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General discussion

Leopard is out. Anyone tried it out yet?

Oct 28, 2007 4:27AM PDT

We'll be replacing our old Dell desktop soon and are leaning towards an iMac. Now that Leopard has been released, I'm wondering what the buzz is on it. Anybody installed it or bought a new computer with it yet?

Discussion is locked

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I've got Leopard running on two machines and it's great.
Oct 28, 2007 5:36AM PDT

I have it on my MacBook Pro and my iMac G4, and my laptop feels like it's been liberated. It runs much better now. My old iMac runs somewhat slower since it is near the 867Mhz line, but it is still doing good. Maybe I should put Tiger back on it... LOL.

If you get an iMac, you'll love it. Time Machine is okay, and the new looks and features are pretty nice. Go all out and get one already! Or whatever else you feel like Wink.

-BMF

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Love It!
Nov 2, 2007 8:09AM PDT

Two days and already know it pretty well.
It's GREAT!
Time Machine is worth the price of admission alone.

Mac Fanboy!

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I have leopard and overall it's pretty good
Nov 2, 2007 8:32AM PDT

I installed leopard the other day on my new aluminum Imac. Time machine is not what it's cracked up to be and that's after two hours on the phone with apple but it's still pretty good. The rest is pretty good.
I had an earlier version of phone booth and was looking forward to putting my isight picture or video into real scenery for the fun of it and that program sort of works but in spite of tweeking it anyway i can it has some bugs. I like being able to look at nearly all of my documents and photos with out even opening a program and after getting the hang of it It's really cool. The new safari 3.0 is generally good but screws up my bible program quickverse. I'm hoping for a fix there. I would say to anyone that it's worth looking at if you are interested in a mac. Just go to the mac store. Oh and by the way bootcamp lets me run windows xp or even vista on a separate boot and it runs better than any of my friends windows computers. So why not get a mac now?

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A correction
Nov 2, 2007 7:33PM PDT

<<Oh and by the way bootcamp lets me run windows xp or even vista on a separate boot and it runs better than any of my friends windows computers.>>

There are two good technical reasons for that:

1. Most Windows machines are bogged down with security software - if you used Windows on the Macintosh for any length of time, you'd want to install that same software.
2. Windows tends to run slower over time; so comparing a fresh Windows installation with an old one will of course yield different results.

If a Macintosh with Mac OS X is suitable for your needs, then buy it by all means. But don't expect that it will run Windows any faster than a normal PC.

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Your correction may be flawed.
Nov 3, 2007 2:05PM PDT

Check this out from gizmodo.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/irony/macbook-pro-is-the-fastest-windows-vista-notebook-317060.php

You were saying? True clean installs without all of your typical Windows stuff will work better most of the time, but machinery matters too of course. But if you put it all on a Mac and ran it for Vista or XP, what happens? The link provides a suitable answer for this, I think, but if Apple makes the best Windows computers, they're just selling the hardware without the OS. MS is making Apple look good unintentionally. What do you know Happy !?
Someday, when Apple owns and runs everything, MS may be bought out and will merge with the Mac OS. Then this will be a standard! Sorry, fanboy-ish outbreak. Doesn't mean I'm a "true" fanboy, but we shall see. Yeah, I get off topic.
-BMF

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love it love it love it love it..... but......
Nov 24, 2007 4:21AM PST

I'm running leopard on my mac mini 3.2GHz machine (g-series) with 512RAM. it is blazing fast except for when it has gone to the screen saver and I wake it up- then it takes like 3-4 minutes to run quickly again. not enough ram? anyone else with this problem, and anyone with a solution?

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If you have a 3.2Ghz Mac Mini (!), and you run Leopard,
Nov 24, 2007 5:43AM PST

then it's no wonder. First of all, Leopard requires a minimum of 512 MB of RAM. You have that obviously, but it does not appear to be enough if it plagues you so. The clock speed of a CPU doesn't mean much if the other components aren't on par with it. What did you do to it to have such capabilities? Nice upgrades I suppose.

I suggest upgrading to at least 1GB or more of RAM. I think 2 is the limit for the Mini. That should do it, unless you have a faulty screensaver or install of the OS, which is unlikely, but possible.
-BMF

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I changed OS from Panther to Leopard and it is terrific.
Dec 14, 2007 7:22AM PST

I have an e-Mac, G4, PowerPC, 1.25 Ghz, 1GB, 80GB HD, Superdrive.

It was purchased in February 2005 and came only with 256K RAM. I insisted on adding another 256K before I would buy it. The local Apple Store sold me the additional stick and installed it. It came with i-Life 05.

I did not change from Panther to Tiger until it was a week too late to even buy Tiger locally.

I purchase OS X-Leopard, i-Life 08 and i-Work 08 and installed Leopard on my e-Mac. Something went wrong and I could not fix it. I had problems getting help or service at the local Apple Store. A man at the Genius Bar told a salesman and me to take it someplace else. This was wrong. He must have had a bad day although there were only two Geniuses there, they were not that busy. I took the Mac to Fry's, bought two sticks of 512K and had them installed. This did not help. I left a note here on C-Net and got some good advice. I made an appointment online (using my Windows computer) for the Genius Bar and telephoned the manager. I showed up, another Genius said that it was the motherboard and, since it was under warranty with Apple Care, it was replaced and installed free ($400.).

