Bits First Look: Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/software/2009/06/14/a-quick-look-at-mac-os-x-snow-leopard/1

Apple released a whole load of information about Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard at last week's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco. We have a look at the new features Apple will introduce when Snow Leopard is released in September.

 

Oh, now that will upset Opera, oh dear.

Sam

 

Heh, probably going to be using safari/chrome when xmarks get their act together - the speed is pretty noticeable from the (now pretty old) firefox; even better js perf on 64bit, yes please!

Quite a good point about the browser nazi's from norway; perhaps since safari is fairly reliant on webkit it gets away with it?

 

Mac = I don't care.

 

I love the pice tag, enough said. Glares at M$

 

And if only more game developers would write for OS X, and if Apple decided to let it be installed on non-apple computers, then I'd have that in seconds.

 

But what if we want to know about these things? Not all users want an overly simplified OS with piss-poor features

 

I only got 71 on the acid test for firefox 3.

 

Maybe folowing on from this Bit-tech could do something like 'A Week with...' article on things like Linux distros? Be very intresting to see how you get on with somehting like ubuntu.

 

Umm.. I think you've completely missed the point. I've used vista since it came out and never had to know what any of DLLs, the Registry, or Disk Defragmentation are. Windows never mentions them.

 

I've only tried a Mac once, and it felt like using something made by Fischer Price (although with a sleeker case).

That and the lack of games, and the overpriced, non-bespoke hardware, means I too do not care.

 

As I've been hearing about snow leopard I've been trying to decide if ?I would spend the 129 it usually is to upgrade. At 29 though, its a no brainer to anyone already running leopard. Can't wait.

 

to the guys that say they've only used it once and blah, blah, blah, I have this to say to you. Once you get your feet in the OS, it is far more powerful than windows. It has the unix backend and you have full access to it using terminal and if you install the developer tools that come with the os, you can modify just about anything. Plus its got some really useful features.

 

Are their mice still insane?

To be honest there is nothing that makes me want to convert to an Apple OS - I'd loose the program compatibility of windows, wouldn't learn what I would by using Linux. I'd love a Apple computer but I'd put bootcamp on it faster than you can say windows...

 

But are they really of any use to the people who have only used it, wanted to use it, or needed to use it to it's absolute fullest once?

 

I have used a Mac basically everyday for the last few years becuase of AS design, which we have to do on them. I hate it with a passion.

I still even take my keyboard and mouse to the design deparment because I can't stand the bloody Apple pmice & keyboard.

 

QFT All my 'work' machines are now OS X powered, anything I need to do in Win gets done in a VM. The final straw was when my Vista machine kept wanting to restart to install updates during an important meeting, I kept pressing postpone for 4 hours but it still was popping up every 5 minutes. Eventually it popped under and shut my PC down because I didn't see it to postpone it.

I like the look of the new Expose bits, and the little enhancements like the scrollable grid. Exchange server support will be useful too.

 

Must say, I really do like OSX. If I'm brutally honest, I even prefer Leopard (let alone Snow Leopard) over Windows 7 too. What I don't like is it requires PathFinder and Steermouse to make OSX usable - of course it becomes an immense OS once you have them. Really nice to use, a real pleasant environment to be in that can really help your productivity. I hope many features appear in Windows over time, since there are some real good ones. Incidentally if you have Windows Vista or Windows 7 (either with Aero enabled) try out a free app called 'Switcher' it provides a perfect Expose clone for Windows with many more configuration options if you want to get clever. Think of it as Expose - but even better.

The bigger problem is mac hardware. It's all pretty and shiny, and that's what draws you in. Long-term it's a dud. The built quality is all on the outside and outward appearances, when it really needs some extra care internally. Take the optical drive in all but the Mac Pro - see any emergency eject holes? I've had an app lock up and refuse to eject a disc, reboots, 'emergency' options at boot, even using Windows all failed to eject the disc. Had to disassemble the PC just to get at the drive, remove the top and thus the disc. The optical drive itself was fine and still works. Point is with Apple going integration mad, you end up with a system that you're usually forced to completely replace at end-of-warranty time. Just look at the batteries in the 'new' Macbooks. The battery life line is a scam, there are plenty of business class laptops with long battery lives - without them being built in. I can only assume the reason is simple: Make you buy another laptop when the battery stops holding much charge - outside of warranty of course. The battery warranty will only be 1 year, I doubt even AppleCare increases that unless you pay a premium - batteries are almost always in the small print. It's a real con imho the way Apple handles it's hardware, and it's only after you've had it for any length of time you realise just how much of a facade the 'build quality' is.

tominated: I'm not convinced by OSX being 'so powerful' just because you have access to the command line. Windows has a command line too revealing many options not normally accessible. I suspect a lot of the super command-line functions are just throwbacks from Linux/BSD that while nice, are far from that important tbh. I also much prefer Visual Studio to Xcode, especially since VS doesn't crash. Xcode's documentation window feels like Russian roulette. If I use it, about 20-30% of any action will result in a crash of ALL of Xcode - it drives me nuts. Actually this brings me on to another minor rant - OSX crashes more than Windows. Well, the OS itself doesn't, but the apps themselves do and the OS doesn't handle crashes as gracefully as Windows making them all the more irritating. Crashes mixed with a *nix OS that mounts drives can be a royal pain that you just don't get with Windows and it's method of mounting drives. Why do apps in OSX crash so much? If I was being vindictive, I would say Obj-C with it's memory management and cocoa libs... but we'll never know.