How I Did It - Viktor Von Frankenstein

Here's what I did:

I tried Carbon Copy Cloner. My pathetic little wussy 80 Gb external wasn't up to the job. So, I did a targeted clone of everything except some redundant crap that I could do without anyway. With all my important stuff safely (?) on the wuss drive, I started the upgrade.

I did hit a snag – very early – before installation even started. The computer didn't want to fire back up after the restart. I sat for about three minutes staring at Apple's version of the blue screen of death – the spinning graphite asshole of death. I held down the power button for the required six seconds, then held the "C" button to make sure it knew to start up from the optical drive. Everything came up after about 40 seconds.

I went through and clicked "Agree" where I couldn't just hit "Return," all the way through the process. Then I restarted, and it has been running fine ever since. So, in effect, all I did was upgrade the OS to X.V. I thought about wiping my HD and starting from scratch, like some kind of knowledgeable geek, but I'm far too lazy.

Now that I've had some time to play with this thing, I'd say I'm pretty happy. I agree with Leigh that Time Machine is cool. Version control is a cool thing, indeed. I'm pretty good at creating an irretrievable fuck-up. Time Machine should help with that.

I don't know if I'll get around to really getting any value out of Spaces, but I might. When I have time to start a game of Civ IV (probably in late Jan, early Feb) it will be cool to play in one space and work in another. We'll see how that goes.

The best thing about upgrading to the new OS. Whenever I do a major upgrade I go through and clean up the HD a little. I found some files and apps that I forgot about. Good stuff. The apps all work, too. The only app I'm having trouble with is Bookworm Deluxe. It doesn't like it here. 'Sokay. I wasted too much time on that anyway. All the other ancient apps (not Classic apps, natch) work just like they always did.

What's all this crap with the "fan" thing? Does the dock have to be on the bottom of the screen for that? I keep my dock on the right hand side of the screen. I don't get any weird graphic stuff. It's not a complaint. I like it just like it is, but I'm wondering where all the weird stuff I see in screen shots went.

So anyway, no complaints on Leopard. I didn't have to install any drivers. My printer works fine. An old Sony CD-R drive that I've had for years works better now than it did a week ago. The iPhone seems to like it fine. I installed in on wifey-poo's PowerBook G4, she barely notices it. I'll show her how to use Spaces later and see if that rings her bell.

Now, if I may, let me frame this:

We just installed a major OS upgrade that didn't break anything. Our printers work. All but a few of our applications work. The interface stayed close enough to the same that we don't have a steep learning curve. The differences in the interface may enhance the way we use our computers, but they won't impede anything unless we just decide to play with them. We're not going to spend hours and hours reconfiguring everything just so we can get back to basic usability.

That's exactly the same experience I've had with every upgrade of a Mac operating system from Day One. The only steep learning curve I ever had was going to OS X from Classic, and that was pretty close to painless.

That's why I cannot understand why anyone would voluntarily use Windows. Linux? Okay. You like to tweak the innards of the machine, or you're a developer. I can understand that. But Windows?

You open the box and Microsoft takes a big dump on your head. You're obviously trying to steal it, so they immediately pat you down. Type in that 32-digit code, and it better damn sure not match any other computer in the world. Then it's hobbleware unless you pay extra for the superwhamadyne version that won't run on your pathetic two-year old machine anyway. When you need an upgrade, Microsoft will tell you. No, you don't get to decide when and if to upgrade. By cracky, if Microsoft decides you're going to use their desktop search engine you will. Right fucking now. Screw your network and your preferences.

Then, good luck printing your letter of complaint. Go download a driver, if your printer is even supported.

That, friends and neighbors, is why I'm a shameless Apple fanboy. I'm not geeky enough for Ubuntu, and I have too much self-respect to voluntarily run Windows. That's also why Leopard absolutely rocks. A non-geek like me can run it. I can customize it enough. I can use features I like, and not use features I don't care about. All that and Apple doesn't make me empty my pockets, take off my shoes, and open my carry on before I leave the store.

Bitchin'.