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General discussion

Who's going to buy Leopard?

Oct 25, 2007 6:10AM PDT

I was wondering who is going to get the new version of MAC OS X Leopard?

Discussion is locked

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I am.
Oct 25, 2007 6:56AM PDT

Family pack.

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Not me...
Oct 25, 2007 7:09AM PDT

That is, not unless it will drastically improve the performance of my 1.2 ghz G4 iBook and solves the nagging memory leak that slows my machine down as the says go by without rebooting. Otherwise, I am waiting for a 24" 2.4 ghz iMac to show up in the refurbished section of the apple store. At least, that is the plan, unless they half the price of a refurbed mac pro tower.

Wink

grim "because I ain't makin money right now" graphix

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Me, but
Oct 25, 2007 8:28AM PDT

not for a few weeks yet.

P

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Nah.
Oct 25, 2007 12:02PM PDT

Only just got my teeth into Panther and my G3 iBook don't run Leopard I don't think.

I'm in the same boat as Vista; until I can afford to build/get a machine that'll actually run it at enough speed to enjoy, I'm holding back. Same applies for Leopard. I could even use Bootcamp and Vista on an iMac or something.

But for now and the next little while I'm happy with Win2000 and Panther.

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I'm going all aboard with Leopard
Oct 25, 2007 2:19PM PDT

Why not? I mean, I could defintely use Time Machine and with the new improvements, I could easily browse through my multimedia quicker. I hate doing manual backups since I add so many files to my Macs on a regular basis. Bugs... you know, if Leopard got pushed back for the iPhone, it better not have any but who knows... I doubt that there will be any serious issues immmediately after the release.

I guess I'll get a Family Pack for my Macs and for future machines if needed... I know my G4 will run it, but the 1.6Ghz DVD talk and whatnot is bugging me. I know you don't need that much power to use DVD Player, but it's disturbing that Apple would say that. They're really trying hard to get Intel machines into the hands of Apple or PowerPC users and loyalists.
Anyway, I will definitely enjoy it.
-BMF

May I get lucky and be one of the first 500 buyers at my Store. It'd be interesting to get a Leopard shirt Wink . Show off your inner iFeelings LOL! Happy Leopard will be great.

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Interesting, where are you seeing that?
Oct 25, 2007 10:48PM PDT

Last I heard, the system requirements for Leopard were:

Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor
512MB of physical RAM
DVD drive for installation

P

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P check out the link
Oct 26, 2007 2:06AM PDT

Read it online, was really interesting.

http://lowendmac.com/mail/mb07/1025.html#4

http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs/

It's all there. But according to the posts on that lowendmac link, you really don't need that much power. It's odd. I'm serious, I think Apple is really trying to get everyone to use Intel products, otherwise they wouldn't up the specs and requirements for the latest and greatest stuff.

1.6Ghz... There are some Core Duo laptops around that don't even have that much, not to mention some Tablet PCs... But they're Win Boxes. I'll bet that if Tiger could be put on an upgraded G3 Pismo, Leopard can be loaded on some older G4 towers and laptops. And why not run it on a G3 iBook with a 900Mhz CPU? It barely meets the specs, but it has the bus speed. But then again, G4s are supposedly better than older G3 chips.

Leopard's good, but Apple's being insane about some of the apps. Why not convert Boot Camp for G4 and G5 towers and whatnot? Sure it's not Intel, but it's possible in some way Happy , I hope. I'd rather run Vista on my G4 flat panel than my MBP, considering I need all the space on my laptop and can always connect externals to my desktop. Oh well... tonight's gonna be good!
-BMF

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You are mistaken
Oct 26, 2007 4:55AM PDT

Requirements for Leopard are as I stated and as are confirmed with your Apple Link.
The 1.6Ghz processor for a DVD player is only to achieve the "improved de-interlacing." This does not mean that you have to have a machine with a processor of that speed to run the dvd player.

It's kinda like the ripple effect you get when you drag a widget onto the desktop when you use a decent graphics card. It does not work on my card but that does not mean I can't use dashboard, I just don't get the full benifit of the effects.

