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leopard compared to other releases
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Leopard is just a $130.00 Service Pack with some nifty extras... thats all it is.
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Oooh now there's a loaded response...
Leopard is just a $130.00 Service Pack with some nifty extras... thats all it is.
That could be said for Jaguar, Panther, and Tiger, too, if you think Leopard is such.
Leopard changes enough of the underlying technologies of OS X to make it a noticeable upgrade. Tiger and Jaguar both had similar major overhauls of the internals, each also added some non-core-technology updates, while Panther was mostly a speed increase plus 'fluff' features update. 10.1 was really the first non-beta release of OS X, as 10.0 wasn't really ready for prime time. (The fact that no Mac shipped booting into OS X by default until after 10.1 came out shows that.)
So I put Leopard about on par with Jaguar and Tiger. Just above Panther and 10.1.
In terms of usability, I would have to say that Panther was number 1 for me, it was a lot faster, expose and the new finder meant a lot to me, and was the first time when I compared the mac to the pc and said "yes I have made the right choice", Tiger whilst he had extra under lying technology just didn't seem ready, I had quite a few problems including wireless issues, the search was good but rarely used because most of my files are well ordered. Again Leopard looks set to be much like Panther was, Whilst it has Core animation the new dock, unified interface etc etc just looks amazing and I am hopeful!
I think it's important that Apple releases Leopard even if it is peoples' opinions that this new OS is only a new 'service pack'. In an increasing time when people are beginning to doubt the almighty power of Windows be it XP or Vista, computer users both beginners and advanced are seeing the value and strength of Mac OS X. Statistics are showing that Apple, particularly in Notebook sales, are making enormous leaps in market-share and the underlying reason is of course, the OS. I mean to be honest you can look under the hood of any Mac machine and easily see that this is the same architecture that XP or Vista could run. It's how people use their computers where Mac OS X comes into play. Leopard is a user-friendly operating system. The new features are all about making peoples' lives easier, simpler, more powerful and above all more productive. Say what you will about Leopard, but the vast majority of people will see it as a direction that Apple is confident in producing an OS that is 'years ahead of the competition'. So bring on Leopard!
So, is it really the case that a lot of people are calling Leopard a relatively insiginificant improvement of OS X?
Are people really calling it a "service pack" more than most new versions of OS X? I thought people considered Tiger a relatively shallow upgrade.
Are people really calling it a "service pack" more than most new versions of OS X? I thought people considered Tiger a relatively shallow upgrade.
I haven't yet decided whether or not Leopard is a "major" upgrade, but I think the new features we've seen so far are well worth the $130.
i think Leopard is just as significant as Panther, which was a huge overhall, i can see them doing the same with Leopard. Tiger added finesse to Panther though and just some extras here and there. imo.
I think spaces and time machine are pretty significant at least for me. Spaces will help me manage all my windows and time machine is a very good way to be able to backup all my files. While I already have an external hard drive which I use to backup my documents and music, I seem to do it only once every 6 months because I get lazy. Having it readily hooked up to my cube might be a good way to always rest assured I have access to anything I need without putting effort into it.
I installed the WWDC 07 release today on my iMac and I really found Leopard to be a relative major upgrade. The speed increase is dramatic, it has to be the 64bit core! Everything opens in less than a second. If this is not important for most of you, then what can I say...
The new Finder is also great, coverflow is a major feature and maybe should be named differently! Preview is also great, just press space and your doc/image pops up. Strangely enough, in this build Preview doesnt support iWork documents! Work and Excel documents work great, powerpoint not yet.
The new Desktop is also nice, the new Dock looks great, Stacks are also very useful, for me as an application launcher. The only thing I really dont like is the transparent menu bar. There should be an option to disable it...
The prominent window is really prominent now! The shadow surrounding the window is much bigger than before and makes for a great effect.
Time Machine is really easy to configure and is another great feature to have.
Spaces I dont like. I use most of my apps in full screen and when pressing F8 to see all spaces ala Expose, I get a preview of all Spaces but I dont get to see all my apps. I guess it has to do with me using almost everything in full screen.
The new Mail and iCal are also looking good, Mail is a good upgrade and I really like the new features (RSS, Tasks, Notes).
I didnt get to use iChat because I couldnt make a connection to iChat 3.0 Clients. I get it is a bug of the current release...
My Bluetooth Mighty Mouse didnt work but I guess the final release will solve it also...
Overall I have to say that from a user perspective Leopard is a very nice upgrade, without heartbreaking features, but with many major ones. It is also completely rewritten and that shows. The performance is really great!
