Pros and Cons on new Mac Leopard features

By Sarah Granger

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For Mac users, Apple's sleek Leopard operating system is the next upgrade in a series of advances since OS X was first released. The largest update of OS X yet, it includes more than 300 new features, which sounds overwhelming, but most of it is added capability to existing built-in applications such as Mail and Finder.

Launched from the Desktop File menu, Finder is a multi-functional desktop-based search program that identifies files based on keywords entered into the Finder box. The new version can show search results as icons, lists, columns or cover views, a visual representation of documents that allows us to see our documents without having to wait for programs like Word to open them. If you just want to check and see a number in a spreadsheet, for example, the Quicklook feature in Finder works like a charm.

Mail now has RSS capabilities for receiving blog or other news feeds, Notes have been added for use with the iPhone or iPod Touch, and the To Do feature will automatically add tasks into your Calendar. Another great new Mail feature is that users can choose design templates to make email look nice -- "stationery templates" -- such as holiday letters, postcards, and greeting cards. iChat has added capabilities as well. You can now share photos or presentations via video chat, so if your kids or friends use Macs, you can share photos while conversing with them through iChat.

Leopard also includes some new features like Spaces, an interface that adds real estate to the desktop environment, essentially creating four different Desktop spaces. Just drag an open file to the right or down to put it in one of the grid spaces, thereby expanding your workspace. Another feature, Stacks, allows folders in the dock to be viewed as stacks, fans, or grids with icons expanded from the dock.

One of the most convenient new features is Time Machine, a full backup program that allows for version control. Various versions of files are backed up, so you can look back and find previous copies if you accidentally overwrite something, decide a former version was better, etc. The down side, from a system administrator point-of-view, is that it's set-up for full backups, unless you deselect certain folders, so it will back up the entire computer (including the OS), which taking a long time on the first try.  After that, it only backs up changed files, which doesn't take as long. Time Machine can be configured to run backups any time and at intervals that make the most sense for your backup needs.

Mac users who are on a network can use .mac (now called "mobile me") to grab files from other machines in their network via the Internet when not connected to that network (at home, at work, etc.) "Connecting a Second Computer to Your Home Network," offers tips on adding a machine to a home network.

Finally, Leopard's Boot Camp allows Mac users to install Windows XP or Vista on top of Mac OS X to in order to run Windows software which is great for people who have recently transitioned, who use Windows at work and Macs at home, or who just like versions of software on Windows –- such as Quicken -- that have more advanced software on that platform.

Overall, Leopard is a major overhaul of OS X including some snazzy components for enabling our digital lifestyles. The only significant negative is that the OS loads a little slower than previous versions, standard for major operating system upgrades.  (It's not as dramatic of a difference as seen with most Windows upgrades.) This is, however, the last upgrade for PowerPC based (G3's, G4's, G5) machine owners. Version 10.6, Snow Leopard, will require an Intel-based processor. So for anyone still using a PowerPC based Mac, next year will probably be the time to buy a new computer.