# Mac Snow Leopard out Friday 8/28/09



## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Guess we are getting it a little early, I kept seeing Sept listed on the Apple site and that was what is said when I preordered. 

So WOOT Friday.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Yep I just got word from Amazon that I will have mine by the 2nd of September.


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## redshift1 (Jun 20, 2009)

What changes are in store...?


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

http://www.apple.com/macosx/refinements/


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

thanks - just ordered it - of course it will probably come when I am away so it will sit in the Post Office until I return -- Oh Well -


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Just saw this thread.  I'm planning to order a Macbook but I've been waiting for Snow Leopard to be included (haven't been waiting long, just started looking at them last week!).  The Apple store reps have told me that it will be included with all new Macs ordered starting tomorrow, 8/28.  I'm excited but Macs are totally new to me and I expect a bit of a learning curve.  Can't quite imagine operating without a mouse but apparently it can be done!


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

kari said:


> Just saw this thread. I'm planning to order a Macbook but I've been waiting for Snow Leopard to be included (haven't been waiting long, just started looking at them last week!). The Apple store reps have told me that it will be included with all new Macs ordered starting tomorrow, 8/28. I'm excited but Macs are totally new to me and I expect a bit of a learning curve. Can't quite imagine operating without a mouse but apparently it can be done!


Snow Leopard will be included, but it may not be loaded onto the laptop, you may need to do the upgrade yourself. When I ordered my current iMac after Leopard was released, I was rather bummed to find that the iMac was loaded with Tiger, and that an upgrade DVD was in the box waiting for me. Even worse, the DVD was corrupted. I was able to exchange it the next day at the Apple Store, and tech support actually sent me another upgrade DVD, so I ended up with two.

As for a mouse, you can always add a mouse to your laptop. I prefer to use a mouse than the trackpad, though the new trackpads are much nicer than they used to be. There is no separate button, you simply click on the trackpad, and you can use the same multi-finger gestures that are used on the iPhone and iPod Touch to scroll, zoom in and out, etc.


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

does anyone use Safari as their main browser - I use Firefox and like their layout - they are saying on the promotion for Snow Leopard that Safari is so much faster than Firefox but I am not seeing that -


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Safari may very well be faster on Snow Leopard... We shall find out soon.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Yep, you're right Pigeon.  I didn't expand on it but the details are that a Snow Leopard disc will be included with new Macs until they run out of current inventory, then they will start installing it before shipping.  Hmm...maybe I should wait a bit....

I don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch so I will have to learn all of those gestures. 

My biggest issue right now is do I get the 13" or 15" -- the 15" seems best but oh how the smaller size would be nice for carrying around!


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

kari said:


> Just saw this thread. I'm planning to order a Macbook but I've been waiting for Snow Leopard to be included (haven't been waiting long, just started looking at them last week!). The Apple store reps have told me that it will be included with all new Macs ordered starting tomorrow, 8/28. I'm excited but Macs are totally new to me and I expect a bit of a learning curve. Can't quite imagine operating without a mouse but apparently it can be done!


I switched to a macbook in July and could not be happier. It was a bit different to use the trackpad, but now I adore it. so many things you can do with it. I do have a mouse that I pull out for some things, but most of the time now I enjoy the trackpad.

rho - I use mostly safari. I do have firefox installed because a couple of the sites i use are not safari compatible, but for the most part I have had non issues with safari at all.

I can't wait for this update!


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I just use a mouse with my laptop. It's not a big deal, although personally I much prefer a desktop computer and I only use my laptop on trips and only then when my iphone won't do for the task. Like online gaming lol. Installing snow leopard wouldn't stop me from buying now, it's really not that hard.


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

kari said:


> Yep, you're right Pigeon. I didn't expand on it but the details are that a Snow Leopard disc will be included with new Macs until they run out of current inventory, then they will start installing it before shipping. Hmm...maybe I should wait a bit....
> 
> I don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch so I will have to learn all of those gestures.
> 
> My biggest issue right now is do I get the 13" or 15" -- the 15" seems best but oh how the smaller size would be nice for carrying around!


Kari - have you gone and played around with them at an apple store? I really thought I wanted the 15" until I went to the store and actually held them. I ended up with a 13" macbook pro and it is perfect size. I thought the 15" was actually a bit too big to be really useful and portable. The 13" is not as small as you would think it is.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

kari said:


> I don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch so I will have to learn all of those gestures.
> 
> My biggest issue right now is do I get the 13" or 15" -- the 15" seems best but oh how the smaller size would be nice for carrying around!