I installed the other programs and the computer is working perfectly and I am really happy. Time Machine automatically backs up to an extended hard drive (I should have purchased a humongous external hard drive, though) and I am so glad that I finally changed OSes. I also purchased a new European keyboard since I write to friends and family in different European languages and the new keyboards are wonderful compared to my original keyboard that came with the e-Mac. Nice machine and soooo much less hassle than my Windows XP-Home Sony. lol

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Where did you get that Mac Mini
Dec 14, 2007 11:41PM PST

and where can I get one?

As mentioned, increase the RAM. Go to the max, 2GB.

What ever you do, keep that machine, it is unique!


P

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I'll take one too.
Dec 15, 2007 5:02AM PST

How do you overclock a Mac Mini CPU from 1.6-2Ghz to 3.2Ghz? Or did you buy and install a new one? That's a huge difference. I can't imagine how the Mac Mini could handle it, since it's made of laptop components. Nice.

-BMF

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sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry
Dec 30, 2007 5:56PM PST

sorry to be so ********! someone was talking to me as I wrote the post and they were talking about a 3.2 GHz machine. you know how it is: hear it- type it syndrome. my machine is REALLY a 1.33GHZ G4 series. sorry for the weirdo post.

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Not problem
Dec 30, 2007 8:54PM PST

We just figured you for a Fisherman.

You know how they like to brag


HNY

P

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With a G4 chip, it would be pretty hard to hit that speed
Dec 31, 2007 11:08AM PST

It could be done if the G4 chip had evolved more. It'd be more fun to squeeze a G5 chip in the Mini enclosure instead. 3.2Ghz in a Mac Mini would be pretty nice though, but it would only be useful with a real graphics card Wink.

-BMF

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I JUST SWITCHED TO IMAC WITH LEOPARD
Jan 1, 2008 11:13AM PST

I bought my new 24" iMAC 2.4 ghz Saturday, 29 Dec. I have always heard from friends and colleagues how far superior MACs are compared to anything else on the market and how easily they handled all tasks. I have spent hours and hours trying to get everything working. Nothing was as advertised and I bought my machine at an Apple store. I was told that Leopard was loaded only to find out that Tiger was loaded so I had to install the new operating system myself. The Leopard disk was in the box. Once I loaded Leopard the system locked me out so I could not set up any of my periferals or even connect to the internet. In frustration I finally scrubbed the hard drive and reloaded from scratch. Some of the problem is obviously me. I am not an experienced MAC person but am not computer illiterate either. I bought the machine to use for processing my photography. So far all I have done is fight with the machine. I have been able to install drivers for my Epson photo printer and I can print now but I have lost all control of quality. Apple support is available twelve hours a day if you are available at the times they are. Of course you can use the on line help if you can get the machine to connect to the internet. I have been setting up new machines for nearly twenty years, and have worked with most desk top machines manufactured as well as many servers and operating systems. This is my first hand-on with an Apple machine. It is also the first time I have had to completely scrub the hard drive on a brand new machine and reload from scratch. I must admit though that it is about the simplest machine to scrub and reload. I recently purchased a Toshiba laptop running Vista and I have to admit that Vista is no picnic either. Deciding between a new PC with Vista or an Apple with Leopard - - - No easy decision. All I can say is good luck!!

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A couple of questions....
Jan 2, 2008 12:26AM PST

... from one who is a relatively new user.

How did you recognize or determine the OS to be Tiger, and not Leopard?

Did you contact the Apple Store immediately?

Did you purchase AppleCare?

You will read comments here about the difference between the Mac and Windows users mind-sets. I have found that to be true in the few months since I made the change.

Regardless of anyone's skill re: Windows, it is a good idea to first follow the advice first in these forums, in those at Apple, at AppleCare, or at the Apple Store. Most of the time they will be simpler and less frustrating, and make more sense.

Angeline (not a moderator here)

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A couple of answers
Jan 2, 2008 11:39AM PST

I was checking to see if the memory upgrade I had installed had been properly recognized by the machine. It had. I just happened to notice that the same screen also told me that I was running MAC OS 10.4 (Tiger). It was at night so the store was closed. I tried to call the store the next day but only got a recording and there was no prompt to leave a message. I am beginning to feel that this is just typical Apple. No concern for customer service after the sale. Yes I did purchase Apple Care and .MAC. I am beginning to think that both were just a waste of cash. The telephone numbers for Apple Care are only good from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Pacific time. My work hours preclude my being able to contact them. The Apple and MAC web sites are very much like the (free) help buttons in Windows and may or may not address your particular problem. I have spent hours navigating them and was shocked to see that it is a common problem for users to get locked out of their system when they run the upgrade disk when upgrading from Tiger to Leopard. That little fact was well hidden in some fine print on the web site. I appreciate the fact that there is a difference between MAC and Windows users. I also appreciate any and all feed back here. I am trying to keep an open mind about my new iMAC and am surprised at how many things I have grown fond on on the iMAC. I REALLY do need to get the print problem fixed though since I only have a few days left in which to return it. I purchased the machine for use in my photography but if I can't print reliable there is no sense in keeping it.

Thanks for your reply,

NevVic

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Can we continue this in the first thread, please.
Jan 2, 2008 8:47PM PST

Multiple posts, with the same text, in different forums tend to slow the whole process down.

Thanks

P