OS X Gets a Facelift, and Lots More

It's been two years since Apple last updated its Mac operating system, OS X. But today the company launches version 10.5, popularly known as Leopard.

Is it a must-have? As anyone with a Mac knows, OS X is already a well-evolved, secure operating system. Though Apple would like everyone with a compatible Mac to plunk down the $130 Leopard costs, you don’t absolutely need to if you already have Tiger, the version that came before Leopard.

Related information from Consumer Reports:

• Review: Apple's latest iMacs
• Buying Advice: How to choose an operating system
• The best laptops and desktops
• Buying advice: Desktop PCs & Mac computers

On the other hand, there are more than 300 new features in Leopard, some of them significant. Here are several of the most notable:

Desktop updates:

• The most visible change is to the Dock, OS X's program-launcher and taskbar. (See image at right. Click on it for a closer look.)  Leopard perches the Dock's icons on a reflective, 3-dimensional "shelf." This little tweak goes a long way toward making the desktop look neater.
• The Spaces feature lets you create several virtual desktops based, for example, on different projects you're working on. You can easily switch among the desktops, view them all at once, and can drag items between them or change their order.
• The main Apple menu bar gains semi-transparent menus and windows cast more-diffuse shadows on objects behind them, making them look like they’re floating.

Enhanced user interface:

• Leopard provides a new and intuitive visual access to folders in the Dock called Stacks. Your downloads and documents folders are there, and you can add others. Clicking a Stack fans out its contents and lets you choose a file with one click. (See image at right. Click on it for a closer look.)

• A new file-browser option lets you flip through file and program icons as you do with album-based Cover Flow in iTunes. Document and media-file icons show the file's content, and you can expand each icon with a Quick Look button that lets you see more without opening a separate application. (See image at right. Click on it for a closer look.) But you don't need Cover Flow to preview a document. Any view in Finder provides a miniaturized look at your files; PDFs have a binder effect, and multi-page documents sport dog-eared corners that show a piece of the subsequent page.
• Drop a second finger on a MacBook's touchpad and its button becomes a "right-click," bringing up a context menu. (Mac laptop owners had longed for a two-button touchpad.)

Improved and expanded utilities:

• Leopard's new "Time Machine" backup system goes far beyond Windows' System Restore or typical backup programs. Time Machine takes your Mac "back in time" to restore lost files or previous versions. As with other Mac OS applications, the interface is quite visually intuitive. You need to add an external hard drive to make it work as a true backup system. Once you plug that hard drive in, Leopard asks if you want to use it for backing up with Time Machine. Answer yes, and your automatic backup is ready to go.
• Spotlight, the Mac's search engine, now includes a dictionary definition to define a typed word, complete with origin. It can now search across the shared folders of networked Macs. (Searches of Windows systems are based on file names only.)
• Mac Mail has been enhanced to add features akin to those in Microsoft's Outlook and Mac Entourage personal information manager. Apple added notes and to-do lists, and improved interactivity with e-mail, contacts, and calendaring. Mac Mail can also set up e-mail accounts automatically for several common e-mail services such as Yahoo and Gmail. Templates provide a number of stationery options, including designs that let you add your own photos to the stationery. Mac Mail also recognizes addresses typed in the text, and lets you easily add them as contacts. Similarly, it detects dates and simplifies entering those into your calendar.
• Preview, the Mac’s default image viewer, has gained a number of manipulation features such as direct e-mailing, resizing, and annotation.
• iChat gains a host of new features, including conferencing, photo, movie, and presentation sharing. A new remote-desktop feature can make it easier to get computer help from a friend. You can even change the background of your video image, substituting a photo or even a video clip as a backdrop. This takes some sophisticated processing, but it works, as long as the "real" background behind you doesn't change (even in lighting) and you don't move the webcam.
• There are parental controls built in, including application restriction, content filtering, and time limits (specific or cumulative, by weekday or weekend). There's logging, and the ability to manage parental controls from another Mac on a home network.
• If you enjoy Dashboard widgets, Leopard now gives you the power to create your own, using its new Web Clip feature to select any portion of a Web page and turn it into a Dashboard widget. The widget will update as its page of origin does.

More add-ons:

• Front Row, Apple's media-center-style interface, is bundled into the operating system, rather than being added only in models with remote controls.
• PhotoBooth, a picture-taking applet, is also included, but you’ll need to add a webcam (Apple's iSight or one compliant with the "UVC," or "USB Video Class," standard) on Macs without one.
• There's good news and bad news for fans of Boot Camp, the boot-up manager that lets you install and run an alternate OS like Windows on Intel-based Macs. First the good news: It's now bundled in Leopard, Windows can use more of the Mac hardware features, and Leopard can read files on the Windows partition. The bad? Those that are using the free, downloadable beta version that worked on Tiger will have to upgrade to Leopard to keep using Boot Camp, since the beta version expires on 12/31/2007. Beta users also lose tech support from Apple now that Leopard is released. And don't expect Apple to help you out with Windows glitches when you’re running Windows under Boot Camp. While tech support for Boot Camp functionality itself (such as using Boot Camp Assistant) will be provided, Apple won’t support any task that involves running Windows, including things that affect its own hardware.

