac Pro that do not exist on the macbook pro.
sometimes when i engage screenshare, the login window says "connecting" and it keeps doing that forever. when i press screenshare again, it connects normally, while that window still remains there.. :S wierd. very.
also, when i connected Mac Pro to MBP over Firewire lan, the disk i connected to the MacPro mounted on the MBP DESKTOP!! and icouldnt eject it ANYWHERE

 

[maflynn]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

I've been running SL without any problems. I'd say this OS is definitely an improvement to Leopard

 

[baryon]

I totally agree, Snow Leopard is worse than any version of Windows I've seen in terms of stability and performance. Leopard was great, and Apple isn't ready for a new OS, they should have stuck with Leopard until they have a good reason to release an OS. They said it should be faster and more stable: well it is definitely not faster, and most programs actually run slower than on Leopard, and in terms of stability, well mine crashes constantly. It's like Windows 95 even!

I think Snow Leopard is the Vista of OS X: a lame excuse just to release a new OS.

 

[Winni]

For those who asked what trouble one can have with Snow Leopard: Try using Apple's Airport cards with non-Apple wireless routers. This alone is painful enough to seriously consider ditching Apple's whole platform. And it's still not fixed.

Also almost EVERY application required updates to become compatible with Snow Leopard. In Windows land, you usually only have one or two buggers that won't work out of the box on a new Windows release, but almost everything from Scrivener over iCalamus to SuperDuper and everything in between needed one or two updates to even launch properly on Snow Leopard. This is ridiculous, and a sign of little to zero QA in Cupertino. Heck, not even Apple's own applications worked well with the initial release of Snow Leopard.

To make this short: Just count me in to the folks who had a ton of major issues when they installed the initial Snow Leopard release (first as an upgrade, then as a clean installation).

 

[djellison]

So it's only you

It's not only him. I'll put my hand up and say SL is worse than L. I have FAR more beach balls, far more halts, hangs, pauses, waits and crashes, yes, crashes of Mail, iPhoto, and so on.

I just tried a complete clean install - for the second time.

No difference.

 

[angelwatt]

Everything has been greater on SL for me. I didn't really have problems with Leopard either though. It's much more stable than any other Windows OS I have used. I'm behind a computer screen 14 hours a day on average and use to work at a computer helpdesk so I know what I'm doing. I'm curious if the people with issues are simply inexperienced and keep trying to fix their machines in the Windows ways.

 

[harleygold]

I have been using Snow Leopard since release on my Imac and Macbook Pro. (clean install on both)

I have come to one inescapable conclusion.... this is a silent open beta test.

I have had more beach balls and program crashes on both machines than I have seen since using Windows ME.

Don't get me wrong.... I think overall it is a good release, but it is definitely not nearly as stable as 10.5 was.

It seems to me that Apple was falling behind. They needed a 64-bit operating system. They needed to ditch the PPC code completely. They needed to build support for multiple core processors as a standard. In order to do that they had to re-write parts of the OS (i.e. Finder) and applications from the ground up. Obviously this was not something that could be done and be bug free on the first release.

I think this was also about forcing the hand of developers to get on the 64-bit band wagon.

I think this release is totally about bringing in new technology at the expense of stability and compatibility until the next major 10.7 release.

I also think they are still testing and building compatibility with older Macs. This would explain why so many users report such different experiences. Even I have noticed a significant difference between my two machines. For example, my Imac has considerably more beach balls on average than my Macbook.

Really I see this as Apples "Windows ME". I think they basically built in a bunch of new technology support (and are still doing so such as adding OpenGL 3.0 support on the coming update) and got it working "good enough" until they get all the bugs worked out probably by the time 10.7 comes out. Right now I see this as kind of an unofficial open beta test.

Really I am not complaining. I still use my Imac 95% more than the Windows 7 machine that sits next to it. It is just an observation. My Imac experience would be a lot better if I went back to 10.5, but I'm a sucker for having the newest operating system.

I just hope that apple really gets this thing rock solid again come 10.7.... and I hope they take full advantage of all the support they have built in for new technology by then.

u know, just like any new beginning you are gonna have issues. XP wasn't perfect but with SP's it became an elite program. I guarantee you, 10.5 started out just as you describe for 10.6.

I love a good update.

As far as Beach balls, i get one from the damn Socialite app.

 

[TonyK]

I have been using Snow Leopard since release on my Imac and Macbook Pro. (clean install on both)

I have come to one inescapable conclusion.... this is a silent open beta test.

I've upgraded 3 systems here; 2 MP and 1 MBP. Upgrade, not a wipe clean/install. NO problems in the month since doing that. Key was to upgrade all my other applications/utilities and ensure compatibility PRIOR to upgrade.

Having avoided ME, but caught by Vista, I can say SL is not as bad as Vista and from friends' experiences, head and shoulders over ME.

Based on my experience, SL @ 10.6.2, is as stable as Win2000 and Win XP; and I have no desire to return to Windows.

It seems to me that Apple was falling behind. They needed a 64-bit operating system. They needed to ditch the PPC code completely. They needed to build support for multiple core processors as a standard. In order to do that they had to re-write parts of the OS (i.e. Finder) and applications from the ground up. Obviously this was not something that could be done and be bug free on the first release.

As others have pointed out, the system was already 64-bit capable. It ran 64-bit applications. But most of the system apps, and the kernel, were not 64-bit. All that happened is the deadwood was removed and users given the open of running the 64-bit kernel. Users, by default, are running the 32-bit kernel with no issues in most situations.

I totally agree, Snow Leopard is worse than any version of Windows I've seen in terms of stability and performance. Leopard was great, and Apple isn't ready for a new OS, they should have stuck with Leopard until they have a good reason to release an OS. They said it should be faster and more stable: well it is definitely not faster, and most programs actually run slower than on Leopard, and in terms of stability, well mine crashes constantly. It's like Windows 95 even!

I think Snow Leopard is the Vista of OS X: a lame excuse just to release a new OS.

Lame excuse? Getting rid of legacy code so they can move forward is not lame. Just this week MS announced a 14 year old but that is going to get patched in Windows. 14 YEARS OLD! That means in 1996, under Windows 95, this bug was introduced or possibly known. Now how did a Windows 95 bug get into Windows Vista and Windows 7? Wasn't Windows re-written @ Windows XP? Or Windows 2000 (dropping the Win95/98 drivers in the process)?

Sometimes a company drops old code to get rid of latent issues. That is called progress, not being lame. At least IMHO.

Take care,

 

[Hmac]

Snow Leopard on 5 different Macs in my household, and even more taking into account it's a widely used platform at work.

Other than Safari (which I concede is a rather buggy piece of crap in my experience), we've had absolutely ZERO problems with Snow Leopard.

 

[cjmillsnun]

For those who asked what trouble one can have with Snow Leopard: Try using Apple's Airport cards with non-Apple wireless routers. This alone is painful enough to seriously consider ditching Apple's whole platform. And it's still not fixed.

Really?

I am running an AirPort extreme in all my macs (it came with them as standard) and a BT Home Hub 2.0 Modem/Router (made by Thomson).

I have a faultless and fast home network and internet at a speed restricted only by the limitations of ADSL. Interestingly enough, it was pain free to set up, and I have similar performance when connecting to public WiFi networks.

I am going to have to call BS on you Winni.