Make sure you take a few minutes to learn the gestures, they are terrific shortcuts that you will use all the time.....

I went with the 15" MacBook Pro.... I couldn't be happier, the screen is amazing; bright, crisp and roomy.


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

And since i know how much this board loves accessories, don't forget a pretty new case for your macbook  especially if you are worried about scratching the aluminum. I adore my speck see thru satin (in purple), yummy  There is a coupon code for 50% off them I think.
http://www.speckproducts.com/files/images/25121-full.jpg


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

And decalgirl skins LOL

although I don't have one on my laptop yet.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

patchymama said:


> Kari - have you gone and played around with them at an apple store? I really thought I wanted the 15" until I went to the store and actually held them. I ended up with a 13" macbook pro and it is perfect size. I thought the 15" was actually a bit too big to be really useful and portable. The 13" is not as small as you would think it is.


My husband has a 15" - it is big to me! I like that I can get bigger and faster with the 15" but the 13" would certainly be easier to move around. And I can't imagine using Photoshop on a 13" - right now I'm on a 20" desktop. So you see why I'm torn!


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

patchymama said:


> And since i know how much this board loves accessories, don't forget a pretty new case for your macbook  especially if you are worried about scratching the aluminum. I adore my speck see thru satin (in purple), yummy  There is a coupon code for 50% off them I think.
> http://www.speckproducts.com/files/images/25121-full.jpg


I love those - I need to find the coupon!


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

yeah, i don't do a ton of graphic work on mine.  mostly school stuff for now   tho you could always hook it up to a larger monitor if you wanted to  

I think the coupon is devcamp50 for 50% off

Yes, must get a skin too   *enable enable enable*


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I use mine for database and web design, so I like a nice, big screen....

This is the bag I got to hold my 15" MacBook Pro... Very simple; zip top with a large exterior pocket where you can put the charger or some papers.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I just bought Leopard earlier this year as they would not give even an estimate on when Snow would be out!  Bummer!  But I only use my computer for e-mails and kindleboards and an occasional document, oh and pictures.  Guess I don't need it.  Do plan on a laptop later this year, a small one to carry on all these trips I make


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

The Snow Leopard update is pretty cheap, so you may still want to have a look....

I just ordered my Snow Leopard upgrade for my new MacBook (FREE, only $9.95 for shipping.... plus tax!  ).... I'm hoping it will speed up my old iMac (almost two years old and getting tired), but I think what it really needs is more RAM, so that is my next purchase.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Thanks for the coupon code, Patchymama!  

Pigeon, I like your case - that looks really nice.

So...do Macs really last longer than PCs or is that just a myth?


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Last longer? I don't think so.... Of course, that could mean a lot of things....

The components are pretty much the same hardware you will find in PCs, made by the same manufacturers..... On my iMac that I bought in 2004 (which I still do use), the hard drive failed in 2007 (I replaced it, that took several hours), and the DVD drive recently failed (not going to replace). So far, my two-year old iMac hasn't had any problems (knock on wood).

Though, in retrospect, I have replaced several PCs and their components in the last ten years.... Motherboard failures, fan failures, drive failures.... so.... I would say that I find the Macs more reliable.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Interesting.  I just always hear people raving about their Macs and how they last so much longer than PCs.  Perhaps there is a bit of truth to it, but not necessarily.  

I'm leaning toward the 13" just to learn Mac and get my feet wet.  I can always hook up to my 20" flat screen desktop monitor for photo editing and bigger stuff if needed.  The portability just sounds really great to me, and it would most likely have plenty of speed for my purposes.  Then if I become a huge Mac fan, I can always go bigger next time.  Yes, we know there will be a "next time!"  

But right now my 2.5 year old Dell is still working great (knock on wood!!) so this will be an "extra" computer, not my main one.  No need to go too crazy. lol


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

kari said:


> No need to go too crazy. lol


I don't know what you mean.... Between the two of us, we only have two iMacs, one Vista PC, one old XP laptop, an old iBook, a MacBook Air, and a MacBook Pro.

I'm fortunate to have excellent self-control.


