“After three intense days with Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard Version 10.5, I have three main things to say about it. First: despite minor problems, it’s by far the best operating system ever written for the vast majority of consumers, with dozens of new features that have real practical value—like truly automated backups, preview images in folders, and notes and to-do lists integrated into the mail program,” Edward Mendelson reports for PC Magazine.
“I found Leopard to be startlingly fast, brilliantly streamlined, and packed with conveniences and innovations. Leopard’s rich set of built-in software runs faster than I imagined possible,” Mendelson reports.
“Leopard has its share of first-version glitches.. There aren’t a huge number of them but you might want to wait until Apple releases its first update and more before third-party customization utilities become available,” Mendelson reports.
“If you’re in the market for a new machine, it’s time to look seriously at a Mac, especially now that all Macs can run Windows along with OS X through the built-in Boot Camp feature that lets you install Windows and Leopard in separate partitions. Even better, third-party software from Parallels or Vmware make it possible to run a Windows program in a window on the OS X desktop. It’s even possible to set up OS X so that Word documents automatically open in the Windows version of Microsoft Word,” Mendelson reports.
“Leopard again raises the question of whether to switch from Windows to a Mac. I’ve found Vista to be a major disappointment that tends to look worse the more I use it. I still use Windows XP for getting serious work done. But OS X is easier to manage and maintain and I vastly prefer OS X to Windows for Web-browsing, mail, and especially for any task that involves graphics, music, or video. Leopard performs all such tasks even better than previous versions did—and Leopard is the only OS on the planet that works effortlessly and intuitively in today’s world of networked computers and peripherals. Leopard is far from perfect, but it’s better than any alternative, and it’s getting harder and harder to find good reasons to use anything else,” Mendelson reports.
Full review here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Corinne” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Mendelson still uses Windows XP for getting “serious work” done? “Serious work” like what? AutoCAD maybe, because Autodesk can’t get off their duffs to release the app for Mac OS X? (An aside: AutoCAD is so horribly spaghetti-coded for Windows, that it would require a totally fresh rewrite from the ground up.) Or games – that’s probably what he means, unless he thinks installing and wasting processor cycles running antivirus, antispyware, anti-this and anti-that is “getting serious work done.” But, hey, he is writing for PC Magazine, he must feel that he has to feed the sheep at least one morsel as he shovels Windows into the manure pile where it belongs. On the other hand, perhaps he means that he uses XP vs. Vista for getting his so-called “serious” work done? In that case, we understand to a point, but we’d still use Pages, TextEdit, or God forbid, Word for Mac to open Word docs. Why suffer with XP unless you absolutely are forced to do so by shortsighted IT guys and/or developers?
Wow. That really says it all. I am more glad than ever that I am Not Bill.
Where are the new MacBooks?
The sky must be falling for PC Magazine to have written the things that they have.
“I still use Windows XP for getting serious work done.”
WTF does that mean?
“Leopard is the only OS on the planet that works effortlessly and intuitively in today’s world of networked computers and peripherals. Leopard is far from perfect, but it’s better than any alternative, and it’s getting harder and harder to find good reasons to use anything else,”
This is quite a review from a rag that, only a few years ago, regularly derided everything Mac…
MW “changes”
“Vista… tends to look worse the more I use it.” Priceless! One might think that Vista, to some an “acquired taste”, might grow on the user, that he would become used to its quirks and general character. But no. One sees only a growing disdain.
“I still use Windows XP for getting serious work done.”
That means, “The applications I use professionally are so deeply engrained I can’t switch just yet.”
Leopard can connect to a network share on a Windows 2003 network, which Tiger could not. There are a lot of ways in which Leopard is ready for business.
“I still use Windows XP for getting serious work done.”
I believe the author was implying “over Vista” not necessarily “over Mac OS X.”
You know how bad and nerve-wracking Vista is, when even the MSFT-sycophants like “PC-magazine” find no negative words about MacOS anymore.
But on the other hand: how long could any human go to office every day and write cheerful stories about Vista without devloping an ulcer?
Jornalists want to write something positive – and readers want to read something positive, too, after all.
@Harvey,
I interpreted the phrase, “I still use Windows XP for getting serious work done.” to simply be a bone thrown out to the Windows Fanboys.
More of a, “Please don’t hate me because I’m giving Leopard such a positive review, because I still use XP for ‘serious’ work.”
But yours works too.
I have been struggling for days now to find a thoroughly bad review of Leopard, as well as an unfavourable comparison to Vista. None of the Win-centric press that took a look at Leopard had come up with anything but praise. Meanwhile, most have pretty much panned Vista.
