Last month, Apple released its much-anticipated Mac OS software update, Leopard. I know I’m a little late announcing this, but my point here is not a belated birth announcement, but a celebration of the fact that it does something my Windows Vista software does not–it works!
I love computers and software. I love form and function. I want software that does lots of stuff, or at least does what it says it does, even if it doesn’t do everything I need.
I’ve worked with Leopard since October 27th. My only complaint to date is that the software took an eternity to install, and still required that I update individual components at the time I accessed the applications. Other than that, Leopard worked/works as promised.
My favorite features are the thumbnails of each and every document on my hard drive. I love these because I can see if it’s the file I need without having to open the file. I love that I can hover over a file icon on my desktop and see the files within the folder as a “stack” or as a “grid”. This is an easy way to see what’s inside without having to search the contents.
I also love the fact that I can use cover flow–the cool way of searching album covers in iTunes–to search files on my hard-drive. This is especially cool since you can see the thumbnails.
My next favorite feature is “Time Machine”, a backup application that allows me to go back in time before I accidentally altered something to reclaim it. It’s like having an IT department at home for those time when you press the button and send the report you’ve worked on for 2 weeks into a black hole. Now, I can recover it.
I also love updates to Preview, Apple’s own PDF viewer. The new improved version adds much-needed editing functionality a la photoshop express to the PDF reader. I can crop documents and jpeg photos by “cutting out” the exact shapes. When used in conjunction with Safari, I can view PDF files online without downloading them. I can then decide to export them to Preview or to save them to my downloads folder.
The improved functionality offered by Leopard also integrates nicely with my iLife and iWork software and my .Mac account. I love integration. It makes everything truly drag and drop.
So, if you are looking for an easy-to-use, easy-to-install, works-as-promised operating system (for your Mac), Leopard is worth the money (less than $200).
Stuff You Might Also Like
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds
Loading ...