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

LOL  I thought I was out of control buying the 24" iMac and the 13" MacBook Pro within 3 month of each other.  I just got my 13" a couple of weeks ago.  It is nice


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

pidgeon92 said:


> I don't know what you mean.... Between the two of us, we only have two iMacs, one Vista PC, one old XP laptop, an old iBook, a MacBook Air, and a MacBook Pro.
> 
> I'm fortunate to have excellent self-control.


LOL!


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Anyone have any experience with the Applecare 3 year warranty?  It's $249 for the 13" - no idea if it's worth it or not.  I suppose that depends if I end up needing it!


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

i read on most of the boards its best to buy the warranty on ebay, lots cheaper.  just make sure you get one that they ship the box/code to you.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Why no love for the macbook air?

I don't have one but just wondering.


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

The applecare warranty is cheaper on amazon.  Isn't everything?  It has really good reviews.  I purchased it and then called my insurance agent and purchased a policy that covers accidental damage or theft for $30 a year


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> Why no love for the macbook air?
> 
> I don't have one but just wondering.


Whachoomean? I bought one for my husband (a refurb from Apple). It is a really nice machine for basic web surfing and documents... I wouldn't do any 3D modeling on it... He takes it with him on his business trips so we can talk via iChat.... It weighs - almost! - nothing.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

kari said:


> Anyone have any experience with the Applecare 3 year warranty? It's $249 for the 13" - no idea if it's worth it or not. I suppose that depends if I end up needing it!


I've heard a couple of times that while most extended warranties aren't worthwhile, the Apple one is. We've got it - used it for our iMac when something mysteriously got into the CD drive (we suspect a grandchild was the culprit) - it more than paid for itself that one time.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> Why no love for the macbook air?
> 
> I don't have one but just wondering.


Maybe the price? I'd love to have one, but man they're spendy!


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Thanks for the tips on where to purchase the Applecare plan.  For some reason, I figured it needed to be purchased from Apple at the same time as the computer.  Good to know!


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Meemo said:


> I've heard a couple of times that while most extended warranties aren't worthwhile, the Apple one is. We've got it - used it for our iMac when something mysteriously got into the CD drive (we suspect a grandchild was the culprit) - it more than paid for itself that one time.


Thanks - in poking around on the web, I'm reading the same thing. One person even went so far as to say no Apple laptop goes 2 years without a problem. I hope that's not true!


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

pidgeon92 said:


> Whachoomean? I bought one for my husband (a refurb from Apple). It is a really nice machine for basic web surfing and documents... I wouldn't do any 3D modeling on it... He takes it with him on his business trips so we can talk via iChat.... It weighs - almost! - nothing.


LOL I just meant that I always hear people saying they are buying the other mac laptops


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## meglet (Feb 14, 2009)

Kari, the AppleCare is definitely worth it. Shop around carefully, I got AppleCare for my iMac from Amazon, and it was about 25% cheaper than the Apple Store. I'm a bit to paranoid to trust eBay sellers with something that important. I used the AppleCare once, and the friend I sold the iMac to is about to use it again. Not to imply Macs fail a lot, just that particular model of iMac has some issues with the video card. 

BTW, my 13" MacBook is going on 3 years old without having any issues (knock on wood) although I've upgraded the memory and hard drive a couple times and I tend to baby it, which probably helps. Regarding the screen size, the 13" screen always seemed to small without really helping the packability of the laptop, until I got a 10" netbook. On the other hand, my mom and my coworker both have 15" MacBook Pros and I really prefer that screen size for something I would do a lot of work on.

Now I'm off to print and sign the pre-release for tomorrow's Snow Leopard delivery. Can't wait!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I use a 13" MacBook as my main computer. If I need a larger screen, I plug it into my 19" LCD monitor. I have even plugged it into my 42" television to run the X-Plane sim. I use a USB keyboard and mouse with it once in a while, also.

I just got a shipping confirmation for 10.6 , scheduled to be here Tuesday, Sept 1st.

To pick up on some earlier comments, I use Firefox because I can automatically sync bookmarks between my two Macs and my XP machine. I could do that with Safari (I think), but I've never been keen on using Safari on the XP box. I like the plugins I can get for Firefox. Arguably Opera is a much better choice for a browser, but it takes forever to get configured and Firefox already has all my passwords stored.

I also got the Applecare for the MacBook. One of these days I'm going to have to take it in to the store and get the superdrive fixed/replaced before the end of the extended warrantry. It's been really flaky since new, it can't read many disks, but I've been able to work around it.