This is no small matter. Tipping point is the expression that comes to mind. Many things are converging for Apple. Tiger, while also praised, didn’t get nearly as much attention, although it didn’t help that there was no competing OS release from the dark side.
With Vista begging for a direct comparison, it’s easy to see why all that PC press is making an effort to take a look at Leopard.
I must say, I would hate to see Apple have 40% market share in desktop computers. Entering enterprise in a big way could be extremely detrimental to the future of Mac OS X. There is only one reason why Vista still supports DOS and 16-bit Windows 3.1 applications: Enterprise demands. You don’t want to be in a business where a few powerful clients can completely control and dictate your development. Mac users (and developers) have seen frustration of migration three times in ten years: 68k to PPC; OS9 to OS X; PPC to Intel. These were major shifts that caused some serious hair-pulling at Adobe, Quark, MacBU (at MS), as they were forced to re-code all of their Mac apps from the ground up. However, Leopard is so superior to Vista because Apple did what they did (to their developers and consumers).
As long as Apple dominates the consumer market, and doesn’t do any concessions to the enterprise market, it will all be good.
“I am more glad than ever that I am Not Bill.”
Yeah, I’d really hate to be worth $60 billion
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People still believe that using Office (and some other third parties, perhaps on Windows) is the better way to _work_. (I always use a John Deere said the farmer)
“Mendelson still uses Windows XP for getting serious work done?”
I don’t think he was trying to say he does serious work on XP instead of OS X, I think he was trying to say that when he does serious work in Windows, he uses XP over Vista. I could be incorrect, but I think that is what he was trying to say.
He has to write on something M$ XP; his job is at PC magazine not for MacWorld. The World is cruel …
wow. just wow. the guy calls leopard the best OS ever and MDN STILL finds a way to bash him for one line. i think it’s implied (as @iSteve noted) that his “serious work” comment was aimed at XP over vitsa, not over OS X. there may also be windows-only apps he needs.
while us mac people know OS X is better and that there’s no need for anything else as far as regular people go (except gaming…), there’s also no need to get all anal anytime someone says “i also use windows”.
I was getting some serious Half Life 2 work done last night in Vista.
In their heyday PC Magazine used to cover the Mac, then they rubbished them, then they ignored them.
And to think these guys are now recommending Macs!
“Serious work done” in XP.
Fraid the same is true here, the best spreadsheet is Windows version of Excel. That’s for real work like modelling, not formatting invoices or making lists in cells.
Excel on the Mac just doesn’t cut it, and even the new beta 2008 isn’t very impressive as it (a) lacks VBA and (b) doesn’t appear to use multi-core calculating.
Much as I love my Macs I have no choice but to use XP for “real work”. 🙁
MDN Magic Word: worked … coincidence?
Spark has nailed it. No further explanation necessary.
I wonder what he means with “serious stuff” when referring to XP.
What? Harvard Graphics?
Vanillacide,
You obviously haven’t tried Numbers. You really should do so.
http://www.apple.com/iwork/numbers/
Just out of curiosity. How does MDN know that AutoCAD is “horribly spaghetti-coded”? I don’t doubt that it is, but has the mysterious MDN actually seen the code themselves (himself)?
Also, unfortunately, the currently most-popular for many industries 3ds Max is also Windows-only. Sure, you can say “use Maya” etc, but that isn’t often possible, sorry. So, for now, it’s Parallels/VMWare/BootCamp only.
It’s also possibly (though unlikely) that he could be referring to proprietary private Windows-only software, which is why he may use Windows for “serious” work… out of necessity.
“It’s even possible to set up OS X so that Word documents automatically open in the Windows version of Microsoft Word,” Mendelson reports.
Oh, boy, oh, boy! I so excited, I’m just giddy with excitement! There is nothing that I have ever wanted more than to run Windows in a window on my Mac so that I could go out and buy MS Office to have it open Word documents on my Mac in Windows! This is great! I’m sure glad Mendelson is here to show me the way!
Again, it’s just MDN taking whatever stabs they can at anybody in the room. This guy praised Leopard as the “best operating system ever written,” yet MDN spends the majority of its time bitching that he still uses XP as well.
Wow, and MDN wonders why people brand Mac users as zealots. Maybe it’s because too many of them are.
I do all of my writing and ‘serious’ work in OS-X, but I really don’t mind Vista that much, and spend a great deal of time using it. And guess what – I like it okay. It’s not great…it doesn’t get me pumped…but it’s decent and plays my games fine.