Installing Snow Leopard: What You Need to Know

CIO Magazine ^ | 08/28/2009 | Dan Frakes

[antiRepublicrat]

Apple’s problem is that they don’t sell a home computer with your specs. At most you get a dual-core iMac, then the next step up is the workstation systems loaded with Xeon processors. It would be nice if Apple started offering quad-core iMacs, or didn’t have their consumer desktop (the mini) be only low-power.

[amigatec]

I am sad I can’t install it, I have a G5. :(

[Big Giant Head]

How much is having 4 hard drive bays worth? How much is the design of the internals of the computer for easy expansion of everything worth? In a quantifiable cost, how much is an aircraft grade aluminum case worth?

4 HD bays? sitting empty? Not much. Design of the internals for expansion? Aluminum case? I wouldn't give a hoot if it were made of plexiglass. I'm concerned with getting the most performance per dollar available. I only use one hard drive.

The iMac you keep mentioning is a Core 2 duo. I'm comparing quadcore machines. I have a 22" monitor. What is my performance per dollar ration when I have to buy an extra screen? Maybe I'm not being clear. A Mac quad core machine with similar specs as my HP quadcore machine is well over five times the money. I don't even care what it's built out of. My computer sits behind my monitor, I don't care what it looks like. When I go to expand on the machine, it will be maybe a GPU upgrade, maybe a CPU upgrade and a PSU upgrade. Beyond that, I'll buy a new machine.

If I can afford $3400 for a computer, I can buy a MAJOR LEAGUE PC. Performance that would swamp a similar dollar Mac.

If we compare hardware, PC's win per dollar. IF we compare dollars, PC'S win per performance.

As much as I'd love to have a MAC, there simply isn't the mission in my life for a MAC that will make the money math work.

[Big Giant Head]

I agree. There’s plenty of market space for a lower dollar, high performance Mac. They drop the price, and I”m there. Currently it makes no sense for me.

[antiRepublicrat]

I agree. There’s plenty of market space for a lower dollar, high performance Mac.

There isn't a market for that from Apple. Apple needs to keep the quality and support up, and that costs money. What I meant is that either the top iMac should be quad-core or they should make a larger mini, maybe another Cube, that is the higher-performance consumer desktop. Then ditch the single-processor Mac Pro, it doesn't make much sense and isn't a great value anyway (the dual-processor Mac Pros are a good value even for the performance-only crowd).

[antiRepublicrat]

If I can afford $3400 for a computer, I can buy a MAJOR LEAGUE PC.

You seem to like HP. An HP Z600 workstation configured close to the top-end base configuration for a Mac Pro (dual 2.26 GHz Xeon) costs $3,386. The Mac Pro costs $3,299. At that price the Mac also has a bigger hard drive, a power supply with over double the capacity, and the ability to take 50% more RAM. It also comes with Bluetooth and dual independent gigabit Ethernet, which the HP doesn't, and the base Quadro graphics on the HP are actually cheaper than the base GeForce on the Mac Pro.

Looks like if you have that kind of money your best bet is a Mac purely on power/performance. HP even charges $780 more to upgrade to 2.93 GHz than Apple does.

[Big Giant Head]

I don’t have that kind of money. That’s why I look for performance per dollar spent. I would no sooner buy that Z600 than I would a Mac.

Performance/dollar ratio. Am I clear?

I say that if I had that kind of money in a rhetorical sense. I could put together a whole lot more computer than that Z600 or a Mac for less money.

But I’m not going to ever spend that kind of money on a computer. Am I clear?

Macs are simply overpriced. That HP z600 is too. I wouldn’t buy either. Is that clear?

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I think it is a mistake for Apple to insist that the only population who will buy thier OS, are those who are heavily invested in their hardware.

I think the fallacy lies in the fact that Apple takes no responsibility for making OS X run on any other chip sets/motherboards than Apple itself makes. The Windows model implies Microsoft responsibility for working on every manufactured PC.