There are many other enhancements under the hood. Some are intended to increase security for users, important now that OS X has gained popularity and may attract more attention by malware writers and hackers. For instance, some potentially vulnerable Mac OS utilities run in a "sandbox," which isolates them from the rest of the OS in case a hacker gains control of them.

Users of the occasional Mac OS 9 application that had to run in "Classic" mode under Mac OS X, may be chagrined to learn that Classic mode is no longer available under Leopard. But the same is true for recent Intel-based Macs anyway, so the writing was on the wall.

Mac owners wanting to upgrade to Leopard will need a Mac with an Intel or Power PC G4 or G5 processor, and 512MB of RAM (1GB is better).

The bottom line: Apple has produced an operating system that leaps ahead of its former one in many ways, and ahead of Windows Vista in several ways as well. We were not able to get even the pre-retail developer's release to hang or crash. If history is a guide, Mac users will be very happy to have a Leopard in their computers, with a much easier transition than Windows users had in the move to Vista.

—Dean Gallea

Comments

[firkle]

I'm a long time Windows user, but always wanted to try a Mac. I finally bought a MacBook with Leopard a few months ago. One of the first things I did was to buy a copy of Windows XP and load it on the Boot Camp partition. Then I downloaded a copy of VMware Fusion so I could run Windows and OS X at the same time. It works great, but I have to say I still use Windows at least 75% of the time. I have tons of great Windows programs and find that I'm just not interested in trying to find OS X equivalents. Plus I just feel I have more control using Windows. OS X may have all kinds of great features but, at this point, it just doesn't mean that much to me.
It is definitely cool to run Windows and OS X on the same machine, and I would absolutely recommend it to anybody that's interested (getting used to the Mac keyboard being the only downside.) My main problem, at this point, is finding a reason to use OS X side more often. So far, it's been a struggle :)

[Elizabeth N.]

Hi
I have loved apple ever scence they came out with the 1st gen ipods
unfortunatly because of the price i didn't get one until late 2007
in April 2008 my parents got a Mac Book 2.1GHz and 1GB of ram and came with leopard it was the familys first mac and aside from being very easy to use it also did amazing things the PC we owned
I made movies {3-10 mins.} in under 20 minuets. I could also edit the songs i got from limewire and itunes in Garageband
if I had to pick one thing I LOVE about apple its the "SUPPORT tab on their Website and the Tutorials"
Also A MAC {w/Leopard}
works like you think it should
it was very easy to make the SWITCH from MAC to PC and from Windows XP to OSX leopard

[Bryan Siegfried]

I would enourage people to consider Linux also, available from Dell at dell.com/ubuntu and on many of the small netbooks like the eeepc coming out recently. Linux has much of the natural security built into it that MacOS does, since MacOS is using the free BSD Unix as its base, which is very similar to Linux.

The benefit is that Linux is free, as is much of the software that comes automatically with a fresh install, such as openoffice.org and firefox. Installing VirtualBox (which is also free) will allow you to run Windows XP or Vista as a virtual Machine, similar to Parallels on the Mac.

[Robert Pride]

I've been researching the Mac vs Pc issue re some upcoming decisions for our home office / small business. What has me leaning toward Mac more than anything is its capacity to handle both windows and leopard OSs. I'm surprised more isn't made of this since the dual operability presents a great option for a variety of reasons. For instance, it seems that many folks would still need or like occasional access to some of their PC software while transitioning to Mac's OS. My only question at present: Is additional RAM required to load and operate Vista on a Mac via boot camp?

[Bailey Bradley]

i love the computer,
they are very unique and
easy to learn. I especially like
the iChat, and Photobooth.
If you are looking for a computer,
or laptop... i would get a Mac.

[Keith Porter]

I've owned my Intel based 20" iMac for 4 months now and I happen to love it. However I will tell you the whole "Mac's just work" is simple not true. It has glitches to. In fact, in some respects, more than my XP box ever had. I can relate how it compares with Vista, which I've heard horror stories about.

That being said, I still love my Mac. It's about the total user experience and I feel Apple does an outstanding job with it. It did take me a while to get used to the fact that you can't really repair it like a PC (not that I've had to - just one of those thing in the back of my mind that kinda bothered me), there's no getting under the hood per se.

Bottom line, it's a matter of preference. If you are thinking of switching to Mac, go to your Apple store and mess around with it. If you like what you see, you won't be disappointed. I haven't been.