The new Finder is also great, coverflow is a major feature and maybe should be named differently! Preview is also great, just press space and your doc/image pops up. Strangely enough, in this build Preview doesnt support iWork documents! Work and Excel documents work great, powerpoint not yet.
The new Desktop is also nice, the new Dock looks great, Stacks are also very useful, for me as an application launcher. The only thing I really dont like is the transparent menu bar. There should be an option to disable it...
The prominent window is really prominent now! The shadow surrounding the window is much bigger than before and makes for a great effect.
Time Machine is really easy to configure and is another great feature to have.
Spaces I dont like. I use most of my apps in full screen and when pressing F8 to see all spaces ala Expose, I get a preview of all Spaces but I dont get to see all my apps. I guess it has to do with me using almost everything in full screen.
The new Mail and iCal are also looking good, Mail is a good upgrade and I really like the new features (RSS, Tasks, Notes).
I didnt get to use iChat because I couldnt make a connection to iChat 3.0 Clients. I get it is a bug of the current release...
My Bluetooth Mighty Mouse didnt work but I guess the final release will solve it also...
Overall I have to say that from a user perspective Leopard is a very nice upgrade, without heartbreaking features, but with many major ones. It is also completely rewritten and that shows. The performance is really great!
Leopard question from newbie!
Hello guys, great forum to get info on apple products. I bought IMAC for my wife last year and it is the best system I ever owned, have had no major issues so far except the horribale tech support we had to endure. But my question is about Leopard. I am going to buy a laptop for myself in October when Leopard is released, but what I am trying to find out is about the "Top Secret Leopard Features" Steve mentioned last year? I did not hear anything which sounded like any new top secret features when Steve finally gave a full revew of Leopard recently. Did I miss something or the top secret features of leopard are still secret till they release the OS. Thanks in advance for clarification.
Hello guys, great forum to get info on apple products. I bought IMAC for my wife last year and it is the best system I ever owned, have had no major issues so far except the horribale tech support we had to endure. But my question is about Leopard. I am going to buy a laptop for myself in October when Leopard is released, but what I am trying to find out is about the "Top Secret Leopard Features" Steve mentioned last year? I did not hear anything which sounded like any new top secret features when Steve finally gave a full revew of Leopard recently. Did I miss something or the top secret features of leopard are still secret till they release the OS. Thanks in advance for clarification.
Stacks and other new desktop features were previously unannounced... there are a handful of other things, too, including the new Finder, etc. It's certainly also possible that there will be something completely unannounced to date in Leopard. For instance, Apple has continued to be very ambiguous about Leopard and ZFS, although it looks like it will ship with some ZFS support and not use ZFS as the primary or preferred filesystem.
there could also be other apps that dont require developer testing (ie "stand alone" apps like iWork suite) included in 10.5
Thanks for your info. Question; Any idea about G4/G5 performance improvements?
To me Tiger is THE major overhaul, I am already missing Finder/CoreAnimation/Coverflow/Preview/Stacks as I would miss Expose in Jaguar. Besides that Spaces/TimeMachine will be great features, ZFS will be the icing on the cake.
I would say that coverflow and to a lesser extent spaces are probably the most unique feature in leopard. This is simply because it really changes the way you navigate the system and hopefully making it easier.
I think the key feature of Leopard would have to be speed. If it can't cut it on the current machines then it won't be considered a great update to OSX
I think the key feature of Leopard would have to be speed. If it can't cut it on the current machines then it won't be considered a great update to OSX
There was a G4 user on another thread that said performance improved for him under Leopard. Much more responsive UI and so forth.
For me, Panther was the biggest step forward. Jaguar was quite a step forward, but still was sluggish and rough at the edges. Panther was the first (for me) 100% ready for the market OS.
Tiger to me is Panther + Spotlight, nothing more. And Spotlight has been unreliable at times.
Leopard to me looks like a major upgrade. A consistent UI, rewritten Finder, particularly better multi-core and network support, new developer toys (sorry, tools! yay!!), automatic file backup, and quick look is a great - if overdue! - feature.
Leopard has more solid features that are genuinely useful than eye-catching bullet points, that's exactly what I want.
Tiger to me is Panther + Spotlight, nothing more. And Spotlight has been unreliable at times.
Leopard to me looks like a major upgrade. A consistent UI, rewritten Finder, particularly better multi-core and network support, new developer toys (sorry, tools! yay!!), automatic file backup, and quick look is a great - if overdue! - feature.
Leopard has more solid features that are genuinely useful than eye-catching bullet points, that's exactly what I want.