The Apple approach is to take 100% responsibility for the system - and make sure that every one of their limited array of configurations works. "Oh, that's a hardware problem" is a non-sequitur in the Mac world.

[Hodar]

This is true; however today the standards for bus communications (PCI, USB, Hyper-Transport, PCI-X, ect) are very well defined. Gone are the days of semi-random IRQ selection, seemingly random DOS memory allocations, and the dirty secret language differences between Compliant and Compatible.

Way back when, Mac embedded QuickDraw routines in an EPROM on the motherboard, to speed up the overall system performance. Sorta like booting Windows off silicon on the motherboard - silicon is MUCH faster than a HDD. Now with DDR based hard drives coming into usage - that too will be a thing of the past.

Today, the Mac mobo is absolutely identical to the motherboard that may already be in your laptop or desktop. Same motherboard, same processor, memory, HDD and video card you may already be using.

So, the only reason that I can ascertain for Windows not competing against the MacOS, is because Apple refused to compete. IMHO, they probably won’t bankdrupt MSFT; but I do believe their marketshare would go from single digits well into the double digits (20-50% marketshare). At that level of marketshare, the software companies will seriously consider if porting their games, utilties and diagnostic programs to support the MacOS.

[Brugmansian]

I just went from XP to a Mac Mini. Didn’t install any software to use my old (new really) monitor, keyboard, mouse. Didn’t even need the DSL 2wire software. Truly plug and play.

Finding it more difficult however to return to Apple than I did going from Apple to XP. Really miss InfranView. iPhoto annoys me every time I open it. So does Preview. I don’t want to buy another bloated program either (already have two from my cameras). All I want is something quick and fast...the type of thing for which Apple is touted but doesn’t, far as I know, provide when it comes to photo editing.

[Swordmaker]

I could put together a whole lot more computer than that Z600 or a Mac for less money.

Match the component with the exact same components, one for one, and you will find that you cannot. Even ignoring labor imputs, you will soon find that you have overspent your budget and still have equivalent component items left to purchase. This has been attempted numerous times, buying equivalent grade parts through Egghead, or other discounters on the internet.

Ars Technica attempted to build a computer equivalent to an $2499 entry level Mac Pro (one with dual Xeon Core 2 Duo processors), purchasing the lowest priced equivalent component they could find on the Internet, and had exceeded the retail price of the Mac Pro before they had purchased a powersupply, case, and OS.

[antiRepublicrat]

I could put together a whole lot more computer than that Z600 or a Mac for less money.

This is the workstation market. Both are well-priced. The processors alone in that $3,299 Mac will run you about $2,000. The mobo is another $400, the PSU another $250, the memory almost $200. A decent case and cooling will run another $200, then you need hard drive, video, sound, Firewire, DVD drive, Bluetooth, an operating system, etc. By going piecemeal you've probably already spent more than if you'd just bought the system from an OEM, and you still have no support.

I wouldn’t buy either. Is that clear?

What is clear is that you think something is over priced when it is in fact a good value, just not in your price range.

[Swordmaker]

All I want is something quick and fast...the type of thing for which Apple is touted but doesn’t, far as I know, provide when it comes to photo editing.

Quick and fast? Try Preview, which has extremely powerful editing tools:

• Resize — free form or aspect ratio maintain
• Crop selection — select: rectangular, oval, smart lasso, or free form
• Rotate — Left, Right
• Flip — Horizontal, Vertical
• Adjust Color Gamut dynamically
• Adjust Exposure
• Adjust Contrast
• Adjust Color Saturation
• Adjust Color Temperature
• Adjust Tint
• Convert to and adjust Sepia tone
• Adjust Sharpness
• Set Printer and monitor Color synching

Apple Preview Image Adjustment Palette

In addition, all images can be converted to a host of other image file types:

Apple Preview Image Conversion Choices

Add to that the ability to quickly annotate an image by adding an Arrow, a Rectangular Box, a Circle or an Oval, and Text. Preview can free-form crop any picture:

Preview can import images from any connected camera, iPhone, scanner, or it can grab a screen, a window, or a selected area of the screen. It can email any image using its integration with Apple's Mail app.