Mike


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## MineKinder (Jan 5, 2009)

I bought myself a 15" MacBook Pro, for using in bed. I have a 20" Mac Desktop for work.
And I found the 15" way to bulky, so I ended up giving it to my son, and getting the 13". Which I LOVE, perfect size and weight. And easy to travel with.
And yes, I skinned it 

By the way, we have a Mac Desktop thats 7 years old! And still runs, perfectly!
We use it as, the guest computer!


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> Why no love for the macbook air?
> 
> I don't have one but just wondering.


Big money, little to no horsepower (comparatively speaking), no network card, only 1 USB port, no optical drive, "remote disk" functionality doesn't support audio CDs or video DVDs (to "encourage" you to re-buy your content from iTunes). Those are just a few I can think of offhand.

The Macbooks in general are great pieces of kit, but they're way behind in the ultraportable space. Lenovo has a line (the X series, particularly the X200s and X301) that costs less, is thinner, lighter, has more USB ports, built-in NIC AND DVD drive (which can be swapped out for an extra battery). And they're made out of carbon fiber, so it's not like you're giving anything up in terms of durability.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Today is the day!


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

I read on mobileread last night that snow leopard causes calibre to crash... so if you use calibre, you may want to wait to install snow leopard.  No official support for SL from calibre for at least a month it seems.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

snow leopard is a higher priority to me than calibre is. Good to know though.


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

kari said:


> Thanks - in poking around on the web, I'm reading the same thing. One person even went so far as to say no Apple laptop goes 2 years without a problem. I hope that's not true!


well I have had them for 5 years no problems - 7 years with one problem taken care of quickly - now hubby has my old 5 yr old one with no problems and I have a 2 yr old one with the line on the screen - debating calling the apple store to get it fixed while still under warranty when we get back from vacation -

So I wouldn't say that was a true statement other than maybe in their experience --


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

rho said:


> well I have had them for 5 years no problems - 7 years with one problem taken care of quickly - now hubby has my old 5 yr old one with no problems and I have a 2 yr old one with the line on the screen - debating calling the apple store to get it fixed while still under warranty when we get back from vacation -
> 
> So I wouldn't say that was a true statement other than maybe in their experience --


That's good to hear. I've ordered mine and can't wait to get it!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

patchymama said:


> No official support for SL from calibre for at least a month it seems.


I'm not holding my breath, as Kovid doesn't even have a Mac that will run 10.6. 

Mike


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

kari said:


> Thanks - in poking around on the web, I'm reading the same thing. One person even went so far as to say no Apple laptop goes 2 years without a problem. I hope that's not true!


I don't think my husband has ever had an issue with his Mac laptop - and I'm sure he's had it at least a couple of years. I should add that when the expert said the Applecare is worthwhile, it wasn't just for if something goes wrong - it's the general customer support you get when you have it. In addition to our computers and iphones, we have 2 Apple TVs (LOVE it!) and have had an issue or two with them. Didn't have the extended warranty but Apple still went above and beyond on sending us new units overnight.

The only issues we've had with our computers has been self-inflicted (well, grandchild-inflicted...)


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I haven't had any issues with any of my apple products.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

I am ordering my Snow Leopard tomorrow.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

DH's Snow Leopard just arrived - granddaughter wanted to know how his lost his old snow leopard...she's 4...


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

jmiked said:


> I'm not holding my breath, as Kovid doesn't even have a Mac that will run 10.6.
> 
> Mike


I am hoping that someone else will help out and fix whatever issues there are so it runs on snow leopard. I really want SL but I am not sure I could live without calibre. *sigh*


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Calibre seems to be an application the developer cares for a lot. I am quite certain he will make sure it works with Snow Leopard sooner than later.


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## m&amp;m (Mar 14, 2009)

pidgeon92 said:


> The Snow Leopard update is pretty cheap, so you may still want to have a look....
> 
> I just ordered my Snow Leopard upgrade for my new MacBook (FREE, only $9.95 for shipping.... plus tax! ).... I'm hoping it will speed up my old iMac (almost two years old and getting tired), but I think what it really needs is more RAM, so that is my next purchase.


How did you you get Snow Leopard FREE? I'm not really complaining about the $49 family pack, but free sounds even better!


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

I think it is because her mac is new -- I read somewhere if it was bought in the last (don't remember the number) you will get a free upgrade


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## m&amp;m (Mar 14, 2009)

Oh- I read that she was using it for her old iMac, and assumed that was the only computer she had.  Perhaps she has a new Mac, and is just using SnowLeopard for the older one.  Free would be nice, though!


