MacManiacs

Well, Snow Leopard shipped yesterday. I got my notice from Amazon that my Family Pack upgrade was in the Mail. While I wait for that to arrive, and give me problems of my own, I am finding news articles and trouble-shooting sites reporting issues with the newest cat out of the cage.

First up was a user with an Airport connection that showed full bars, but no one home. We tried every trick in the troubleshooters manual to fix this. Nothing worked.

Next, we hear of incompatible applications and utilities that do not work or exhibit odd behaviors. Like Cocktail and Onxy, my 2 favorite utilities for system maintenance and tweaking. As of this writing, neither are patched yet to work with SL. Other apps, surprisingly, are from Apple itself. Aperture anything under 2.1.1 is one. Keynote 2.0. and earlier is another. Apples List is here and will be updated. System enhancers like Application Enhancer (APE) are not even allowed to load and SL’s new installer moved them to a safe place so as not to cause any issues. If you use one of these utilities, disable it and don’t try to install it again.

AppleTalk printing is gone from Snow Leopard. So, those with older printers that were previously used over an AppleTalk network, now have to either try to use IP printing, or put that Printer on a Mac running Leopard or Tiger and share it to the network. Printer drivers are included with SL and all are updated to work seamlessly. just not over AppleTalk.

The install process is different as well. SL does not restart the Mac, but rather it copies files to the hard drive, then begins installing and then restarts. Typical times reported have been in the 40-60 minute range. After restart, many users commented on how they thought the upgrade did not take as it looks the same as Leopard.

I’ll keep my eye on the reports and post again with specific software glitched as they are reported or Ifind them myself when my turn comes to upgrade 3 MacBook Pros to the new cat.

Mike

Apple has announced that its latest version of OS X, Snow Leopard will be released on Friday.

This release is another big step. Apple is once again leaving an entire platform of Macs behind. PowerPC Macs.

That’s right! All PowerMac G4’s, G5’s, even 64 bit capable G5’s are not going to be able to run Snow Leopard. And, those who can, Intel based Macs with 1GB or more of Ram, at least 5GB free Disk Space (never let it get that low!) and a DVD drive, will not even be able to run older PowerPC capable software unless they run the additional installer for Rosetta.

At least Apple made this easier. If you decide to not install it when upgrading or installing SL, you will be prompted by the OS asking if you want to install it to run an application you just double-clicked on that is PPC code.

Snow Leopard will be available for purchase immediately at Apple Store online for DELIVERY Friday August 28th and for purchase On Friday as well. Upgrades are just $29.00 US for owners of Leopard, Family Pack owners get it for $49.00 US for 5 licenses. They are also offering a box set for $169.00 US (single license) and a Family Pack box for $229.00 (5 license) that includes Snow Leopard, and iLife and iWork together in one package. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

Remember Intel Macs Only!!!  Get yours today and it delivers on Friday according to the Apple Store Online.

Mike

Welcome to my new blog.

First, my Thanks to Beboo for doing my Web redesign. It looks great. If you want a nicer looking site for your use, click on the Contact link and send an email. I’ll have him get in touch with you.

Now, on to other items of interest. Apple. This is what I do, what we support and what we love. the support we provide is reflective of our desires to keep this platform alive and kicking. If you need anything from parts and service to consulting, we can do it.

I will be posting more blogs as I go along through the days. i am new to this type of communication, but we will get better at it and you will find this to be an informative website to come to for news, support tips, and articles.

Thanks for looking!

Mike McWhirter