Boot Camp is not possible on the G4 and G5 processors. Boot Camp is NOT an emulator, it is running an the same processor as Windows. If that is what you want to do on your G4 flat panel, go out and buy a copy of Virtual PC. Then you can have Windows on that machine.

Of course Apple is trying to get everyone to use an Intel Mac, in exactly the same way as they tried, and succeeded, in getting everyone to run a PPC power Mac instead of 68040.

BTW, the G4 processor is better than the G3

Enjoy leopard

P

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That's what I meant, you need it to get the best out of it
Oct 26, 2007 12:45PM PDT

but I also said you don't really need it. I even heard that Leopard actually runs very well on older machines that don't exactly meet the requirements. Remember that Apple said that the tests they ran on older Macs were found to be too slow for Leopard, but it ran nevertheless. Try it for all of you PPC users.
I'm not really wrong. I used the wrong terms. My bad... LOL.

BUT I CAN SAY THAT I HAVE JUST GOTTEN MY FAMILY PACK FROM THE APPLE STORE!!!!!!!! Happy Happy I am going to install it now and will report on how awesome it is. I got 3 nice shirts with the Leopard X on it. Interestingly cool Happy . In five years, Apple will own everything!
Whoever else has it, enjoy!
-BMF

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Actualy people have installed it on slower duo
Nov 2, 2007 9:24AM PDT

I have read on other forums where it has installed easily on dual processor and high gigabite Ram systems
without any problem,
Though you do have to use target mode to get around the Original warning that your computer is not
t fats as the 867 required
So far there have been no problems in running leopard after instalation on slower systems.. How far that may extend? Is unknown but I woudl suggest checking the forums where many have already done instalations on slower machines
I have it installed on my G4 1gz EMAC and except for third party progeams ( Many of which already have updates) specifically for leopard it is an elegant feature full system.
Spaces, is particularly useful extending you screen size indefinitely to different screen where you can asign all open applications.Time machine will be useful when I hook up the external drive.( No one seems to have any problems there)
AND someone has already figured out how to run tiger and Leopard together( So that you can keep claassic suport) By running tiger with classic on a partition)
Best of all worlds there.
See apple forums for this set up information

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I know that people have put Leopard on unsupported Macs,
Nov 2, 2007 2:04PM PDT

but mine are supported. My G4 isn't as fast as it was on Tiger, but once I make a few changes and upgrades, it'll be fine.

Now I have to think about putting in a dual 1.8Ghz G4 CPU in a Power Mac G4. If I can get one and do that to it, with multiple other upgrades of course, I'll have a fully functional, Leopard Power Mac. Or I can look at an iMac or Power Mac G5 which in my opinion, were some of the fastest and best Mac ever. PPC was a good way to go. To think that today, we might have had G7 or G6 processors with Boot Camp in another form that would totally destroy Intel's band of CPUs in terms of raw power. My iMac G4 doesn't like Leopard too much but when used for iLife stuff, it still packs a mean punch, as in app performance and whatnot.

Bring back the PPC Macs! Let them run on Leopard and more OS-es to come! LOL. If only I had gotten a Power Mac G3 blue and white tower. That's what you call a Mac.
-BMF

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A Leopard Ate My iMac
Oct 29, 2007 12:32PM PDT

I was so excited, having pre-ordered Leopard Family Pak, when it came. It tried to kill my Mac Pro when I used the upgrade option. It damaged the boot disk, but I successfully performed a fresh installation on a second internal drive, then transferred my files and settings. On my G5 iMac, which was happily running 10.4.9 the upgrade failed also. Then an attempt at a fresh install failed. The iMac is unusable, and Apple tech support said they currently have no fix and I should call again in a week. I hope you have better luck than I, but I have no intention of using that installation disk on my wife's laptop or my daughter's 20" iMac. They would kill me if I crippled their computers so they could have transparent menus and a 3-D Dock.

