Review roundup: Snow Leopard sports subtle improvements

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  • Reply 41 of 169
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ronbo View Post


    Well, it's always user error, of course. But no dialog has ever popped up giving me these options, so I appear to be using the default settings. And the way it works on my installation is: if I'm playing a game that takes over the screen, there's no user interaction asked or required. The installer simply goes about its business and reboots me, once again with no intervention. If I can see the desktop, there's a subtle dialog that appears in the lower right corner, which appears and then goes away on its own, giving me the opportunity to postpone.



    This is actually very like Microsoft's design principles. There are many options, but you have to KNOW where they are, because they lack the well-designed discoverability that characterizes Apple's software.



    Actually, it's quite readily available. I believe the first time updates are downloaded, it's asks you if you want to have them installed automatically from now on (the default setting) or if you would like to choose how to receive your updates.



    Also, when you first install Vista or Windows 7 (be it a clean install or an upgrade) it gives you the option of how to receive your updates before you get to the desktop the first time (the initial setup phase where you enter your owner name, time zone, WiFi settings, etc).



    I'm all for holding Microsoft's feet to the fire, but this is not one of those instances.
  • Reply 42 of 169
    crebcreb Posts: 276member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Conned View Post


    I have a HP Pavillion Windows Vista laptop with the same CPU as the Mac on it and it runs like a rocket in spite of the fact that Vista is supposed to be "slow" in comparison to Windows XP.



    Good luck with both as HP is no longer what is was when Bill and Dave were around (and its heading downhill fast with Hurd at the helm), and Microsoft has always been a third-rate software corporation whose fortune was made on licensing--not quality products.



    P.S. It's "Pavilion" not "Pavillion."
  • Reply 43 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Crankenstein View Post


    Does "snow leopard" still come with the built in 'burst into flames now' mode that every other apple product comes with?



    No they sold that capability to HP, Lenovo and Dell.



    http://www.infopackets.com/news/hard...urn_hazard.htm



    http://www.upei.ca/computerservices/node/18



    http://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-batt...anges-1452331/
  • Reply 44 of 169
    taurontauron Posts: 911member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Conned View Post


    I was unfortunate enough to have to use a defunct Apple Mac for the last couple of weeks. Before giving it to me, my friend upgraded it to the latest (crappy) Mac OS X which was the version right before "SNOW LEOPARD" (?)



    The damn thing is SLOW as mollasess. I just cannot grasp how a computer that is running on an INTEL CORE 2 DUO, which is a very fast CPU, can be so sluggish! I mean it takes 30 seconds to switch from one application to another, if heaven forbid, I decide to use something as "advanced" as multitasking on it. Even switching from one window to another window in the SAME application takes at least 10 seconds! I mean what is wrong with these people??



    I have a HP Pavillion Windows Vista laptop with the same CPU as the Mac on it and it runs like a rocket in spite of the fact that Vista is supposed to be "slow" in comparison to Windows XP.



    I think people should really boycott this stupid company (Apple) and let evolution put it out of its misery...obviously they do not have any engineers to help them out besides the INTEL engineers that helped them switch from PowerPC to Intel, 6 years ago.



  • Reply 44 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by floccus View Post


    To make a fairer comparison, Snow Leopard is your healthy diet that means less problems when you get old, while Windows 7 is removing the stick that is Vista from your .... .



    I like how most reviewers seem disappointed with "lack" of features. Apparently eye candy is the only thing worth paying for in their eyes still. I for one am incredibly excited for Snow Leopard, 64bit processors have been around for years now, and now there's finally a mainstream OS (sorry linux) that will get programmers to code for it.



    You do know that thousand of apps run on XP 64bit & Vista 64bit & Windows 7 64bit.

    Pretty much everything works in 64 Bit windows it just lacks 64 bit drivers for old equipment, which is considerably older than Power G5s.

    But happily forget that Steve Jobs told us first that Tiger was a 64 bit OS then Leopard and now finally we have Snow Leopard which is definitely a 64Bit OS, umm apart from the 32Bit Kernel that will run on most non-pro Macs.

    Jesus the 64bit move has been long and hard and both sides are doing very little to make it simple.
  • Reply 46 of 169
    taurontauron Posts: 911member
    Whenever apple upgrades the OS you buy it and install it, no questions asked.



    Whenever microsoft upgrades the OS you don't buy it and run, no questions asked.



    QED.
  • Reply 47 of 169
    iansilviansilv Posts: 283member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CREB View Post


    Here's an A-hole critic who really takes the cake! http://www.pcworld.com/article/17078...windows_7.html



    This guys' job is on the line. Not only is apple making inroads to the market he writes about, he's also got to compete with originally online news sources taking online impressions.



    Windows 7 is like the 997 porsche vs the 996- tuned, fixed and polished.



    Snow leopard is the the 997 gt2 vs the 997 turbo- tuned, polished and faster.



