Accessories

First time user
I switched to Mac in December and got the OS X 10.5 with the computer. It runs smoothly and without a hitch, which is very commendable.

I was not accustomed to the different tools, and therefore have left some of them unused to this day. I don't for example use the mail feature, the iChat, or the iCal. Furthermore there are some applications, that I don't think fantastic, for example Safari, which I did use for a short while but found to be utterly inferior to Mozillas browser (it will for example not open hotmail).

There are far too many things in the OS X that you don't need, yet are still there and set up as standards, which is a bit irritating. It takes forever to find out where these files are hidden and change/delete them. It is a lot harder, in my opinion at least, to tailor your computer to your needs with OS X than with Windows, change settings and preferences and so on.

However, there are redeeming factors. The preview function, that lets you look at most files without running the application that you'd normally use to open them in, is priceless. That really comes in handy a lot. The time machine function, that makes a backup of your harddisk, is also very handy, and takes a load of your mind. I have loads of photos and text that I'd rather not loose because of system failure, and I'm sure that goes for most people.

The 'search' set up makes it fairly easy to locate a file you yourself have created, but is otherwise very limited seeing that it doesn't search all folders. I personally had a hell of a time trying to re-install some Adobe software because I couldn't locate a file that turned out to be in the "library" folder using the search function.

In conclusion I'll say that I don't think this is a superior operating system, but it is definitely not inferior either. I would like more personal control over things, but I do get how it is nice that you can (if you choose to) just sit back and let Apple handle everything for you. I wouldn't switch to Mac just to get to use OS X, but I wouldn't run Windows on my Mac either.

Another exemplary review!
The many features of this latest operating system are fabulous. The extra capabilities for Preview to edit and review PDF files; creating total computer back ups with Time Machine, using the dictionary and thesaurus features while preparing email messages; rapid start ups; and overall operating stability!

I ordered the Mac OS X Version 10.5 online from Apple. I liked it so well that I wanted to install it on my other MacBooks and iMac computers, so I ordered the Family Pack from Amazon -- rapid and exceptional delivery.

For this product I am a very happy customer : )

The best OS for the Mac just keeps getting better!
As I Mac user since 1985, I've looked forward to each new operating system release from Apple. I went through the bad times and the good times, but I'm happy to say the best OS for the Mac has just gotten better! OS Ten (OS X) has been a blessing for Mac users since it started. Each release just keeps getting better. I thought after "Tiger", how could it get any better? Leopard has shown that it can!

As someone that has been in IT for many years, I stay away from X.0 releases (first version), so as much as I wanted to, I resisted the 10.5.0 release of Leopard for my part-time home office which is running four Macs.
After the 10.5.1 release, I purchased this 5-client pack from Amazon. On my Intel Mac Mini and my wife's Intel iMac, the upgrade went fine, no issues whatsoever. On my 1st generation MacBook, and Dual G5 PowerMac, the results weren't the same. I had several issues with both. Not enough to cause serious problems, but enough for me to put my Tiger clone back on and keep running Tiger.

Finally, 10.5.2 was released, and this time was a charm for both machines. I am happily running Leopard on all my Macs now. Time Machine, Quick Look, the new Finder, and speed and security improvements are all features that I'm very happy with. Time Machine with Time Capsule is one of the most revolutionary features that modern personal computers have seen in a long time. I'm quite disciplined on making backups and clone images every week, but other members of my family never did backups. They either depended on me, or just lived on the edge. With Time Machine, my life has gotten so much better, and their data is rarely at risk any more. It's just a "no-brainer" backup solution that works without them even knowing about it... until they lose something! Recently, it rescued my wife's iMac from a serious malfunction when she tried to "modify" her dock settings and deleted some system files. Her entire dock disappeared and there was nothing she could do to get it back. Within minutes, using TM, we were able to bring it back to "a time" before she deleted the files. With one Time Capsule, we can keep everyone's Mac backed up on a continual basis. Some people have compared it to the Windows "Snapshot" feature, but it's not. It's much more powerful and complete. If you read the fine print of Windows "System Restore", it makes no such promise that you'll positively be able to go back and restore the exact file you lost. With TM, EVERY file (unless YOU exclude it) will be backed up. How far you can go back "in time" is only dictated by how big a hard drive you have.

The new Apple Mail has "Data Detectors". Whenever it sees a name, date, or address, it has the intelligence to understand that is specific data. When it sees a date, you can instantly pop it into iCal without having to leave Mail and open iCal. See an address? Instantly jump to Google Maps to see a map, and import it if needed. Saves me a lot of time!

"Spaces" is another great feature. Not revolutionary, virtual desktops have been around a long time, but Apple has integrated it nicely into Leopard. I use dual 24" LCDs in a virtual desktop configuration, so with Spaces, I can increase my productivity by having sets of applications into its own space. The Expose features also work in Spaces, so even when viewing dual monitors, I can separate many different views into distinct windows. You can quickly "grab" windows and place them in different spaces as needed.

Networking has improved over Tiger, and while WiFi had problems in the initial release, these seem to be all but gone now. Early adopter problems seem to have vanished with 10.5.2, including the small issues I had. Hard drive partitions can now be dynamically changed without losing data from your startup partition (though be careful as you would with any disk utility).

Some people have complained about the transparency, but I've had no issues with it, and it can be turned off now. What's really surprising about Leopard, is it makes my 4-year old PowerMac run faster! In the Windows world, whenever you upgrade the OS, you are usually required to upgrade the computer as well (very nice for computer retailers!), but on Macs, this isn't a problem, unless you have a really old Mac or one that is terribly under-configured.

The big cat has hit a home run with my small office! Can it get any better?

Best OS
I love mac os x. Leopard is a great upgrade to cool new features. I purchased this upgrade for spaces and for ichat screen sharing capabilities. Spaces lets me stay more organized and less cluttered. I can work on photoshop as its own space and have another space for all my internet windows that I have open. I can switch between them with a click of a button rather than hitting expose and searching for the window a that I am working on. The screen sharing is my favorite. My brothers are goof balls so I can go ahead and control their computer through ichat with screen sharing. No more 3rd party software. The old os is perfect. Only updgrade if you really need to.

reinvigorates an old Mac -- faster and more responsive
I waited a while to upgrade, until 10.5.2 had come out, & have had no problems doing a straight upgrade on a iMac that's more than three years old. The improvement in performance is remarkable -- suddenly my old machine feels like a much newer computer. They've made some technical improvements -- multi-threading the Finder, passing more work off to the graphics card -- that speed things up & reduce delays (I don't think I've seen a single beachball since installing -- compared to several every hour at least with Tiger) and using Spaces also makes things much more responsive. Keeping apps open and maximized in their own space (1 for iTunes, 1 for Mail, 1 for work is my current pattern) makes them much snappier to activate than minimizing to the Dock and maximizing again.