Snow Leopard: First Look

[Paul Daniel Ash]

I got out early this morning to beat the rush and get my hands on the new release. As it turns out, I could have caught some more Z's, or waited out the unseasonable chill in Boston this morning: I misread either the zealotry or the disposable income of our local fanboy base, or both. The hype, the extra staff at the Apple Store, and the rope-line to keep the hordes of upgraders off to one side notwithstanding, there was just a handful of us when the Boylston Street store opened this morning.

So much the better... I started the install on the T, so as not to waste a minute. Unlike previous releases, the Installer doesn't prompt you to restart. I wanted to run Disk Utility first, though, so I booted from the DVD.

It's a simple process if you just want to accept the defaults... click Install, and you're off and running. It's unthreatening for the casual user: your mom can do it solo without calling you for support. It even dims the screen while it's working so she's not distracted by watching the progress bar.

If you want to, though, you have the option of clicking the Customize button to enable or disable some packages:

Printer Support: if you want to save more space, you can deselect some of the - literally - hundreds of printer drivers loaded by default;

Additional Fonts: you may or may not need a Cherokee or Inuktitut font;

Language Translations: likewise, Dansk? Portugues Brasileiro?

X11: if you need it, you know, and if you don't know... you probably don't need it;

Rosetta: if you need support for non-Intel apps, this is a must-load;

QuickTime 7: Apple says QuickTime X is not compatible "for use with older media or with existing AppleScript-based workflows. QuickTime Player 7 can be used to playback formats such as QTVR, interactive QuickTime Movies, and MIDI files."

You can also run the standard install and then add/remove components in the Optional Installs package (shown here with the Snow Leopard Easy-Reader size 512 x 512 icon):



With a full Verify Disk on a 120 GB Fujitsu, the whole process took about 56 minutes. Most reports have the standard install coming in at 30 minutes or so on a machine with 2GB RAM.

So far, the performance seems a bit snappier (though it's more likely just enthusiasm and all the Red Eyes I drank at Starbucks waiting for the Apple Store to open). The new Cocoa-native Finder is subtly smoother, and I like the new black-look contextual menus in the Dock:



I'll check back in after a few hours of using Snow Leopard for more first impressions...

[GregTheWang]

mmmm smexy smexy

[dale1v]

It's a'ight.
QuickTime X doesn't play AVIs (AGAIN) without installing Perian... =_=
The default gamma for the OS is apparently higher, so the UI looks a little brighter and less dingy.

[kurosh]

i wait with this excite

[MetallicaFan1991]

Mines not even here yet, damn it!!!!!! Bitchass Royal Mail/Apple

[trevorrawson]

The fact that it freed up 7 extra gigs of space is worth it's weight in gold to me on my macbook air. So far I'm loving it, programs open much faster and the new quicktime X, while not able to play AVI's, is a sexy addition

[kmmxracer]

Still waiting for mine via FedEx. Should have just held off and ran down to my local Apple Store. O well, what can I do...

[sayam]

Woah! You're hardcore apple fan :P

First impressions and reviews by other sites looks nice! I am soon getting a new macbook pro 13" so won't be upgrading the current one.

[d00ditsjake]

Still waiting for mine via fedex

[DarkDragonAn]

I got my copy this morning too after installing the new OS X I gain 20 GB back, I had 129Gb now I have 149 that is was sweet. Every move little more faster.
Sorry I have 150GB now

[Artzmaster01]

"and all the Red Eyes I drank at Starbucks"

"Red Eye" is not a Starbucks drink, nor Starbucks lingo. It's coffe with an add shot. Many people make this mistake and I aim to correct that.

And yes, I work for Starbucks. I have been for many years.

[dale1v]

"and all the Red Eyes I drank at Starbucks"

"Red Eye" is not a Starbucks drink, nor Starbucks lingo. It's coffe with an add shot. Many people make this mistake and I aim to correct that.

And yes, I work for Starbucks. I have been for many years.

lol

[miq228]

sweet
im gonna order soon
got macbook pro 2 weeks ago so $10 for me =)
can install on 2 macbooks pros?

[cline92]

I gained 21 GB, I had 161 and i got to 182. I thought you were only supposed to get 7 GB freed. lol

[nyynks212]

i wish i could get this, i cant use it with my adobe cs3 programs which i need for school

[97vrsix]

Wait... Only CS4 will work? Are they going to nab us from installing things like I serial (testing purpose only)

[Melech518]

Still waiting for mine...apple says, "we are preparing to ship. sorry for the misunderstanding" Such BS if you ask me. When you call Apple a recording says, if you ordered before wednesday your snow leopard will arrive today. FAIL, I ordered last Friday

[StealthBravo]

Still waiting for mine...apple says, "we are preparing to ship. sorry for the misunderstanding" Such BS if you ask me. When you call Apple a recording says, if you ordered before wednesday your snow leopard will arrive today. FAIL, I ordered last Friday

I just got the same answer

I gave your girl a call 30 minutes ago. I wonder is she can help us out.

[Melech518]

Yeah I talked to her this morning...she upgraded my shipping to overnight. I was kinda fishing for the $29 credit so I could go get it from the store today...she didnt go for it lol

[kainisable]

well i got mine, ordered it 3 days ago....