What are the benefits in going from OS X Tiger to Snow Leopard?

[LewisCraig87]

I'm looking at getting the new Snow Leopard but I'm wondering what the plus sides would be. Would it take up much hard disk space compared to Tiger? Would it effect any of my applications, iWork, iLife and other design programs (Quark Passport)? I've backed up my laptop on to an external anyway.

Also will it run better?

I was wondering if I could wipe my mac when I install Snow Leopard. Means I can give it a good clear out and put only what I need on there. I realise now that I have a load of crap on it. I only have 6GB left of hard drive.

Another stupid question. If I wipe my mac and use the iTunes store will it be the same machine that is authorised to my account?

This is only a short term thing as I'm waiting for the next generation of iMacs. If anyone has any news on that I'd love to hear it too!

Thanks to anyone who responds!!

 

[kate-willbury]

snow leopard sucks. don't bother.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Even though it's the same machine, if you wipe the computer you'll need to re-authorize, so make sure that you de-authorize first. It's really simple, and it'll save you a possible headache later on.

As for what you'll gain...
You'll get Time Machine, which is a backup utility with one of the best user interfaces around.

Also, you'll notice subtle things here and there. Disk space will be about the same, I think Snow Leopard will take up a little more space though.

Personally, Snow Leopard still seems to have some bugs, and if you plan on getting a new mac once they're refreshed, I wouldn't worry about upgrading, as it could potentially cause more headaches for you. (I would at least wait until 10.6.2 or 10.6.3 comes out)

 

[dbwie]

If it's only a short term thing until you get a new iMac, I would suggest simply waiting. When you have your new iMac, one option is to install 3rd party apps from scratch, and transfer over your user account from the old Mac with the migration assistant. Once you are up and running on your new iMac, check out the benefits of Snow Leopard yourself, and then install it on your older Mac if you like the new features.

 

[rjphoto]

My first question is what model laptop are you talking about?
If it is a PowerBook or iBook, you can't upgrade to Snow Leopard anyway.

If you do have an Intel laptop, what version OSX are you running?

How big is your Hard Drive? A new hard drive is easy to install if you need more space.

AS for waiting on the new iMac: it could come out this week or next week or next month or January. No one knows for sure except Apple.

 

[madog]

For all the changes that have happened since Tiger, I would recommend 100% super-highly-for-surezees that you perform a clean install from scratch, not even using the migration assistant to transfer backed up data, but doing that manually.

HOWEVER, if you do nothing else, a backup (clone with DiskUtility, or free app like SuperDuper), wipe, fresh install, and using the Migration Assistant to pull the apps and data off of the backup would be the next best thing.

 

[LewisCraig87]

My first question is what model laptop are you talking about?
If it is a PowerBook or iBook, you can't upgrade to Snow Leopard anyway.

If you do have an Intel laptop, what version OSX are you running?

How big is your Hard Drive? A new hard drive is easy to install if you need more space.

AS for waiting on the new iMac: it could come out this week or next week or next month or January. No one knows for sure except Apple.

I have the first Intel-run MacBook that was released, the first machine after the iBook. I have an 80GB hard drive. I believe I'm running 10.4.2, I think. I'm writing this from work and I'm using a PC so I can't check.

I wanted to keep this laptop after I get an iMac to have as like a netbook so I can access the internet whilst sitting in front of the tele, as sad as that may sound. I wanted to get around 1TB on a new iMac, as I want to set up bootcamp and put part of it to Windows so I can get rid of my old desktop, so I'll probably just wait for that.

For all the changes that have happened since Tiger, I would recommend 100% super-highly-for-surezees that you perform a clean install from scratch, not even using the migration assistant to transfer backed up data, but doing that manually.

HOWEVER, if you do nothing else, a backup (clone with DiskUtility, or free app like SuperDuper), wipe, fresh install, and using the Migration Assistant to pull the apps and data off of the backup would be the next best thing.

I would consider doing this. How easy is it to wipe the hard drive and start from scratch???

Thanks for the responses people!

 

[Loono]

I have upgraded from Tiger (1st gen macbook, core duo 1.83 Ghz, 2GBs) to Snow Leopard via a clean install.
So far, my macbook feels like its brand new again lol. To me the upgrade is well worth it.
Follow this video on how to perform a clean install and then restore your data/applications manually.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhLUcng-kog

I used the SL upgrade disk (£25) and it works.

 

[5DollaFootlong]

time machine.

 

[mdrdsr]

I have upgraded from Tiger (1st gen macbook, core duo 1.83 Ghz, 2GBs) to Snow Leopard via a clean install.
So far, my macbook feels like its brand new again lol. To me the upgrade is well worth it.
Follow this video on how to perform a clean install and then restore your data/applications manually.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhLUcng-kog

I used the SL upgrade disk (£25) and it works.

I am getting ready to do same. Did you have to reinstall all the apps or use migration assistant? Did the $29 DVD include iLife etc? I am using SuperDuper as the backup (Bootable Clone)

 

[HLdan]

I am getting ready to do same. Did you have to reinstall all the apps or use migration assistant? Did the $29 DVD include iLife etc? I am using SuperDuper as the backup (Bootable Clone)

If you plan to do a full reformat you should manually reinstall all of your apps if you want the best results. Also it may not be a good idea to include any haxies that change the look and feel of the dock or any ad blockers or add-ons to your browsers until maybe 10.6.2 or when the developers have fully updated their software or plugins for SL.

The $29 DVD is for Leopard users. If you want to go that route, help yourself. The iLife suite is included in the $169 U.S. Boxed set which is what Apple says is for Tiger users.

 

[admo]

I am getting ready to do same. Did you have to reinstall all the apps or use migration assistant? Did the $29 DVD include iLife etc? I am using SuperDuper as the backup (Bootable Clone)

The $29 dvd does not come with iLife or iWork. The $169 bundle comes with 3 dvd's, the one is Snow Leopard (the same as the $29 one), one with iLife '09, and one with iWork.

Migration assistant works great for bringing over your apps, settings and documents. I installed SL on a new, clean drive, and used migration assistant to bring everything over. It just worked. Everything is on my new drive, photos, music, videos. Even opened up the mail app, and all my wifes emails are in her inbox, just as they were.

 

[mdrdsr]

The $29 dvd does not come with iLife or iWork. The $169 bundle comes with 3 dvd's, the one is Snow Leopard (the same as the $29 one), one with iLife '09, and one with iWork.

Migration assistant works great for bringing over your apps, settings and documents. I installed SL on a new, clean drive, and used migration assistant to bring everything over. It just worked. Everything is on my new drive, photos, music, videos. Even opened up the mail app, and all my wifes emails are in her inbox, just as they were.

Admo - did you use the $29 DVD or full version?

 

[admo]

Admo - did you use the $29 DVD or full version?

I bought the full version.