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Yep, getting it free (only $9.95! shipping) because I bought my MacBook 6/11/09... I think it is any Mac purchased after 6/8.

Technically, it should only be installed on the MacBook, you see......


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

hmm i bought mine in july but when i went to buy it from apple it was $29.  I ended up getting it at best buy because it was on sale. hmmm... maybe i need to poke around some more.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Here is the direct link to the Snow Leopard up-to-date program.... It is for new machines purchased 6/8/09 or later, and runs until 12/26/09.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

cool!  I am going to take my other copy back, i hadn't opened it yet   Just ordered mine!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Just got a note from Amazon that the price had dropped to $24.99 before mine shipped. Delivery estimate is Monday. I guess I'll have to get busy with my backup. 

Mike


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

patchymama - thanks again for the Speck coupon code! It worked like a charm but of course instead of getting one for half price, I had to buy one, get one free. LOL I couldn't decide b/w pink and purple so I'll have both unless I decide to sell one. I didn't get the satin b/c I read that animal hair will stick to it and we have shedding dogs here. I like the hard shell too though - they're really pretty.

Pigeon, was it you who posted the pic on this thread of a cute carrying case you use for your Macbook? If so, can you tell me where you bought it? It really looks nice, and I'd like to check them out.

Thanks!! 

*ETA:* Nevermind pigeon, I clicked on it and it took me to Amazon. Thanks!


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

I had a little issue getting it to see my printer but it is figured out now - probably could have done it a lot quicker if I had just thought about it and pulled up the help on the printer


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

jmiked said:


> Just got a note from Amazon that the price had dropped to $24.99 before mine shipped. Delivery estimate is Monday. I guess I'll have to get busy with my backup.
> 
> Mike


Yep the price had dropped on the Family Pack Snow Leopard I ordered as well.

Saved $6 plus.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

It turns out that my upgrade may be costing me $200. My version of FileMaker Pro won't work with Snow Leopard.  

Mike


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

jmiked said:


> It turns out that my upgrade may be costing me $200. My version of FileMaker Pro won't work with Snow Leopard.
> 
> Mike


That's a bummer. Maybe forget about upgrading Snow Leopard if what you had was working fine?

Has anyone had Snow Leopard crash their hard drive during installation? I've read some nightmare stories but then for many others it was a painless procedure and things went perfectly fine. The main lesson was to back up your system before doing the install.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

my snow leopard came last night 
got my full backup done and am installing now

posting from my iphone


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

kari said:


> patchymama - thanks again for the Speck coupon code! It worked like a charm but of course instead of getting one for half price, I had to buy one, get one free. LOL I couldn't decide b/w pink and purple so I'll have both unless I decide to sell one. I didn't get the satin b/c I read that animal hair will stick to it and we have shedding dogs here. I like the hard shell too though - they're really pretty.
> 
> Pigeon, was it you who posted the pic on this thread of a cute carrying case you use for your Macbook? If so, can you tell me where you bought it? It really looks nice, and I'd like to check them out.
> 
> ...


Speck products are great I have the hard case snap on one in clear for my Mac Book Pro . I didn't want to hide the sleek aluminum uni-body , but wanted to protect it. So the clear was perfect for me.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

kari said:


> Maybe forget about upgrading Snow Leopard if what you had was working fine?


Yep. I need a "real" database, not a spreadsheet pretending to be a database. Otherwise I could get by with OpenOffice. I apparently can't hide non-matching records in a search. I could be wrong. I'd love to be wrong. 

Mike


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

oo up and running and looks great. I can't tell if it's any faster or not since time machine is currently backing up. I like the new additions to their wallpapers.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Rasputina said:


> oo up and running and looks great. I can't tell if it's any faster or not since time machine is currently backing up. I like the new additions to their wallpapers.


I've read of many instances where it freed up space on the hard drive...in addition to being faster.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jmiked said:


> Yep. I need a "real" database, not a spreadsheet pretending to be a database. Otherwise I could get by with OpenOffice. I apparently can't hide non-matching records in a search. I could be wrong. I'd love to be wrong.
> 
> Mike


Open Office has a database component. . . . .if I were you I'd research a little more. . . maybe ask questions on their website forums. . . . .


