Leopard: The Definitive Review

Fact Check (off-topic): Yes, Apple’s Lisa and Macintosh were inspired by the mouse-and-windows interface that Steve Jobs saw at Xerox PARC in 1979. But the mouse originally came from Stanford Research Institute; it was invented there by Doug Englebart and Bill English in 1963.

OK its a little too cool for a basic code geek but most Apple OSX users had added tools like Application Enhancer and Tinker Tools to get a transparent menu anyway, so Apple built in this feature. I do not have this OSX version yet, can you turn this eye candy off?

What’s so funny about the transparency argument is that the PC people are grasping at straws trying to find something wrong with Leopard. If that’s all they can find, a little smoke on the menu bar, I know it’s fantastic. Windows users can’t have the polished visual presentation and it makes them crazy. The Mac people are having all the fun. I know, computing is serious business, it’s not supposed to be fun. ;-)

About the transparent menu bar, things like this should not be judged so quickley. You may not like it at first but after you use it for a few weeks you might like it. And if you don’t someone will develop a small free utility that will let you adjust it to the way you like, they probably already have .So everybody needs to just coooool down.

windows, mac, blah blah blah stop being so brain washed. Both Microsoft and Apple borrow, steal, lift , etc.. pre-existing ideas and claim as their own. For instance, mouse came from Xerox Parc.

The beauty of using translucency in the menu bar is that it’s easier to ignore. You know it’s always there at the top of the screen, but when you’re not using it or you’re focused on another application it no longer stands out the way it used to. When you need to focus on it you can still easily see it and use it.

Obviously the reviewer doesn’t like this, but that’s his opinion–not a definitive truth about the usability of the menu bar. In my opinion translucency is an improvement in this specific application.

Isn’t a review of an operating system mostly opinion? If the transparency bothers Elmer-DeWitt, other people may like it? Who’s to say what is pleasing to look at and what’s ugly?

ex ped: Just for the record, that was Siracusa’s opinion, not mine. I’m still waiting for my copy of Leopard to arrive. –Philip Elmer-DeWitt

To Jim: er…you mean the Xerox PARC mouse, right smart guy?

To John:

???Windows menus are pretty much the same as they have been since the advent of the Windows mouse.<<<

Errr, you mean Apple mouse right?

Does anyone actually ‘read’ PED’s articles? Seems as though all any of you do is search for negativities. He focused on a respected reviewer’s opinion, which was TWO-sided, positive and negative. Wake up people, I just switched to a Mac and I love it, but it isn’t perfect. The blind leading the blind… if only people had half a brain we could think for ourselves and form logical opinions instead of acting like sheep.

My copy of Leopard arrived on Friday as promised. Installation took about 20 minutes. All my applications run smoothly. All my peripherals work and printers print just as before. Leopard’s new features add value and usability, especially Time Machine, which frees me from worrying about scheduling backups or whether I need to retain a particular incremental backup to secure a particular version.

And all this in a well-integrated customizable interface that’s inspiring to look at and a joy to use, with the fit and finish that we’ve come to expect from Apple.

Another superlative upgrade worth every penny.

When a new version of Windows arrives, all windows afficianados shower it with praise, treating major deficiencies as though they had no impact. When a new version of the Mac OS comes out, reviewers skewer it from both the Windows side and the Mac side. You see, Mac reviewers are comparing the new version to previous versions and to that unattainable state of perfection toward which Apple aims. For a realistic review, read reviewers who compare a new Mac OS verions with Windows OS’s, not those who compare them with that unattainable ideal. Come on, dude, yearning for the old menu? Windows menus are pretty much the same as they have been since the advent of the Windows mouse. As for overly-critical Apple reviewers? Let them use Windows!

This recurring freak-out about the transparent menu bar I have found puzzling. From this quote I think I understand: It’s not the unreadability. It’s the contagion from you-know-Whondows. Oh dear.

BTW, I run two Macs, one a lowly refurbed Macbook with the usual LCD display, the other an “entry level” mini with a modest “cinema” display. On the former the bar is transparent. On the latter it is not. Both installed from the same “family pack” DVD. Go figure.

And BTW II — I don’t have any trouble reading either one.

Almost every “Apple 2.0″ article has a negative slant. I guess CNN has decided that Apple needs to be taken down a notch so they hired a full time writer for that purpose.

Siracusa’s review is genreally positive but DeWitt focuses on two “damning” paragraphs.
Gimme a break CNN definitely has decided to smite Apple. Look for some trumped up scandal on the main CNN website about Apple in the cming year.

Lighten up Francis…. Both my 50 year old set of eyes and my parents 74 year old set of eyes really appreciate the new menu bar. It is now so much easier to see. If this is all John has to complain about I’d suggest he get, himself three kids, a wife, in-laws, a Shrek for a boss and a couple of aging parents living in another state. Good Lord!