[RWinkler]

First, I started using a mac in 1989 personally then became a tech trainer/support in a school with over 200 macs and about 20 PC's in '91. I still do the same job even though the machine type switched to PC (Gateway and Dell). Over the years as a user and supporter to MANY machines I can say that Apple went through a phase from excellent to poor and then excellent again. The trouble years were when they built scads of models during the performa years; however, they have REALLY done a fabulous job with both Tiger and Leopard OS. The operating systems are solid and are receiving kudos from even PC evaluators. For years Microsoft used the Apple OS as a design que and Vista is by nearly every critic, a BIG mistake. It is obvious that the originator/implementor is Apple and they continue to improve on their universal compatibility in their OS. For that reason I suggested macs to five of my friends who all bought imacs recently. I went with 3 of them to the store - all previous PC users. Right now there is no better OS out there. It does what it is supposed to do. I am familiar with PC woes being MS certified. One major difference between XP/ VISTA and Leopard is the variation of troubles that can occur with PC's and THAT is the reason that MOST home users and even most office staff should use a mac with Leopard. There are those who want to tear apart their machine and upgrade and swap parts, etc and they are happy PC hobbyists; however the vast majority of PC users want to accomplish work on their machine and not be working on the machine itself. The price point of Apples are very similar to PC's of similar configuration. In the consumer automotive world a car who requires high maintenance would not last long whereas cars like Honda are revered for reliability. It has amazed me that people continue to buy computers with high maintenance OS systems like XP and Vista when there are much more reliable choices. Apple is the Honda of the PC world.

[Allan jeff smith]

I owned Mac osx it SUCKED!!!!! It never did what i wanted it to do and I costed 3,600 dollars for that Mac but i will turn it on and then I go to Itunes and play some music but then I tryed the internet but then it would say Something like turning off computer so I thought I had a Virus so i found an antivirus amd installled it but then It would crash when i tyred useing it
All I want to say the only good opearting system is Windows XP PRO

[Rob Ashby]

I have been a very loyal Mac user for a long time, but the my last computer, a MAC PRO will be my last. It has been nothing but trouble and the support is totally and completely worthless. I just spent an hour and a half with two techs who did could not comprehend anything and just asked the same questions over and over about my set up. They only sent an email with a website I had already used to try and solve the problem on my own.

They never did anything to suggest a solution to the problem and couldn't understand the error message I read to them word for word at least a dozen times. They finally hung up on me!

[Perry Phillips]

I just purchased a new imac 1 month ago. I was a dedicated mac user from 1988-2000 when I was forced to switch over to Windows computing due to compatibility issues at my workplace. In less than a month I am VERY convinced that this was a great decision. The operating system OS X is terrific and intuitive. The computer is fast, elegant, and fun to use (again). The software for the mac is easy to learn and I have already opened my own website (something that would have never happened with my windows unit). Goodbye windows vista and hello Mac again, forever......

[Colleen]

I purchased an IMAC recently and it's great with very little learning curve. I love the screen and the dashboard. The techs at the store say it's not overly open to incoming viruses. That's a good thing. It's a fun machine.

[Adrian]

I am a long time mac user –since 1995, and have a huge objection to this operating system. While I'm sure that some of the new features are useful and function correctly; the lack of classic OS9 support is, in fact, most disconcerting! I think apple has not realized that there are still many PowerPC users who were with the company even in the bad times, and might require the use of the aforementioned, "occasional Mac OS 9 application that had to run in "Classic" mode under Mac OS X".

I honestly don't think it would have hurt the operating system(10.5) in any way if they had continued to keep the OS9 functionality. I still frequently utilize OS9 applications under OSX; this dreadful news has single handedly made my upgrading to leopard intractable and, in fact, an impossibility.

[Paul Eng]

Hi Valerie,

This is the response I got from the experts in Consumer Reports labs:

Though we haven't tested parental control software recently, the Apple Store sells ContentBarrier X4. It lists time limits as a feature:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/internet_utilities/contentbarrierx4.html

Hope this helps!

—Paul Eng, Web Sr. Editor, ConsumerReports.org

[valerie]

I recently got an imac with Tiger and don't feel the need to upgrade just yet; however, my teens would live on gmail and mySpace if I let them, so I'm keenly interested in parental controls (the very versatile time limits described above would be very helpful). Is there software I can purchase (or freeware or open source software) that would do the same thing? Of course, it would have to be low enough to offset the other features I'd gain with an OS upgrade.

[phil]

yeah i love it! i would say it is definitely a MUST HAVE if you are into macs. I think they have changed enough to dictate the upgrade. you will love it.

[Bob Uncapher]

As the owner of a graphic design/marketing firm, we have relied on the Macintosh since we opened our doors in 2000. I just purchased Leopard and it is absolutely amazing. Everything works as advertised and it couldn't be more more to use. I've upgraded our office's G5, MacPro, and intel iMac with Leopard and all of the machines are running it beautifully. I think the most amazing feature is Time Machine. My wife and business partner is notorious for not putting her files on the server...with Time Machine, everything she does is now backed up on the fly. It certainly makes me feel better about her files! Bottom line... you can't go wrong with Leopard and it is definitely worth the money.