It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me… but here it is: part one of an ongoing Snow Leopard (SL for short) info series.
Should I update to Snow Leopard?
The answer is a definite maybe… there are still some apps and utilities that haven’t been updated yet, and some printers that need new drivers, or won’t ever work with SL. I encourage anyone to contact me with details of your system, peripherals etc. and I’ll give you my take on how easy or difficult the transition will be.
Now that Mac OS X 10.6.1 has been released many of the original issues have been laid to rest. There are tips and tricks for working with SL, and I’ll pass them along as I can. There are definite benefits to running the new system, so if you can, I think it’s worth thinking about. Be prepared for a short transition time, even if everything you use is compatible. It should be painless, and you’ll be delighted with the results… I know I am.
Compatibility
This seems like a good place to start. Firstly, Snow Leopard will only run on Intel Macs. If you have a G4 or G5 machine, Leopard (Mac OS 10.5) is the last system you can use. Snow Leopard won’t even install.
There are several sites that are listing applications and utilities that have been tested as either compatible or not, and are updated daily. Here are the ones I use:
Printing with Snow Leopard
Printing compatibility is another issue for many early adapters. Appletalk has been completely dropped from the operating system in Snow Leopard, so the old workhorse LaserWriters and similar printers won’t work any longer. I had an issue with my GCC 12/1200N, but fortunately it has the ability to connect via IP network connection, so I can still use it. Other printers, even some reasonably current printers either won’t work or are limited in functionality.
Apple is no longer using the “Tioga” type drivers, but is moving towards open source “CUPS” drivers. Unless printer manufactures issue new drivers, some printers may be buggy or completely inoperative.
The good news for some is that if your printer worked in Leopard, most likely it will work in Snow Leopard, but I always recommend checking with your printer’s manufacturer to see if a new driver has been released. It’s solved problems for several clients so far.
This page has a link to download an installer with missing drivers. I’ve not installed it, so can’t vouch for it, but if you’re having issues it may be worth a try.
On the other hand, a vast number of printer drivers are included in SL, and there are some very nice new features for many printers.
The need for speed
OK, Snow Leopard has been touted as a speed demon, but some users may not see a big change from Leopard. Day to day, it’s unlikely that you’ll be amazed by the speed. That said, the system is faster, with cleaner code.
As applications are written to take advantage of the new features, like Grand Central Dispatch, which uses multi-core processors more effectively, there will be some big changes. Right now most apps are not written to use more than one core at a time. It’s just not practical for software developers to do any differently. Grand Central should make it much easier for new and upgraded apps to really fly.
The OS itself will manage the decisions of which processes go to which cores, instead of the application. Hope the new apps are coming soon!
OpenCL is another potential speed improver… Your graphics card is fairly under-utilized, unless you’re playing 3-d games. OpenCL allows graphics cards to perform work previously only done by the CPU, basically adding additional computing ability to your current machine, as long as the graphic needs allow it.
Stability
Several changes in the OS will provide more stability, particularly as regards Safari plugins, and iChat usage. Disk eject will tell you more specifically what app is using the disk, so you’ll know what to quit. There are lots of little tweaks to keep Snow Leopard up and running.
New Features
Lots of little things, the main one being QuickTime X. Some will love it, some not, but if you have a QuickTime Pro license you can install QuickTime 7 from the Snow Leopard installer, and have the simple movie player provided by QuickTime X, and the capabilities of Pro 7.
Expose is updated, using the dock icon for applications to open all the windows used by the icon. Click and hold the app icon and you’ll see only windows for that application, spread out Expose style, but tiling into grids rather than scattered about randomly.
Stacks appear when you hover over a folder icon on the right side of the dock now scroll, so you can see all the contents of the folder without opening it.
More to come soon…
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