All of that is just in a system utility Apple originally designed to simply Preview images. iPhoto has tons more capability.

You need to quit being annoyed at iPhoto and start exporing its capabilities which you will find probably exceed those of IrfanView, especially in the latest version which incorporated many professional level tools from Apple's professional photography application Aperture. There is a reason why Apple is touted for handling photos.

[Brugmansian]

maybe it will just take getting used to. Where is exif in Preview? I see a limited version of it in iPhoto. For some reason, Apple calls it Extended Photo Information instead of what I am really looking at (yeah that word play makes me cranky..).

If I wanted to check someone’s photo with XP, I downloaded, dragged it to irfanview, looked, then threw it away. Is it that easy with a Mac?

[Swordmaker]

If I wanted to check someone’s photo with XP, I downloaded, dragged it to irfanview, looked, then threw it away. Is it that easy with a Mac?

It's easier.

If you get it in an email... Mail already shows it to you.

If you get it on a disk, or flash memory, or download it, no dragging anything anywhere is required. Simply highlight the file and tap the spacebar. The OS will display the picture, play the video, show the PDF, play the sound file, show the MS Word file, show the Pages file, etc., all without opening any applications. If you wish, you can, with one click, display the image or movie full screen. One more click reverts to window format. Tapping the space bar again turns off the Quick Look.

You can highlight the first file in a directory, press the space bar, and use the up-down arrow keys to display all of them in order.

[Swordmaker]

Where is exif in Preview? I see a limited version of it in iPhoto.

Complete EXIF information about the image is found in Preview under the Menu "Tools"/"Show Inspector": select the second TAB (more Info) and then click on the "Exif" button. You will have everything Exif has to offer.

The information is available in iPhoto as well. Under the Photos menu, "Show Extended Photo Info" and make sure you click all the header switches to on... They are a little hard to see. (I just sent feedback to Apple about this design element being not user friendly) They are the darker gray on dark gray background triangles to the left of the headers. Those headers say "image," "File," "Location," "Camera," and "Exposure."

iPhoto allows you to modify the Exif information in a limited fashion.

[this_ol_patriot]

However, I think you are overlooking the silent majority; Mom and Dad who are close to, or in retirment who only want to send email, read the news and maybe put together a photo-album DVD of their family vacation. My parents are in their 70’s; and teaching them to use Windows - alone - it a very frustrating experience. The ease of use, and base elegance that is OS X makes this a great candidate for this demographic.

A trend I noticed amoung the 50ish-60ish crowd at my work is they go from writing with pen and paper and licking stamps to cell apps and skip the PC altogether. Could this be the future? They don't want a PC at all, just the ability to do some of the things that was once only available on a PC. Maybe the future of the PC is hardcore gamers, hardcore business and editing video. Even my work is dumping desktops for specific purpose digital appliances and BlackBerrys.

[Big Giant Head]

What is clear is I’m getting performance per dollar spent in a far better ratio than if I buy one of those.

[antiRepublicrat]

What is clear is I’m getting performance per dollar spent in a far better ratio than if I buy one of those.

What you may not be understanding is that those are among the highest-performance PCs out there, and you can't build them for cheaper than you can buy them from an OEM. You may be able to get more performance per dollar for much lower-performing systems, but that's it, they simply won't be as fast. Dual-processor always costs a lot more.

[Brugmansian]

Thanks of the exif data location. There is was. Right where I looked and didn't see it. Now I have to figure out why animations don't play in Preview.

I've had it with switching back and forth between Microsoft and Apple every four or five years. Gonna get 3 more GB of ram, Snow Leopard and hope this Mac Mini out lasts me.