I'm not sure what ticks me off more about Leoptard (I can't take credit for that nickname—some Brit coined it): the fact that so many of the semi-important changes don't work, the fact that Apple turned a stable OS into a crash-happy glitz fest, or that the annoying, scruffy Live Free or Die Hard actor infecting my TV (and our Web site, by the way) is pretending that Leopard is better than Vista. It's not better than Vista. Leopard is Vista. And Tiger is better than both of them!

Let's see, Tiger crashed—oh yeah, NEVER. Ten months and I'm installing everything from production-level Office for the Mac 2004 to 0.x releases of VLC, Seashore, and Ecto—even betas of Firefox and Parallels. Whatever my nerdy little heart desires. I've had those early apps crash, but Tiger never faltered.

A month of using Leopard with the same software I had under Tiger and the OS has dumped six times. That's six cold reboots for Oliver. Apple isn't even honest enough to admit that Leopard is crashing: The OS just grays out my desktop and pops up a dialog box telling me I've got to reboot.

Leopard is the new Vista. All the way. And here are five examples.

Vista Similarity 1: Wait for a Service Pack—Perpetually
Even our own reviewer, who loves Leopard, says not to upgrade until 10.5.1. And now that Apple has coughed that up, he'll probably say to wait for 10.5.2. Or .3. Now where have I heard that advice before? Oh yeah, every time I reviewed Vista.

Vista Similarity 2: Needless Graphics Glitz
Then there's the new look. Vista comes out and we're all wondering, what was the big deal about window transparency? Poof, here's Leopard, and the first thing the Apple folks want to show me is window transparency.

Vista Similarity 3: Pointless User Interface "Fixes"
Then there's how Microsoft screwed up Vista's UI, reorganizing things that didn't need to be reorganized—like the networking screens, for example. Not to be left behind, Apple has messed up its own UI, too, but Apple did it with piles of senseless graphics enhancements. Users either have to deal with these or learn some nasty hack to kill them off. So much for ease of use.

Vista Similarity 4: Nuked Networking
Microsoft made a big deal out of Vista's completely redesigned TCP/IP networking stack, with a big part specifically intended to make wireless networking easier and more stable. And the OS did that fine. Only problem is, now wired networking tends to drop mysteriously every once in a while. Leopard's networking sees the physical part of the network just fine, wired or wireless. And if there's an AFP share, that pops up like a puppy for a doggie treat. But the Web abounds in complaints—plaintive cries as to why Leopard seems to ignore Windows shares, and semi-effectual fixes. Or it sees Windows shares for a little while and then in a fit of pique decides to drop them again. It's like the French waiter of networking.

Vista Similarity 5: Bundled Apps as New Features That Suck
This drives me nuts. With Vista, it was SideShow. For Leopard, the sad bundled app-as-feature is Time Machine. To hear Mac moonies tell it, this is the best thing to happen to backup since the letter b. In reality, however, it sucketh and it sucketh huge. Try putting a new Apple user in front of this app and see what happens. For one, you can't set up Time Machine from within Time Machine. How is that easy? You'll find some of the settings buried in System Settings and others in Time Machine. Vista's backup works over a network. In its ads Apple blithely says that Time Machine can, too, but when you read the fine print—or try it in real life—you discover that Time Machine works with USB- or FireWire-connected drives only. Really? In 2007?

Let's get it straight, however: I'm not any more against Leopard than I am against Vista. Both of them got too much wrong. I'll close with a little tidbit for that pudgy PC guy in the Apple commercials who's so sad because his users are "downgrading" to XP. Well, maybe they are—I know I did. But I'm writing this on an XP workstation right now because my Mac is busy reinstalling Tiger. Leopard can keep its glitzy crash-prone spots. I'll stick with the OS that really "just works"—for now.

said by amungus :

I really don't care. Read that already.

I'm sure they'll fix it up at some point. Whatever. It's Friday

said by pnh102 :

Reverse the curse!

First came SatNav for lost drivers. Now there's SatLav, a toilet-finding service to help people caught short in central London.

On Thursday, Westminster City Council launched a new text message service that will guide Londoners and tourists to their nearest public lavatory.

Anyone who sends the word "Toilet" to 80097 will receive a reply giving details of their nearest public convenience.

Student Gail Knight, 26, came up with the idea for an innovation competition run by the council.

said by MagMan :

Time Warner sucks big time,just got my monthly bill they raised it another 3 dollars again for there stupid charges however they justify them.

WTF I now pay $56 a month for there expanded Basic are you kidding me it is now time to switch to satellite.

Goodbye Time Warner you just lost me as a customer!!!!!

said by LiamJunket :

[...]
I might have to go back to IE7 if this keeps up.

Seeking to keep the peace in its popular online hangout, Facebook Inc. has overhauled a new advertising system that sparked privacy complaints by turning its users into marketing tools for other companies.

Under the changes outlined late Thursday, Facebook's 55 million users will be given greater control over whether they want to participate in a three-week-old program that circulates potentially sensitive information about their online purchases and other activities.

Facebook provided two different opportunities to block the details from being shared, but many users said they never saw the "opt-out" notices before they disappeared from the screen.

With the reforms, Facebook promised its users will now have to give their explicit consent, or "opt-in," before any information is passed along.

The concessions were made after more than 50,000 Facebook users signed an online petition blasting the system, called "Beacon," as a galling intrusion that put the Palo Alto-based startup's pursuit of profit ahead of its members' privacy interests.

More than 40 different Web sites, including Fandango.com, Overstock.com and Blockbuster.com, had embedded Beacon in their pages to track transactions made by Facebook users.

Unless instructed otherwise, the participating sites alerted Facebook, which then notified a user's friends within the social network about items that had been bought or products that had been reviewed.

said by txrocks :

Bummer...

said by Jeffrey :

Probably one of the roughest weeks I've had in a while, work wise. I think I'm going to crack open one of my favorite 6-packs of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and dial into The Big Lebowski, and call it a night. I'm not really into White Russians, but if I was, it would be perfect.

said by NY Tel :

ME too...had to admit the MIL to a psych facility (voluntary) but it has been so, so ,so very stressful on the family.
I'm gong to take up drinking so I can be admitted to the adjacent floor at the hospital.

said by FrostyMelon :

Back and forth, I sway with the wind
Resolution slips away again

said by Elcabong :

Must see!