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## suicidepact (May 17, 2009)

SL seems to be a good bit faster, especially on boot up and shutdown. I had about 5.5 gigs free on my OSX partition prior to installing, afterwards I had 15.6 gigs free. About 90% of the apps, plugins and preference panes I used with Leopard are already either capable of running in the  SL 32-bit mode, or have 64-bit updates already out. Now for the remaining 10%....


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Open Office has a database component. . . . .if I were you I'd research a little more. . . maybe ask questions on their website forums. . . . .


Yeah, but at first look it appeared to be just a glorified spreadsheet. I have since tracked down a manual that seems to show how to do what I want. Too bad they don't send the documentation with the program or provide a link some (like in the help files).

Mea culpa. I didn't do enough research. But I was running 101F temperature for the past three days. 

Mike


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jmiked said:


> Too bad they don't send the documentation with the program or provide a link some (like in the help files).


Well.. . . .of course, it _is_ free. 

Sorry about the fever. . . .hope you feel better soon!


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I suspect you will find a lot of programs that will not run under Snow Leopard.... Always happens when you upgrade.... I haven't upgraded yet, I have too many projects that I can't leave hanging while I figure out what works and what doesn't.... However, I did upgrade to FileMaker Pro 10 Advanced recently, so that won't be a problem.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

My calibre is working fine, in fact I just converted a document. But I'm using 6.7 not 6.10 because I didn't bother upgrading.


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## suicidepact (May 17, 2009)

Calibre hasn't been running for me (0.6.7) but I tried right clicking the app in Finder and clicked "open using Rosetta" and it seemed to run ok for me. I'm going to try to update to 0.6.10. now.

EDIT- I've just installed 0.6.10 and just like the previous version, it won't run unless I select "open using Rosetta." I wonder if this same action will work for other apps that won't run under Snow Leopard?


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

pidgeon92 said:


> However, I did upgrade to FileMaker Pro 10 Advanced recently, so that won't be a problem.


I'm still using 5.5. 

They haven't made any functional improvements in years that I need. $299 is just absurd for my uses, and even $170 on eBay is a bit much.

But FM Pro is easy to use. I've been a customer for over 15 years. Now that I don't have to sync with my late, unlamented Palm Tungsten, there's really no need to stick with it.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm actually just learning Filemaker now..... I used Microsoft Access for 15 years, but I am ready to move all of my databases over to my iMac, and I have two projects that I need to get started on..... I have a friend who is opening a consignment store, and she needs inventory tracking, and I volunteer for another group that needs an new membership database. I was going to stick with Filemaker 9, but now I need to do stand-alone apps for these two projects, so it made sense to upgrade to the current software.

You should have a look at the videos on the FileMaker site, you might decide to upgrade afterall.... They've made some difficult tasks very easy indeed. I watched a few of them before I bought Filemaker, and I just sat there going "ooooooooohhhhhh." Much slicker than Access.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

My needs for a database are very simple since I retired. Just a simple flat-file database for my books (4,000+ volumes).

I used to use FM Pro at work and used all the  relational capabilities. People were amazed at how quickly I could get things set up and working. 

Mike


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

suicidepact said:


> I had about 5.5 gigs free on my OSX partition prior to installing, afterwards I had 15.6 gigs free.


Some of this is real savings, some of it is trickery. If you look, you'll see that your hard drive is now "bigger". This is because SL is the first operating system from any vendor to calculate drive space incorrectly--and it does it on purpose. A kilobyte is no longer 1024 bytes (2^10), as it has been since the invention of the computer, it's now 1000 bytes (10^3). So drive sizes are now showing up as if they were 7.3% larger in GB terms, and 10% larger in TB terms.

Now, the Snow Leopard binaries are a good deal smaller, for a variety of reasons. There's no longer any PowerPC code, and most of the executables are now compressed. Real world space savings are in the neighborhood of 5GB (REAL GB, not the new base-10 nonsense). The rest is sleight of hand.

Overall, however, I'm reasonably happy thus far. Nothing is obviously broken yet (other than Apple's ability to do math ), and it does seem a bit snappier. No regrets on dropping the $25.


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## suicidepact (May 17, 2009)

I've read all about that, and it doesn't account for 10 gigs. What does help is getting rid of unnecessary localizations and unneeded printer support. I believe It also deleted the devtools. Also, the modifications to the file system, which also uses heavy compression helps. 
If I take a file that Win XP says is 1 gig and add it to my SL partition, it reports it as 1 gig, not a slightly smaller size, so the install size decrease isn't all due to the base2 math bug.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

geko29 said:


> The rest is sleight of hand.


