Leopard Install and Boot Camp
Murphy installed Leopard using the Erase and Install option, which thankfully left his Windows XP install from the Boot Camp beta intact and fully operational.
After installing Leopard Murphy rebooted holding the Option key and the XP install was still an option. Once booted into Windows you can use your Leopard dvd to update your XP installation to the latest drivers. It couldn’t have been much easier.
Murphy was afraid the Erase and Install option might have wiped out the Boot Camp functionality, but it only erased the partition OS X was installed on. Having to install Windows XP again would have been a hassle.
Some kind of upgrade was a tempting possibility - the options all have their purpose and benefits. But there’s something about a clean install that’s hard to resist. When things start going a little flaky it’s nice not wondering if your upgrade is the problem.
Murphy has only had a couple hours with Leopard so far, but he likes what he sees. The CoverFlow view is smooth on the Mac Book Pro. Very smooth! And the spacebar preview is incredible. PDF files just pop into view. Anything like that on Windows?
Murphy could easily get hooked on Spaces. It’s far more responsive than he anticipated. He wasn’t sure what to expect there, and wondered if the Desktop could be set to hide icons or the Dock in certain spaces. But that doesn’t seem to be the way it works. However, it’s just as snappy as Exposé and the spaces slide into place from wherever they are in the virtual geography. A nice touch.
The new Finder looks promising but there hasn’t been much time yet to get a good look beyond CoverFlow.
Stacks in grid mode could be a nice secondary app launcher. Not sure yet. Not sure what all the crying is about over the Dock either. Doesn’t seem so bad, and apparently there are alternatives.
A couple things missing:
Right-click slideshow from Finder. You can still get there, but you have to open Preview first. Anyone know a way around this? CORRECTION: It’s built into Quick Look now. Thanks Henry.
The Bluetooth menu seems to have disappeared from Address Book. Murphy’s phone isn’t compatible anyway. Anything else?
So far Murphy thinks Leopard is a worthy upgrade. Maybe not for his G5, but he likes it on the Macbook Pro.
So much to do, so little time…