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Maybe you should have upgraded to 10.4.10
Oct 29, 2007 12:47PM PDT

since I was running that when I upgraded. No guarantees though. Bad disc? If you have a Mac Pro, and it got wrecked, something is wrong here. If my iMac G4 can do it, your G5 and the Pro should handle it. That's just wrong.

Hope you can get some good assistance for them.
-BMF

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Leopard or not?
Oct 29, 2007 4:09PM PDT

You sound as if you're pretty hip to MAC. I'm a newbie with 2 new MacBook Pros and really am being pressured to upgrade to Leopard. But if '08 is only another trial what's the real benefit? If you have the time maybe you could share your thoughts on the REAL BENEFITS OF LEOPARD as an upgrade to Tiger 10.4+

Thanx,
she_creates2@mac.com

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Time machine
Oct 30, 2007 12:14AM PDT

and the improved interface, itself would probably be enough for me. But my Apple machine is only a G3, and I am quite happy with Panther, so no need in all for me to purchase the bigger cat yet.

I'm pretty new to Macs also, but I definitely like what I see. Will always have a soft spot for Microsoft, though.

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try this article from the BBC
Oct 30, 2007 1:06AM PDT

It's a good read, that gives a plain, fair review of the upgrades you will find in Leopard. It also provides links to similar reviews from MacWorld, Ars Technica, and The Guardian (see the link box about half way down the page, buried in the body of the text).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7066995.stm

"08 is not really a "trial" upgrade like the "trial" upgrades you may be used to seeing from Microsoft. Apple has had a history of adding real value to their OS upgrades about every 2 to 3 years (ever since they came out with OSX). The new Leopard is meant to take advantage of the intel chips found in their newer machines, along with addressing some competitive differences between mac os and windows xp/vista (such as Quick Look which allows a better preview of file content which windows explorer did better - in my opinion - in the past, than osx finder window did). Older G3, G4, and G5 CP users may not get the same impact from upgrading, but newer intelmac users should get an appreciable boost in performance. However, Tiger is a fine operating system and will be quite durable for several years to come, if you choose not to upgrade.

cheers

grim

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Quite true. In fact, my Intel MacBook Pro runs better than
Oct 30, 2007 7:59AM PDT

ever before. I'm quite satisfied with Leopard's ability to take advantage of the x86 architecture. My G4 runs slower, but being an old machine, it isn't surprising. Once I make some hardware upgrades to it, I won't have to worry as much, but I don't expect any serious increases in performance.

Now Leopard is a worthy upgrade for Intel Mac users. You said you have two new MBPs, and considering the fact that mine boots up and shuts down quicker, runs my apps more efficiently and quickly, etc., I advise others to take advantage of Leopard's new offerings. Tiger is more compatible with most OS X apps and programs, but that's because Leopard is still new. Leopard seems to just be a totally revamped version of Tiger in a way, taking all of Tiger's good stuff and expanding it into others (Cover Flow). I'm really glad about this. Time Machine is a handy tool if you need it. The bells and whistles such as Stacks and Spaces are appreciated, but I don't rely on them as much.

It's hard to point out the good stuff (at least is for me Wink ), but I will say again that Leopard is able to make more use of Intel Macs. In the words of Steve Jobs in the Sticker Question escapade (man that was hilarious), Intel and Apple have really tuned their products well together. Leopard is the proof. I recommend upgrading, but it's always best to try it out at the Apple Store before hand. Hope this helps your thoughts.
-BMF

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They are now recomending archive and install
Nov 2, 2007 9:35AM PDT

I did somehing similar, eventualy leopard crashed due to the old system integration. I was able to do Archive and install after running disk utility. I lost nothing.
And have absolutely no problems at all since I did Archive and install.
Many of the problems I was experiencing disapeared. I understand that Archive and install is now recommended as the prefered method of instalation .I would seem, the simple upgrade, standard instalation is the culprit in this matter.

I would go ahead and install it using Archive and install, rather than the UPgrade option.That solved most all the issues I had. If you have the room I would suggest you reinstall using that method if you experience issues.

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Only had Tiger for 5 months...
Oct 25, 2007 9:44PM PDT

..... and still learning.

But I planned to have Leopard from the get go. However, I will wait for a couple of months.

