OS X Leopard – Apple’s Vista?
I have now officially gone two weeks using the Mac Pro. I bought the Mac Pro on the day of Leopard’s release. They gave me the Leopard upgrade DVD with the system. The first thing I did when I cranked it up was install Leopard. So how is the experience?
Buggy
So far, I am not exactly thrilled with Leopard. Unfortunately, too, this is my first experience using a Mac and I must say that it does taint my view of it somewhat. I have heard all the talk about about how everything with Apple “just works” and how this operating system is supposed to be super stable. Well, it isn’t. At this juncture, Windows XP simply blows OS X Leopard away in terms of reliability and stability.
So far, here are my observations:
- Time Machine is a piece of crap. It hangs up the machine for a couple seconds when powering up the external hard drive. And apparently it is causing full system hang ups. I am guessing on this, but I have had instances where VMWare Fusion has completely frozen and it was recommended I exclude the virtual machine files from Time Machine. Problem is….
- The whole machine goes through periods of instability. After using it for a day or so, I get random program crashes, lockups, you name it. So, I’m left wondering if perhaps Time Machine is dragging the whole system down. Last night I disabled the entire thing and we’ll see what happens. But then…
- I wake up this morning and all of my screens were blank. No video signal. System was running. After giving up on it, I hard reboot the system using the power button. When it powers up, I get notified that the system was restarted after OS X quit unexpectedly. I take a look at the error report. What I had was my first kernel panic – OS X equivalent of the blue screen of death. The system was hung up all night.
- The system has almost consistently locked up during restart or shutdown.
As of now, this machine is NOT dependable. Sure, I can work on it, but I have had to reboot the machine almost every day in order to clear our the plethora of random crashes and annoyances.
This is Worse Than Vista
People can tell me about Apple’s speed releasing this as compared to Microsoft taking six years to give us Vista. People can, rightly so, complain about Vista’s driver issues and the fact that it is bloated and slow. And all those points would be perfectly valid. But one thing I would not convict Vista of is being unstable to the point of forcing daily reboots.
In terms of the most important qualifier for any computer – can I dependably work on it – this Mac Pro is currently skirting the edge for me. I can get my work done, but I have to start second guessing the system planning for my next lockup.
Apple – You Screwed Up
Rightly or wrongly, my impression of Apple is that they care more about their bottom line that their customers. They released the Iphone, for example, at a super ridiculous price, get a bunch of early adopters on board buying the phones, then slash the price. They basically stick it to the early adopters. At the same time, they work out a sweetheart deal with AT&T to lock the phone to their service plans and then actively battle against anybody who is trying to unlock the phone and do what they want with THEIR OWN PHONE. I mean, look, if you get the phone at a discount because you have a contract with your service provider, perhaps they have some right to control certain things on your phone. But, Iphone users paid FULL PRICE for their phones, are then channeled into AT&T to get their service or are faced with the wrath of Apple when you try to buck their money-making pyramid.
Now, I don’t think Apple screwed up quite as bad with Leopard as they did with the Iphone, but it is clear to me they released this too early. What I am experiencing with this operating system is not completely atypical for a new OS – if it is in beta. But, Apple so proudly bashes Microsoft in their promotional campaigns, marketing themselves as the easy computers that just work reliably. Well, Leopard doesn’t just work. And judging by the Apple support forums, there are a LOT more people than me complaining about issues with Leopard.
It seems to me they were more interested in getting Leopard out before the holiday season than actually living up to their reputation.
Are any of these arguments sound familiar, Vista bashers?
Keeping It Real
Just for the sake of being clear, I am not unhappy with my Mac. It is a good system, and Leopard is much better than Vista when it comes to speed, features and ease of use. Apple gets a lot right, but lately I have been disappointed. They are simply not living up to their marketing. They seem more interested in the marketing and the swiping of my credit card than they do in providing me with a quality computing experience. There is little excuse for these instabilities given the amount of control Apple holds over the entire “Apple experience”.
At least that is how I feel right now. They better rush out the 10.5.1 update to Leopard and it better fix these issues. Otherwise, I might even consider wiping the system clean and re-installing Tiger.
And doesn’t THAT sound EXACTLY like my comments on Windows Vista. Apple, learn from this.
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30 thoughts on “OS X Leopard – Apple’s Vista?”
Yours buggily, after my third consecutive restart
Here’s my two cents for what it’s worth.
Michael Moore – “Nevertheless, thanks for posting the truth.” What truth? that Dave is not having much luck with his new computer? Keep reading.
Rich Menga – “I personally witnessed Dave’s Mac Pro lock up…” Okay and what does this prove other than Dave is having rotten luck with his new computer.
Anders Pors (a little too excited) said that 2,164,000 Macs were sold and that 2 million copies of Leopard were sold in a week. Of all the computers that are now using Leopard, I would be interested in the following:
-What percentage of the people using Leopard are having problems getting it to “Just Work” for them?
-How many of those having problems are those who got a clean install?
-How many of those having problems upgraded from Tiger? If it is an upgrade, what kind of system do they have? (in other words, which model do they have?)
-How do these questions about Leopard compare to Vista?
