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Snow Leopard Heresy
Friday, August 28, 2009 / PowerMax Culture, Software
As I write this, the internet airwaves are awash in reports and reviews of Snow Leopard, Apple’s latest operating system. My contribution to the broohaha is designed to represent the majority of computer users who for the most part don’t, or shouldn’t, give a rat’s patootie.
The Superfluous Leopard?
Hey, what? We’re Apple resellers… we’re supposed to be all giddy about the latest and greatest offering! What’s wrong with us? But there is a truth out there that almost no one is willing to talk about (which is the kind of stuff I like to talk about), and that’s that this upgrade is virtually meaningless for that large mass of Mac users who don’t make their living in technology, or can hardly tell you what OS they’re using at the moment, or even exactly what kind of Mac they have.
As a technology company, Apple obviously has to drive toward new technology in order to keep its products fresh, interesting and competitive, and of course to continue to generate revenue. Someone using a G3, G4 or G5 Mac who is perfectly content with their system doesn’t make Apple any new money. So the pressure is on… upgrade or be left behind!
This doesn’t mean that I think Apple shouldn’t be doing exactly what it’s doing. Snow Leopard was a very smart upgrade… I was delighted when I heard what their plans were over a year ago. Stop the feature wars, let’s go back and really tighten up the code, make it smaller and faster and just plain better… behind the scenes. They’ve accomplished this in spades with this upgrade, and all the technology geeks and fans with Intel-based Macs should upgrade as soon as they know all their key software works properly. You can find a number of Snow Leopard compatibility lists.
But I think that legion of Mac users who are tootling along just fine with their current used Macs sans problems will be better off waiting a bit. Let the upgrades happen, the software incompatibilities flesh out and the bugs be found. The same with companies with installations of multiple Macs on their networks. The faces of most competent IT managers blanch the minute they hear about someone upgrading to a new OS, and these are largely the same people who have had a copy of Snow Leopard installed on their home machines the minute a developer copy leaves the Apple campus. But playing around with technology is one thing, making sure everything works on a network is another.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it is a motto that is very, very appropriate to personal computers.
All I’m trying to say is that if you’re reasonably happy with the performance of your Mac and you’re not a techno-geek, don’t worry about upgrading right this moment. If you have a G5 Mac and it’s doing everything you need it to do, the fact that the Leopard OS is the the end of the line shouldn’t make you lose one wink of sleep. When you’re ready to upgrade… When you feel like the computer is lagging, or there is some software you really want to use but can’t, then a new Intel Mac with the latest/greatest software will be just the ticket. At that point, Snow Leopard is simply the best PC operating system you can own. But, so is a Mercedes or Bugatti or whatever (I’m not a car guy), but that five-year-old Toyota that’s running fine didn’t suddenly become obsolete because a fancy new 2010 Ferrari was introduced.
Personally, if I really wanted to increase my performance on my Mac, I’d get a bigger display. There is no single piece of hardware or software that increases my productivity more than seeing more information on my screen at a time. I’m not speaking for everyone, I’m just sayin’… At any rate, if you happen to need/want the latest OS from Apple we’ve naturally got Snow Leopard for sale. We’ve also got a great promo going with the fine folks at Softpress - buy Freeway Express or Pro and get Snow Leopard for free.
Of course, if you’re hankering for Snow Leopard and still running a beloved G3, G4 or G5, our Mac trade in makes it crazy easy to upgrade and get that new Mac with the latest Apple has to offer.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:38 am
I would just like to add that prior to Snow Leopard I was offered $1000.00 trade in for my G5 Dual 2.7. After Snow Leopard was introduced for the New Intel Mac’s I was offered $680 +/- a little. I guess that the older Mac’s are now considered un-upgradeable and not desirable. Oh well I guess that I will not have to worry anymore about upgrades.
September 16th, 2009 at 11:57 am
I’ve always tended to go after the new stuff right away and, more often than not, I’ve been burned both by incompatibilities and prices that drop right after I purchase. In regard to Snow Leopard, I pre-ordered and installed immediately. This has been the smoothest upgrade I could have imagined. Nothing earth-shattering, but a consistent uptick in speed, more space on my hard drive, and everything still works. I’m very happy with it … so go figure … a winner at under $30. Was it necessary? Of course not … but there’s something to be said for “bigger better faster” when it actually is.
September 16th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Amen to your article, Kevin! As a Mac user since the day the Mac Plus was introduced, and speaking from experience, regardless of the upgrades available, you hit it on the nose with your statement, “There is no single piece of hardware or software that increases my productivity more than seeing more information on my screen at a time.” When the 20″ monitor was first introduced, I toured one of the largest computer distributors in the world. They saw the light immediately and switched have of their sales personnel to 20″ monitors, the remainder kept the 17″ standard. Within six months of that change, the half with the larger displays were over 70% more productive than those without. The larger monitor has always been worth every cent paid for me.