Right now I get "There is a new version of (this program) as part of '08".

I'm hoping that Leopard will have spell check work in these subject lines, and that the included Mail will have "Make text bigger" like .Mac mail does.

Ageline

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Be Aware
Oct 25, 2007 9:49PM PDT

iLife 08 is NOT included in Leopard. You only get a "free" version of that if you purchase a new machine.

P

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Appreciate your reminder
Oct 25, 2007 11:40PM PDT

I can have them both installed at the same time.

Angeline

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Hey Angeline, spell check does work in forum subject lines..
Oct 26, 2007 1:53AM PDT

You just have to prompt the spell check in Safari manually for some reason.

The way you do it is this. After writing out your subject line, leave the cursor bar, still blinking, in the subject line.

Press apple command + ; and any misspelled words will be underlined in red.

Why you have to do spell check manually in the subject line when it will auto check in the body of a post, I don't know. Anyway, that's just the way it is.

Happy

grim

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I got Safari to spell check for me when I used to beta
Oct 26, 2007 2:09AM PDT

3.0 version, but I took it off when I restored my system many weeks ago. I don't really miss is, but it does still work in Mail. Anyway, Safari would spell check anything I would type into a forum for me if I had mispelled a word. Just thought you might like to know that.
-BMF

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Does that mean that Safari 3.0...
Oct 26, 2007 11:31PM PDT

..... will spell check the subject line automatically?

Thanks!

Angeline

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Spell Checking in Tiger
Oct 26, 2007 11:52PM PDT

The Spell Checker in Tiger is System Wide and works with any application into which text is input. For those programs that have their own Spell Checker, Word for instance, the Apps SP takes precedence.

It was not specific to Safari, beta or not, and has been around since the release of Tiger a couple of years ago.

As noted, in Safari it has to be turned on, Edit/Spelling/Check Spelling as you Type, it will then check the Message body and underline in red the incorrect spelling, all the time.
The subject line is different for some reason. See Grim's post.

P

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Accommodate... Hey! It worked!
Oct 26, 2007 11:35PM PDT

Used accommodate misspelled.

Thanks, Grim!!!

Angelline

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Mail Text
Oct 27, 2007 12:05AM PDT

I just noticed the last line on your post and have this tip to offer.

When you are reading your email, in Mail, try holding down the Apple Key and pressing the + key a number of times.

It will make what you are looking at, larger.

Alternatively, holding down the Control button and rotating your mouse scroll wheel (if fitted) will zoom in and out of a page.

Is this what you were looking for?

P

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It worked with the scroll button
Oct 27, 2007 4:59AM PDT

.... but I couldn't get it to do so with the other. Kept getting those "bonk" sounds.

It was a tad hard to control with the scroll button.

Thanks!

Angeline

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Most every Macie should as it is a MAJOR upgrade/release.
Oct 26, 2007 10:43AM PDT

Not a minor wrinkle. This has been two & a half years coming. Leopard look & feel will set the way for at least a few years. Eventually you're gonna want to grow & learn so why be so negative as to want to avoid it? It is Apple software after all, not Microsoft.

I'm no technophile but will apparently get my copy via mail early next week so I can get started. I'm sure I'll never master it & get anywhere near slick benefits as the trained, disciplined type business users.

This from one old enough to have loved OS 8.5 then thought things went to hell through the horrid 10 point one & two. More recently it has improved much he recent iterations of Mac OS have become progressively faster as improvements over 10.1 & 10.2 - not bogging down, but faster, people.

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Of Course!
Oct 26, 2007 10:58AM PDT

I want to do anything and everything that I can as a college student to help Apple thrive. I love this company. They are making all of the right decisions. I was horribly upset to find out today that I won't be able to get Leopard until Tuesday, since my school's bookstore here at Missouri State only caters to the PC crowd. I hope that Leopard is HUGE for Apple and that it pulls out a much larger market share for them. I have been watching this OS since it's announcement and have been counting down the days along with Apple's homepage for the past couple of weeks. I will be buying it as soon as possible!