Bright, shiny junk.
I’m not a Mac user and thus don’t have direct experience of the new Leopard operating system. However, my indirect experience with the OS so far is as follows:
- My housemate went in on a license only to find that his computer didn’t have enough RAM to run Leopard smoothly.
- My professor (Sam Apple, ironically enough) was unable to print for our class on Wednesday because Leopard didn’t work with his printer.
- I read this story in the DP about students having trouble connecting to AirPennNet on Leopard.
Are we talking about Apple here, or Windows 98?
Leopard seems to be far more about whooshes than actual functionality. What you practically gain is a program which is supposed to run in the background but takes center stage, eating up far more system resources than should be warranted.
Take my housemate’s experience. Half a gig of RAM should be plenty for most people’s everyday needs — just ask my laptop — but the problem with that is that people’s computers no longer go obsolete with the same frequency they used to. Programs like Leopard and Windows Vista step on the scene to keep people upgrading and buying new machines.
In my housemate’s case, he’ll buy more memory — from Apple, of course — and happily enjoy the new features. Apparently you can half open documents or something. Steve Jobs will be happy, too.
A laptop shouldn’t be a fashion statement. It’s ludicrous that shiny white plastic could be more important than what’s inside, but I honestly think that’s why many people buy Macs. An operating system shouldn’t be a fashion statement, either.
And a mouse should have more than one button.
End rant.
Tags: consumerism, fashion, Macs
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November 10th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
I too was a devoted PC lover until my one year old Dell crashed on me and completely erased my hard drive (3 days after its factory warranty expired, no less). Then I sucked it up, bought a Mac (with Leopard!) and haven’t looked back. I mean, come on, they’re so pretty! And seriously scrolling over the magnifying task bar and taking weird pictures with the built in camera can occupy even the biggest stick in the mud for hours on end.
p.s. i miss you guys.
November 10th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Say what you will about OS’s, but I could not live without right clicking.
November 12th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
thanks so much for writing this article! i could have read an indepth comparison written by people who know what they’re talking about (http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/27/leopard-vs-vista-feature-chart-showdown/), but why do that when i can hear the opinion of someone who admits to never having used a mac?
i also like getting my news about the war in iraq from small infants!
(btw, the mighty mouse (http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/), which comes standard with macs, has one button but is left/right sensitive! so it has right-click functionality! good job knowing that!!!)
November 12th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
“Bright, shiny junk.
I’m not a Mac user and thus don’t have direct experience of the new Leopard operating system.”
Then why exactly do you feel qualified to blog about it? Oh, right: “These dudes I know said some stuff about it.”
Re: the right click, the new Mac mice (and by new, we’re talking at least a year old) are pressure senstitive such that they recognize right clicks. But of course, you wouldn’t know that, and what would it matter, right? Facts are no substitute for a good old-fashioned, unsubstantiated rant.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:36 am
js, his main point is compatibility issues; you’ve refuted his joke, not his argument.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Hey,
I totally agree with you — do you want to make out?
Werner