Trust in Steve. Steve knows what's best for us. 

Mike


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

I'm new to Mac (mine just arrived today).  Can someone tell me how to look on the computer and see if I have Snow Leopard installed?  It says it's included but one message that popped up about my OS made me think not.  How can I check and be sure before I contact Apple?  It was supposed to be included - either installed or on a disc and there was no disc for it in the box. Thanks!


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## Wheezie (Oct 28, 2008)

Click on the little Apple on the upper left of your desktop then click "about this Mac"- it should (I believe )say 10.6.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Wheezie said:


> Click on the little Apple on the upper left of your desktop then click "about this Mac"- it should (I believe )say 10.6.


Thank you so much!! It says 10.6 so if that is Snow Leopard, I have it.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

I have a 13" Macbook Pro and when I open a window (on the internet) - it's not taking up the entire screen.  It's giving me a 7" or so window and I don't see a way to change it.  Nothing I've tried has worked.  Certainly there is a way?  This isn't normal is it? lol  It's like it is minimized but I don't see a way to maximize.

Oh, lots of learning to do....working on it....


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

suicidepact said:


> I've read all about that, and it doesn't account for 10 gigs.


It certainly can, depending on drive size. I "gained" 27GB in the upgrade on my 320GB drive. 5 of that was from honest-to-god smaller install size, the other 22 was from miscalculating the drive size. My 1TB external drive got 80GB "bigger". I'm guessing you have a ~75GB OS X partition. That would have the new OS actually consuming 5GB less space, with the other 5GB made up by bad math.



suicidepact said:


> What does help is getting rid of unnecessary localizations and unneeded printer support. I believe It also deleted the devtools. Also, the modifications to the file system, which also uses heavy compression helps.


Yes, and I did mention most of that in my post, along with several other shrinkage tweaks (elimination of legacy PPC binaries in, in itself, a huge space saver).



suicidepact said:


> If I take a file that Win XP says is 1 gig and add it to my SL partition, it reports it as 1 gig, not a slightly smaller size, so the install size decrease isn't all due to the base2 math bug.


The number of bytes will be the same, but the number of GB will only be the same if the decimals are being ignored. I'm looking at an ISO that shows up as 3.03GB in Windows, but is 3.3GB in SL. It also depends on what program you're using. Only the Finder and Disk utility report sizes incorrectly. Everything else does it right. The inconsistency further adds to the confusion.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

kari said:


> I have a 13" Macbook Pro and when I open a window (on the internet) - it's not taking up the entire screen. It's giving me a 7" or so window and I don't see a way to change it. Nothing I've tried has worked. Certainly there is a way? This isn't normal is it? lol It's like it is minimized but I don't see a way to maximize.
> 
> Oh, lots of learning to do....working on it....


in the bottom right corner of the page you can drag it to the size you want. You may need to drag the page at the top left first so that the window is positioned right to allow full page view.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

kari said:


> I have a 13" Macbook Pro and when I open a window (on the internet) - it's not taking up the entire screen. It's giving me a 7" or so window and I don't see a way to change it. Nothing I've tried has worked. Certainly there is a way? This isn't normal is it? lol It's like it is minimized but I don't see a way to maximize.
> 
> Oh, lots of learning to do....working on it....


oh and that is normal for mac, the expectation is you will be working with multi windows open. There is no standard minimize and maximize buttons the way it is on windows.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

suicidepact said:


> I believe It also deleted the devtools.


not exactly deleted, just not part of the basic SL install, they are still available under customized install though. So they are on the disk, you just have to choose to install them.


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

Rasputina said:


> in the bottom right corner of the page you can drag it to the size you want. You may need to drag the page at the top left first so that the window is positioned right to allow full page view.


Thanks so much!! This will definitely take some getting used to after using a PC for so many years. So far I love it though!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> oh and that is normal for mac, the expectation is you will be working with multi windows open. There is no standard minimize and maximize buttons the way it is on windows.


Sure there are. That's what the little green and yellow buttons at the top left of the windows are for.

Mike


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

jmiked said:


> Sure there are. That's what the little green and yellow buttons at the top left of the windows are for.
> 
> Mike


except when I hit yellow, it puts the page in the dock, it doesn't minimize it to a small screen.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Just installed SL on 2 of 3 Macs, and it was a breeze.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> except when I hit yellow, it puts the page in the dock, it doesn't minimize it to a small screen.