    Fact is, I don't give a shit. I'm a consumer. I buy things- I give these comapnies my money. I expect the best. It should not be macbois v m$bois. It should be consumers v both apple and Microsoft. So in that vein, here are some questions for both:



    m$: why the ridiculous number of skus for win 7? Why is media center not better done? What the he'll happened to directv tuners for media center? And why are you charging full price for 7 when vista was such a collossal failure?



    Apple: why can't I download files from a web browser on my iPhone? Why no image previews on the iDisk app? Why no ducking all email accounts inbox? Why are you changing my f word to ducking? And why the hell do I nothave a front facing camera for iChat?
  • Reply 48 of 169
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    Not one of these reviewers knows a damn thing about the technical advances in 10.6. They should either hire an expert or defer to sites dedicated to knowing it's technical advances.



    Agreed. And I don't hold much hope for the more technical sites to do a decent job of it either.
  • Reply 49 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rnp1 View Post


    As one of Apples biggest fanboys since I got my 128k in the 1st qtr 0f '84, I will and have kept upgrading from System 1.0. All my old Macs (except for a couple of bent, white laptop logic boards) still run! I'm loadin' SL 10.6 in at noon tomorrow.

    If you're really smart and know Apple well, you'll be able to get back to where you were in an hour w/ TimeMachine. So who cares if 10.6 has some issues here or there! I'll check 'm out. Let 'm come.

    Upgrade now. Hesitation is futile!



    Having said that, here is a message i got from Parallels today:



    "Snow Leopard is still in experimental mode (as is Windows 7!),

    which means we need to smooth out some kinks first"

    Sounds like an xWindows engineer made that quote!



    Good luck if you don't use TimeMachine!

    But upgrade because it's cool!

    PS-my iPhone still runs from day of launch and if the Tablet has Steve's hands on it, I'll get that ASAP

    (hopefully it will run Kindle, one of my favorite Apps!)





    thanks for the heads up...I run Parallels and it is important to my business....I will wait and check the Parallels forums for the 'All Clear' to upgrade!
  • Reply 50 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tauron View Post


    Whenever apple upgrades the OS you buy it and install it, no questions asked.



    Whenever microsoft upgrades the OS you don't buy it and run, no questions asked.



    QED.



    Right on. My brother-in-law runs a windows box and he won't do any windows major OS upgrades (will do updates though). He just waits till his box dies and buys another box with whatever OS is installed. A bit dumb to be running Windows instead of a Mac. But smart not to upgrade Window's OS's.



    I on the other hand, buy and install all Apple OS/SW upgrades! As you say, the upgrades work!



    FYI (for those running Parallels): http://forum.parallels.com/forumdisplay.php?f=63
  • Reply 51 of 169
    Hope everyone doesn't mind....thought this important to Parallels users!







    Update: Parallels Desktop 4.0 Build 3844 is available

    Dear Users,



    Parallels Desktop 4.0 Build 3844 is available for download:

    http://www.parallels.com/download/desktop/



    Bugfixes and improvements



    - Improved 3D graphics in Windows virtual machines.

    - Problems with Palm synchronization in Windows virtual machines - fixed.

    - Random disconnection of USB 1.1 devices in Linux virtual machines - fixed.

    - Invisibility of the text mouse pointer on black background in Windows virtual machines - fixed.

    - Problems with SMB shares in native Windows Boot Camp installations that have Parallels Tools installed - fixed.

    - Problems with Shared Networking on Snow Leopard host computers - fixed.



    Known issues



    - Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard x86_64 issues:

    -- No USB support.

    -- The performance of SMP virtual machines may be degraded.

    - Windows 7 experimental support issues:

    -- Windows 7 x86_64 installation media cannot be automatically detected.

    -- No sound support.

    -- The virtual machine screen stops being redrawn if the Windows Energy screensaver is run.

    - Dynamic resolution might not work in a Linux guest OS with the default amount of video memory. It might be necessary to increase the video memory size to at least 6 MB to let the feature work.

    - Time difference is not saved between Mac OS and Linux guest even if the ?Allow time difference between host and guest" option is enabled.

    - Recycle bin integration does not work if Mac OS Dock auto hide is enabled.

    - Disk encryption tools make Windows boot extremely long. To work around this issue, add the ?kernel.real_mode_vtx=0? to the system flags in the CPU settings.

    - Sound quality in Mac OS X guest is not very high.

    - Certain 3D applications (like 3D Canvas, Autodesk Inventor, and some others) may work improperly when 256 MB of video memory is allocated to the virtual machine. To work around this issue, decrease the video memory to 128 MB.

    - A message about ATI service that failed to start may appear in Boot Camp Windows virutal machine after booting. This message does not affect the virutal machine performance and can be barely ignored.

    - Windows Vista in a Boot Camp virtual machine may require reactivation after upgrading from Parallels Desktop 3.0 to this version of Parallels Desktop.

