Nintendohnut Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 So, this is out today, at a cost of 25 English Pounds to upgrade from Leopard. I personally won't be upgrading as I only recently got Leopard, but who will be? What new features are you particularly interested in? I do like Apple's direction at the moment - they seem more focused on making their current UI the best that it can be rather than leaving it for a long time then bringing out something completely different. The only issue I have is cost, but then that is always the case with Apple. What do people think? (It's at times like this when I miss the Apple thread - it seems silly to create a whole new thread for this....but dammit I am )
Emasher Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) I'm not going to be upgrading, as I'm still on a G4, but my dad will be upgrading his MacBook Pro, as well as well as the Mac Mini that's also in the house. It doesn't really look like snow leopard is really going to add much in terms of features, its more to improve performance ect. TBH, it was a bit silly that the Apple thread got locked because the mods thought having so many larger topics in one thread (iPods, Macs, iPhone,ect.) was too much (something like this was said when it was locked), when the thread was originally just about OS X, and the mods decided it should become a general Apple thread. Edited August 28, 2009 by Emasher
Ashley Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 Also not upgrading at the moment as I lack funds but I think £25/year works out about the same as upgrading Windows whenever it comes out yes? That comes out every few years and costs closer to the £100 mark doesn't it?
Emasher Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 OS X releases don't usually come out annually though.
Nintendohnut Posted August 28, 2009 Author Posted August 28, 2009 Yeah, I suppose it does work out about the same in the end so maybe I'm being a little harsh on Apple. I think it is partly because we've had two updates within a year or so, rather than a big one after 2 years, that it feels a little strange to be updating so early. I'll probably wait, or my flatmate at uni may have a copy so I may be able to get it off him when I get back Hooray for illegality! (It's illegal, right?)
Caris Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 Typing this on Snow Leopard, it's quicker and has some nice UI tweaks. One of the main things that has impressed me so far is the gamma change on the screen, colours are loads nicer.
Ashley Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 OS X releases don't usually come out annually though. Hmm I'm sure Leopard came out last summer. I remember getting it between my 2nd and 3rd year of uni...
Meo Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 I pre-ordered it, but it didn't arrive today. I hope it comes on Monday. That being said, this is mostly a technology upgrade and as such I'm not really that much excited about it. But its 30€, so there's not really a lot to complain about. I'm somewhat disappointed they didn't ditched or updated some Aqua elements. I think at this point using something similar to the Itunes scrollbars would fit better in the overall visual scheme. They still look nice, but its time to move on. Since 10.6 is technology-oriented, 10.7 is most likely the version that will address these issues (Marble UI?), as well as bring a lot of new content. That one, I bet, will cost a lot more than 30€.
Jon Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 Not sure if i'm going to upgrade to be honest, as it's more a behind-the-scenes upgrade if you like. I might though, £25 is not asking a lot. Early impressions please Matthew.
Nintendohnut Posted August 28, 2009 Author Posted August 28, 2009 Yeah please Caris, when you've had a bit more of a go with it give us a quick rundown of what noteable differences you can see Like I say, probably won't pay for this any time soon, and would only upgrade if a friend had it... unless you change my mind.
Emasher Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 Hmm I'm sure Leopard came out last summer. I remember getting it between my 2nd and 3rd year of uni... This isn't really a normal update, as others have said. 10.4 came out in 2005 and 10.5 was 2007, some of the smaller releases have been annual, but the big ones never have been. Either way, the price of this update is quite decent considering that they apparently re-wrote a lot of the low level stuff.
ThePigMarcher Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 Damn, I am so far behind the times as I'm still running on my old ibook with Tiger. I wonder if I can use this upgrade as a good excuse to justify saving for a new MacBook (seeing as my ibook won't run it).
CooInTheZoo Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 I'm really struggling to notice the difference, to be honest. Haven't found anything to be particularly faster, but it's only been 20 hours since installation. It just feels like the same (brilliant) OS I had before.