That IS the minimize function. Minimize means "make this window disappear until I click it on the taskbar/dock", in both Windows and Mac. You're probably thinking of the restore function, which returns a window to the size it was before it was minimized or maximized. On the Mac, the Green button performs both the Maximize and Restore functions, depending on what it was last used to do. Click it once, and you go fullscreen (or to the app's "optimal size" if it has been configured with one). Click it again and you're back to its previous size.

This is similar to the way it works in Windows, except the appearance of the button doesn't change--it's always green. In Windows, the Maximize (big square) button becomes the Restore (two small squares) button when an application is maximized.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Open Office has a database component. . . . .if I were you I'd research a little more. . . maybe ask questions on their website forums. . . . .


I've now done the research, spent the last 6 hours constructing databases, queries, and forms. I have concluded that I've never seen a harder to use database than the OOO implementation. I would have bet good money that Access had that honor.

I guess I'll just have to pony up the money for the FM Pro upgrade at some point when I decide to go with 10.6. I got my money's worth out of FM Pro 5.5, for sure. Even being retired, my time is worth more than wasting it on anything else.

Edit: On the other hand, I just got the trial version of Filemaker Corp.'s Bento, and it appears to do everything I need for $50.

Mike


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Bento is indeed a great application if you don't need some of the overly robust features of Filemaker.... it has a nice user interface, and there are lots of pre-made templates...

It's only $43.99 on Amazon, and, of course, if you use the KB link, the board gets a small percentage of the sale....


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

geko29 said:


> That IS the minimize function. Minimize means "make this window disappear until I click it on the taskbar/dock", in both Windows and Mac. You're probably thinking of the restore function, which returns a window to the size it was before it was minimized or maximized. On the Mac, the Green button performs both the Maximize and Restore functions, depending on what it was last used to do. Click it once, and you go fullscreen (or to the app's "optimal size" if it has been configured with one). Click it again and you're back to its previous size.
> 
> This is similar to the way it works in Windows, except the appearance of the button doesn't change--it's always green. In Windows, the Maximize (big square) button becomes the Restore (two small squares) button when an application is maximized.


ya I always get terms mixed up with this stuff.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

pidgeon92 said:


> It's only $43.99 on Amazon, and, of course, if you use the KB link, the board gets a small percentage of the sale....


D**n. I keep forgetting about that.

It's nice that I can get the iPod Touch version for only $4.99 also.

Looks like the only thing I can't find a work-around for is Thunderbird, Mozilla's email program. I would really prefer to not go back to Mail. So I may end up waiting a while for that to change. Of course, I do have my PPC Mac mini to use for things that aren't compatible yet, so it's not like I don't have options.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

There is an update to SL already.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3810


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I installed Snow Leopard on my laptop today (yes, I made a backup beforehand). Surprisingly, every app I've tried so far has worked without problems. Even the ones others are having problems with.

Mike


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

I am sort of wishing I had waited LOL  Yes, calibre kind of works right now, tho it crashes a lot.  But my online math class software is not compatible yet so I have to use DH's pc to take my exams and tests.  Somewhat annoying, but it seems they are working on it!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I uninstalled calibre 0.6.11 and then did a fresh install of 0.6.12, and it hasn't crashed a single time since then. You might give it a try.

Mike


Edit: Finally had calibre crash on me.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

We haven't had any trouble at all with ours.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Yea, I don't have any non-functioning software either.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Here's a comment I found in a developer thread on MobileRead about the current problems and progress with Calibre and Snow Leopard:


"Unfortunately, not much - while I've built some Mac apps over the years, Calibre is actually a port from Linux and depends on being able to correctly build 15-20 different components from different sources, each of which is having problems with Snow Leopard."


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Meemo said:


> We haven't had any trouble at all with ours.


No problems here either.


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

yeah my cablire mostly works, just not as smoothly as before  Neo-office wouldn't start tho so I switched to open office.  I also keep getting a lot of small freezes that it didn't use to do and sometimes things go funky when I hit the top sites button on safari. 

Strange.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

my calibre won't work and I can't figure out how to install Rosetta


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

when you click on calibre and tell it to get info, there is a box to check to say "start with rosetta" and when you do that, the next time you try to start calibre it should download and install roesetta.  that is how mine worked!


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

sweet!! Thanks


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