September 16th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Although upgrading to Snow Leopard was easy, and I found many of the additional features and refinements to my liking, the wifi issues on an upgrade are unbelievably infuriating. So much so, I went back to plain old leopard. Wifi issues appear to be common w/ SL, and no real fixes have been identified as of yet.
So unless you want to do a clean install, I’d stick w/ Leopard until Apple gets the bugs worked out of SL.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Kevin, you’ve definitely nailed a major and incontestable truth. Snow Leopard is a wonderful upgrade, but just because it’s newly out, it doesn’t mean everyone has to have it RIGHT NOW. As Mac users, we’re used to our computers simply working with little or very few problems. We get lulled into a sense of our Macs being relatively infallible, and we snicker at our Windows-using brethren who quake at the mere thought of making ANY changes to their PCs. Upgrading one’s OS on Windows is not for the faint of heart, which is why millions upon millions of Windows users still run XP–and even Windows NT in many cases.
I’m a graphic designer and love to have all the latest and greatest software to help me keep up with the old bleeding edge of technology. I was almost in my car to drive down to the Apple Store the day of Snow Leopard’s release to get my copy, when the small pilot light of reason came on. Yes, my Macs work great and haven’t given me any problems for years. Leopard is running fine–but then I recalled that it took me about 2 months of various program updates so that everything was compatible when updating to Leopard–and exactly the same thing happened when I upgraded to Tiger.
My advice is the same as Kevin’s, although I add a caveat for power users and professionals who use their computers for work and can’t afford to have downtime: Let others take Snow Leopard on the shakedown cruise. In about 3-4 months most developers will have had the chance to upgrade their apps, plug-ins and drivers to full Snow Leopard compatibility, and it will make the transition to 10.6 a smoother activity with fewer surprises.
There’s nothing more “oh my god” aggravating than finding out that one of your key, job-critical apps doesn’t work under a new OS, AFTER YOU’VE INSTALLED THE OS. You then have the choice of: 1) not using the app (yeah, right), 2) reinstalling Leopard (oh joy, more time wasted), or 3) borrowing, renting or buying another Mac that still runs Leopard and using it until the developer fixes the glitches (expensive and time-consuming).
The solution is simple: Continue using Leopard as you’ve been doing, and around about December, January or February, take a look at the web sites of the developers of your favorite and job-critical apps to see if they’ve come out with fully compatible Snow Leopard updates. Call or email their tech support departments and ask if they’ve encountered any Snow Leopard bugs. Determine that all your “can’t live/work without” apps are good to go–and only THEN do the Snow Leopard migration thing. This proven system will save your hair, reduce ulcers, eliminate inter-office finger pointings, rotate your tires and whiten your teeth (OK, the last 2 I made up).
One other thing is important to mention. I’ve been purchasing new and used Macs through Powermax.com since the mid 1990’s, trading in our aging equipment and getting wonderful service and top trade-in value without the hassles of trying to sell on eBay. My hat is off to Kevin for keeping the company thriving, and to Michelle, my account rep for the last 5-6 years for her patience and unflagging ability to help me get what I need. Your service has been exemplary and greatly appreciated. You make my professional life so much simpler, and I thank you.
September 16th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
While I certainly agree that there are lots of users for whom the upgrade is not essential, I have to say, it’s rare that I can spend $29 on new software and really feel a performance boost from that. The upgrade does what it claims it will do. I’m quite glad I spent the money.
September 16th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I guess that means my G4 (Quicksilver) is worth almost nothing. I have an Intel laptop; but keeping both machines on the same page is now impossible. I am retired so buying a new Intel tower is impossible. Then again; if I wait long enough, there will be a used Intel tower at Power Max that I can afford. Go Power Max!
September 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Like many, I felt a bit let down by Apple. Even to the point of trying to figure out a way to upgrade or trade my current mac quad — from PowerMax .
No way!!!. I found your article, very straight forward.
I hope a lot more of us contented (non-Intel) Mac owners get a chance to read your article and then get on with their work at hand. Stan
September 17th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
OK, so that’s not my real name. Anyway…
You’re right. Snow Leopard isn’t a huge enough upgrade that people need to have it.
BUT, we are Mac owners. And Mac owners want the new OS as soon as they can get their hot little hands on it and shove the disk in the drive. That’s how we are. We’ll stand in line, we’ll pre-order—whatever it takes. Yeah, we’re living on the edge.
That’s what makes us different from PC people. We don’t fear upgrades we celebrate them!
My personal experience was a flawless upgrade on 2 Macs and my old Core Duo MacBook Pro now has 21 GB of free space instead of only 7. Yeah!
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I upgraded to Snow Leopard and the $1200 appraisal turned into $800 overnight. So far the only tangible improvement was that it caused me to clean up my MacBook and installed a 500 gig hard drive in it.