Caris Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 (edited) My Impressions- The OS feels quicker, no question about it. Everything from shutting down, booting up, loading the Dashboard, loading Safari, loading Mail, everything is just quicker. The few UI changes like what they have done to the Dock and Spaces are great, simple changes but good ones all the same. One of the bad things however is the fact that it's a new OS, and although I haven't found any bugs or performance issues with the Apple apps. Some 3rd party apps such as Skype etc are a little buggy and you can tell they need a update. Overall it's great, £25 and you're mad not too. In a month or so time when there is the first OS X update out and most of the 3rd party apps have had a update to work with Snow Leoopard it will be much better. It will be Defiantly be better than Leopard then. One thing to note is that I'm running this on the latest iMac with the latest Core2Duo and a 9400m chips so I'm seeing the benefits of GCD and Open CL, people with older macs might not see as much performance improvements as me. Hope that helps! Edited August 29, 2009 by Caris
Nintendohnut Posted August 29, 2009 Author Posted August 29, 2009 Great impressions, thanks I'm currently running on a 3 1/2 year old MacBook (The first generation with the then new white polycarbonate shell) which is why I was wary of this update, but I will hopefully be getting a new iMac later this year so then I expect I will notice the difference.
KKOB Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 I love the expose changes. They're so so good ^_^ I also love how stacks is finally useable. It does feel snappier and my laptop seems to be quieter than it was on Leopard (C2D 2.16GHz MacBook Pro, 2GB ram, 128MB ATI X1600) So yay! I also did an erase and install, so the snappyness is assisted by the extra 40 GB of space i've managed to save by essentially removing all the crap from my mac. I really like QuickTime X too. It was well worth the early wake up on Friday to get it asap on to my Mac Best £25 I've spent in a while. Hmm I'm sure Leopard came out last summer. I remember getting it between my 2nd and 3rd year of uni... It came out just after the start of our second year. Oct/Nov ish i think.
Ashley Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 Really? First I heard of it is when I came to visit you in the summer :p Ah well. Sucks to be me eh?
Wesley Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 I don't think I'll bother upgrading. I only use the Mac as a media player for my TV really.
Pantsu Man! Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 Newer Macbook Pros will come with this installed won't they? I do love the look and feel of the macs desktop so I will get one sometime. Just planning ahead, really.
KKOB Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 Newer Macbook Pros will come with this installed won't they? I do love the look and feel of the macs desktop so I will get one sometime.Just planning ahead, really. Yup, ones today get a disc thrown in, ones bought in a month or two have it preinstalled.
Wesley Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 Also, if you bought a Mac within the last couple of months you can pick up Snow for 7.50 or something. I remember seeing it when I picked up a Mini.
Pantsu Man! Posted August 30, 2009 Posted August 30, 2009 Cool. I'll probably be getting one next year, or if I get a job whilst at Uni, maybe a lot sooner.
That Guy Posted August 30, 2009 Posted August 30, 2009 The older Macbooks are only 32-bit aren't they? The Core Duo ones I mean. Cos that is what my one is so I'm assuming I wont see much of an improvement in speed. I'm thinking of waiting as I would like to get a new laptop at the start of next year so have held off getting the iLife update, and might save this as well. I've read several reviews as well as you guys comments, and it definitely sounds worth upgrading to. My only concern is how much it would really benefit my older Macbook.
fex Posted August 30, 2009 Posted August 30, 2009 From what I've read it seems like a nice improvement over Leopard. Shame I can't install it on my iBook. I can't wait to build my new PC and get Snow Leopard up and running on it.
Pantsu Man! Posted August 30, 2009 Posted August 30, 2009 I can't wait to build my new PC and get Snow Leopard up and running on it. I might sound really silly here, but you can install mac OS on just a normal pc? I've heard hackintosh and stuff, but it's never really sat with me. You can't just buy Mac OS like a Windows OS can you? I guess I should look into it. hmmm
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