-What is the overall average experience for the users of both OS’s and the rate of satisfaction?
These would seem to be of more objective value when discussing the credibility of a new OS from personal experience. Personal experience only gives credit or devalues for a person those statistics depending on how that opinion is valued.
As “Required Name” put it, when Tiger first came out, there were bugs. I experienced some of them. But they were resolved rather quickly. Because of my positive experience with Apple in this regard, I have great faith that they will resolve issues that may come up. I have just loaded Leopard two days ago and have not had a hitch yet (in case anyone might be interested). In fact, it has improved the performance of my eMac which isn’t all that “great” of a computer to begin with, so I am very pleased. But discussing the credibility of an OS, you can’t just go into it with one experience, especially when it’s personal. If it’s good, your looked at as being biased. If it’s bad, your also looked at as being biased. All I have seen here is that Fusion and Time Machine don’t work for you. One of which isn’t even an Apple product. How does this objectively discredit that “it just works” as an overall OS? You said so yourself that you are still able to get things done.
I am glad to see Dave that you are still working at it and trying to figure it out. I do not have an Intel processor for my computer, so I am not able to use Fusion. As far as I know, Fusion is originally a PC software ported for Mac. How do you know the problem isn’t with Fusion? (There are other ways to port without Fusion. My dad partitioned his hard drive so that he can use Apple on one and Windows on the other and has had great success.) Time Machine is a feature that I think is a great idea, but to backlog my system every hour is not something I wanted to happen. So I have disabled it. I am not sure if I intend to use it as there are many free backup programs that do the same trick.
At any rate, you said that Apple got some things right about it being faster and the ease of use. For the average person who uses their computer to write papers, email/text message/instant message their friends, view images in iPhoto, or listen to music with iTunes, it is a great computer.
Personally, of all my friends, I find that those geekified enough to spend the time doing it, build their own computers and are the only ones who can seem to get Microsoft to work for them. The average person doesn’t know are even have the time, and that is what makes Apple great, for the average user, “it just works”. And that is my personal humble opinion on the matter.
Yeas it has some good features and all, it crashes alot.
I used to like apple products (Tiger was good), apple is just turning into another Microsoft i am going back to Ubuntu.
and my next laptop definitely wont be a mac.
All OS’ need taming, but with Linux at least I don’t have to pay for the privilege of doing so.
I don’t buy into Apple’s ‘sheeple’ mentality, I believe in choice of hardware, and I believe in education of how a computer works before just putting someone in front of one and expecting it to ‘just work’. That’s leading to a ‘dumbing down’ of PCs for people.
Put it this way… Apple is so dead set on forcing people to do things ‘their way’ that if you load up Itunes on an XP machine, you can’t even resize the window according to the guidelines put forth by Microsoft. And that’s just something really *stupid*.
You either do things their way or no way. Not so in Microsoft/Linux/Unix worlds.
If you are that lazy that you have to have everything done for you, then please, stop using a computer, because I hate to sound elitist, but whatever happened to actually learning how a computer works in order to use it?
Now you sound like someone who is set in your ways and unwilling to adjust to OS X. Fine. The Mac is not for you. But there are plenty of switchers from the Windows and Linux camps that have discovered that there is a Mac advantage. It has to do with fit ‘n’ finish and 1000 little things that make life sweeter. You spend more time doing work on Mac and less time maintaining it. I’m not going to try and sell you on switching to a Mac. Some people “get it” and and some never will. Others, perhaps you are one, just enjoy the challenge of taming a less friendly system.
Why? What makes it better? I can see it as different, but not necessarily better. I’d be driven nuts on a Mac, and I am not the only one.
Define generic PC? I’d picture that as a bunch of PCs that are lined up, all looking the same and capable of the same things. Starting to sound like a Mac…
Likewise, Windows advocates (I won’t stoop to calling them Wintards) often claim that the Mac would be overrun with malware (as has been the case with PCs) if Apple had the same overwhelming market-share as Microsoft. Here is a case where Apple’s lack of market domination gives it an advantage. Even though Apple has recently been gaining market-share, it is unlikely to overtake Microsoft in the foreseeable future. If you accept the argument that malware writers will concentrate on the most prevalent platform, Mac owners will continue to enjoy relative security. Smart shoppers will taking this into consideration.
Then we’ll see just how “stable” their OS is.
Comparing a Mac to a PC is comparing (no pun intended) apples to oranges.
If Microsoft controlled the hardware like Apple does, we wouldn’t have a free and open market for software, consumer choice, and any configuration that a user wants/needs.
Anyone who says that Apple’s OS’s are ‘rock solid’ or ‘trouble free’ is an absolute liar and an idiot to boot.
I can guarantee that if Apple allowed OSX on any hardware we’d find out just how “rock solid” their OS is.
And another thing, I’m all for different types of OS’s, whether it’s Linux, Unix, BeOS, Windows, or even OSX. It fosters competition and innovation.
What I don’t like is Apple’s (and their users) ‘holier than thou’ and ‘superior’ attitude, as shown ostensibly by their childish commercials “mac vs pc” nonsense. Apple and Steve Jobs need to grow up and stop being fascist control freaks, and put their money where their mouth is.