    - A wrong CPU driver is installed in a virtual machine that was initially migrated from a Virtual PC, then used with Parallels Desktop 3.0, and finally converted to Parallels Desktop 4.0 format. This results in high CPU usage in host OS with no application using CPU in the guest OS. To workaround the issue, reinstall CPU drivers in Device Manager inside the guest OS.

    - Improper textures in Serious Sam 2 and Far Cry.

    - Poor performance of Black and White 2.

    - Breath of Fire 4 does not work properly in the 32-bit color mode.

    - Problem scrolling in Punch Home Design.

    - Apple iSight disappears from Mac OS X if connected to and disconnected from a virtual machine multiple times in a row.

    - Apple USB modem does not work in the guest OS.

    - Boot Camp virtual machines cannot be created on Mac host computers that have TechTools eDrive installed.



    __________________

    Best Regards,

    Andrew @ Parallels
  • Reply 52 of 169
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    A bit dumb to be running Windows instead of a Mac. But smart not to upgrade Window's OS's.



    I don't understand this mentality My wife has a $400 15.4" Toshiba laptop that she loves and uses everyday. It originally had Windows Vista Home Basic on it and now has Windows 7 RC1 on it. She'e never had any problems with it.



    I personally run a 13" MacBook Pro and don't have any issues with it either.



    Why does everything have to be so personal? There doesn't have to be a winner and loser (good guy/bad guy) in everything...
  • Reply 53 of 169
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Say what? That's major- no more iSHowU program required? Can you resize the frame like iShowU????? Hmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Reply 54 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Conned View Post


    Intersting the Thumbs Up critics are the same media jews as always



    I think people should really boycott this stupid company (Apple) and let evolution put it out of its misery...obviously they do not have any engineers to help them out besides the INTEL engineers that helped them switch from PowerPC to Intel, 6 years ago.



    Wow you're bias and racist. Big Surprise.



    Listen, if your mac is running that poorly then perhaps you used the correct description when you called it a "defunct Mac".
  • Reply 55 of 169
    taurontauron Posts: 911member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    Right on. My brother-in-law runs a windows box and he won't do any windows major OS upgrades (will do updates though). He just waits till his box dies and buys another box with whatever OS is installed. A bit dumb to be running Windows instead of a Mac. But smart not to upgrade Window's OS's.



    I on the other hand, buy and install all Apple OS/SW upgrades! As you say, the upgrades work!



    FYI (for those running Parallels): http://forum.parallels.com/forumdisplay.php?f=63



    Correct.



    I also laughed my ass off when I read that "SL is not a major improvement like Windows 7 is".



    This statement is misleading in two ways:



    1. Saying that Windows 7 is an improvement over Vista is like saying that a car is an improvement over a car with no wheels or an engine. One works, the other doesn't. It doesn't mean the car that runs from point A to B is any good.

    2. And it actually isn't. All I know about Windows 7 leads me to believe it is XP with eye candy.
  • Reply 56 of 169
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    I don't understand this mentality My wife has a $400 15.4" Toshiba laptop that she loves and uses everyday. It originally had Windows Vista Home Basic on it and now has Windows 7 RC1 on it. She'e never had any problems with it.



    I personally run a 13" MacBook Pro and don't have any issues with it either.



    Why does everything have to be so personal? There doesn't have to be a winner and loser (good guy/bad guy) in everything...



    Because that reflects the Apple Fanboi persona (or so I've been told on here)- hold a grudge for 25 years. Just can't let go. Look no further than the tired "I'm a Mac" ads.
  • Reply 57 of 169
    taurontauron Posts: 911member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    I don't understand this mentality My wife has a $400 15.4" Toshiba laptop that she loves and uses everyday. It originally had Windows Vista Home Basic on it and now has Windows 7 RC1 on it. She'e never had any problems with it.



    I personally run a 13" MacBook Pro and don't have any issues with it either.



    Why does everything have to be so personal? There doesn't have to be a winner and loser (good guy/bad guy) in everything...



    Because your wife is the only person in the world who hasn't had any problems with Vista.
  • Reply 58 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    I don't understand this mentality My wife has a $400 15.4" Toshiba laptop that she loves and uses everyday. It originally had Windows Vista Home Basic on it and now has Windows 7 RC1 on it. She'e never had any problems with it.



    I personally run a 13" MacBook Pro and don't have any issues with it either.



    Why does everything have to be so personal? There doesn't have to be a winner and loser (good guy/bad guy) in everything...



    Relax....if you want to run windows, peace be with you. Even though I think it's a bit misguided-just my opinion...sorry if I offended you!



    BTW: My girlfriend has to run a windows box at work and detests it! To each his/her own!
  • Reply 59 of 169
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Conned View Post


    I was unfortunate enough to have to use a defunct Apple Mac for the last couple of weeks. Before giving it to me, my friend ....



    And we should believe you of course because the racist remark in your header means you are oh-so unbiased?
  • Reply 60 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tauron View Post


    Because your wife is the only person in the world who hasn't had any problems with Vista.



    She will, it's just a matter of time. Probably it will take a 'dump' just before the next deadline she has to meet!
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