Let OSX be on any X86 and put their OS up where the comparison is even. Let them try to support the same amount of hardware Windows does out of the box and stay as stable.
To all you “mactards” out there: GET A GRIP. It’s just an OS, not the cure for cancer.
Between MS and Apple releasing dog OS’ I am simply in a holding pattern waiting for the correct support for Unbuntu so I can finally dump Vista which is just slightly less crappy then Leopard and I can at least throw money at it until it runs smooth unlike my Mac which is basically a temperamental DVR right now, that was worth the coin. My macpro also smells, its like car smell and plastic ass just blowing out of it, of course my Gateway laptop just stinks but it was priced as machine that smells like farts should.
The author has lost ALL credibility with me when he calls Time Machine “crap” because of a 2-3 second delay…what a whiner.
A major OS upgrade will always cause compatibility problems because the point of the upgrade, apart from interface stuff, is to revise the underlying technology. That means changing APIs, which means broken software. Perfect backward compatibility can only happen if the OS is never given any substantial changes. It’s also impossible to test every combination of stuff every user will throw at the system. You would have had a better experience putting Leopard on the shelf for a while and using Tiger. To Apple’s credit, the first update is apparently already out for testing. This is where they differentiate themselves from MS. 10.5.1 will take care of almost all the issues (if history is a guide) and it’ll take a whopping month or so to show up. BTW: “It just works” was used by Jobs to describe the first Mac almost 25 years ago. Lately it was used to describe Vista.
“Uhhh, no. The drive was connected and on the entire time.”
Uhhh… if the drive was on the entire time then how could the system hang for a few moments whenever you switched it on as you described?
Hint: as a designer with 15 years of brand-name experience speaking to a younger designer I might suggest you take criticism a little more gracefully.
Secondly, if I were TRYING to trash Apple, do you think I would have gone out and plopped down $2500 to buy one? I don’t think so. I spend that much money on a computer, I want to be singing in the rain about it.
Thirdly, I was not throwing any hacks or weirdness at this Mac. It was all standard Mac software. So, again, Mac users need to stop the reflex of always blaming the user when something goes wrong. Sometimes Macs crash. It’s a computer.
I’m glad many like Leopard. I am happy to report that as of today the system is running well for me, too. I have hibernation disabled and time machine off and that seems to have made the issues go away. I am going to apply some process of elimination to it and see if I can pinpoint a precise culprit to the crashes.
For anybody else, this is a blog. I’m not trying to be a reporter here. If my Mac keeps crashing, I’m going to blog about it here. And yes, I’m going to bash Leopard. Just like I bashed Vista, BTW. Nobody can say I’m not an equal opportunity complainer when the target deserves it. :)
I was an advanced PC user who got fed up with all of the problems I had using Windows. As I looked back over the various versions I had used extensively (from it’s inception through Vista) I realized that I have never really had a stable operating system that simply worked and more often than not I was left frustrated when it came to my computing experiences. When I switched to Vista from XP I experienced so many headaches and lost so much time trying to hunt down fixes and apply patches that I finally gave up and bought a mac.
Let me say loud and clear that I have not had one single problem with either my laptop or my tower (both G5 systems) since the day I first plugged them in and turned them on. They have absolutely “just worked” no matter what I threw at them – whether connecting a multitude of devices, different printers, connecting to various business and private networks, even upgrading hardware… I have been amazed at how easy it is to work on a mac.
Switching to Apple was the best thing I ever did and any extra cost has been well recouped in the reclaimed time I now have to work instead of “fixing” a problem with my windows machine. I realize that you see (what you consider) a large number of unhappy mac customers on the Apple support forums, but really, what other kind did you expect to find there?
If you are going to report on the satisfaction of an operating system (or anything for that matter), to be fair you must look at the hard numbers, not base your opinions on a single users experience (even if it is your own). You do your readers a true disservice.
Ironically, sometimes it is the power-user switchers who have the most problems with Macs. Their overconfidence (based on prior knowledge, and ability to fix problems with other systems) causes them take chances. They are more likely to install newly released software without waiting to find out what unknown bugs and compatability issues might be lurking. They are more likely to load their systems down with all manner of software and hacks, and attempt to use their systems in unusual ways. I am thankful for the sacrifice of those who boldly go where none have gone before to essentially perform Apple’s final user testing.
The downside is that when problems inevitably are found, we see the alpha geeks getting on their soap boxes to trash Apple (whom they have a long-standing tendency to dislike out of principle).
Of course XP has fewer problems, it’s been in the wild for years having been patched repeatedly. The problems have been identified and addressed. That same will happen to Leopard.
I’m sorry you bought into the hype and let down your guard, and that your Mac experience has been soured. Apple, Macs and OS-X are not infallible. Always use due diligence when upgrading your computer. I’m sure your problems will eventually be fixed, and you will not regret your purchase.
I also recommend buying AppleCare. Its benefits include free phone support for 3 years.
No problems at all with the OS functioning as advertised.
btw – For me, Time Machine has been a great app and trouble free.
Definitely not a piece of crap as the author claimed.