Upgrade to Leopard?

[ShottleBop]

I have a MacBook (13.3") running Intel Core Duo processors, and a Gig of RAM. Should I RUN down to the store to buy Leopard?

[seebs]

I wouldn't RUN, but it's a pretty decent upgrade.

[Corona688]

How so?

[de-Mote]

I have leopard and it is the greatest! I got it on the 30th!

[Ensign Steve]

I'm ready to upgrade, but I'm waiting until chrismas because I'm hoping someone will buy it for me. :hyper:

[ShottleBop]

Callers to Leo LaPorte today are reporting problems with AirPort waking up from sleep mode.

[ChuckF]

I upgraded earlier this week and I'm quite satisfied. It may be because I did a clean install that my performance seems to have improved a little. I'm still exploring new features. My issue with Firefox and Cyrillic has been the only bump in the road. BTW, Amazon has Leopard for $109, which was the best deal around last week. Not sure if it still is.

[Ensign Steve]

Yeah, I've heard about a few different AirPort problems (especially regarding Time Machine not recognizing AirDisk) but there are supposedly fixes in the works. :shrug:

[Chris Porter]

I have it running, and I'm surprised at how quick some programs are to open now. I have had problems with mail, however, and it's pervasive, so if you use Mail, please think carefully before buying Leopard, and read the discussion boards. I got around my problem (switching from MailSmith to Mail) by forwarding all my emails that don't work anymore to my own site's mail, which works just fine. I'm running it on an Intel iMac, one of the older models. The semi-transparent menubar is irritating, but there is already a workaround for it. One of the nice things is the spell checking in Safari and Mail, I like that very much. And being able to browse through my other computer's clip-art with the new view of CoverFlow makes selecting clip art better than iPhoto.

here, however, is the growing list of things that need updating to work well:
VM Fusion: just wreaked. Tossed it off for the time being. Windows XP was unable to connect to the internet.
SuperDuper: Even though I have TimeMachine ticking away on one of my firewire hd, I want the other one to be a weekly dupe that can boot. Not able to work with Leopard yet. Also, Timemachine is not all that workable with programs like Aperature or Yojimbo. So I want to back those up separately.
SnapzPro: just doesn't seem to work. I can't use any combination of launch keys to invoke it.
RapidWeaver: Quits on launch.
HP Deskjet: needs new driver. Old one works, but doesn't quit after printing.

[ChuckF]

This doesn't warrant its own thread, but I would like to share a surprisingly bad customer service experience I just had with Apple.

Last night, I'm sitting and typing, and I notice that the indicator light on my power adapter had gone out. It should have been orange, since the battery was charging. I took it out to try to plug it back in again and it was really, really, really hot. It burned my thumb, and I noticed that it had melted some of the rubber insulation around the cord. So I pulled it out of the wall and called Apple. After a very long time on hold, the Apple rep informed me that it would take at least until Wednesday to get me a new one. That's no good because I'm working on things every day. He recommends I go to the Apple store in Indianapolis, about an hour and fifteen minute drive.

He also recommended a local Mac reseller. I went there first, and was informed that the power adapters were on backorder. So I called the store in Indy, and they confirmed that they had them in stock. I explained the problem and asked them if they could set one aside for me so I could come in and pick it up quickly, saving both my time and theirs. They vaguely told me that there were plenty in stock, and that they would be waiting.

I drove up there, arriving at about 11:30 a.m. I was then informed that because I was under warranty (I have AppleCare), I would have to make an appointment with the "Genius Bar" to get help. I've switched out power adapters before at an Apple Store and it took all of five minutes. This time, I had to wait until 1:45 - the next available appointment, to do this. It was never explained to me why it takes a genius to hand me a new part and accept the old one.

After killing about two hours in Borders and Banana Republic, I went back to the Apple Store and sat for a few minutes being ignored. I had my serial number written down, but the staff could not understand that I did not bring my computer with me. The computer is not defective; the power adapter is. Then they asked me to explain the problem, which I did, and wondered if the power adapter I had in hand still worked. I explained that it had melted, and invited them to plug it in to any of the many MacBooks they had on display. They declined and protested that without the computer, they would be unable to replace the power adapter. I asked how many thousands of dollars I had to pay Apple before I could get competent and timely customer service; apparently they fell for my bluff that my time is worth something. Finally, they were convinced to enter the serial number, and lo and behold, they really truly could exchange a faulty part for a functional one without seeing my perfectly operational laptop.

Geniuses.

[freemonkey]

I've switched out power adapters before at an Apple Store and it took all of five minutes.


Really? How many times? All (or most) for the same computer? I'm thinking of investing in a MacBook Pro, but if something as simple as a power adapter is that much trouble, I might have to rethink this.

[ChuckF]

This is the first one I've swapped out for this compy, which I've had since January. The previous one was for a different computer and non-urgent; it was getting frayed because I abused it. Another time I went with a friend whose cord was getting frayed.

The whole meltdown thing is apparently rare, but a problem. It kind of freaked me out. This was by far the worst service experience I've had with Apple in four years of Mac ownership.

[seebs]

That is pretty bad. I think the problem is that their comparative success means they're growing faster than they're finding good people.

In any event, one of the big things I want is Mail to be less stupid; under 10.4, I simply can't use its calendar functions at all (it mangles all events by adding or subtracting timezones unpredictably, and can't tell what address invitations were sent to).

But vmware is a must-have for me, so I may have to wait a while before loading it on my work machine.

I also want a menu-opacity knob. I want 100% opaque menus. Not just the menu bar; menus, pop-up windows, everything. Semi-transparent things are not a good fit for mild sensory integration problems.

[Ensign Steve]

Yah, power adapters are problematic. Mine is damaged and I looked on line and saw that it would be $80 to replace it. I almost ordered one, but I read the customer comments about how crappy and chincy they are, and how they have to constantly be replaced, so I just wrapped some electrical tape around my current one.

Behold the customer comments:
The Apple Store (U.S.) - Extra Portable Power Adapter - 65W (for iBook & PowerBook) (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=M8943LL/A)

[freemonkey]

1.something stars is pretty bad. I'm astonished that they gave you such a hard time, Chuck, considering its pretty obvious the cords are a problem.

I wonder if they fixed the problem with newer MacBooks?

[seebs]

The magsafe ones appear to be substantially better. Perhaps not all the way fixed, but noticably better.

[ChuckF]

ES linked to the old adapters for the iBooks and Powerbooks. I'm using one of the fancy magsafe adapters for Macbook. I was kind of surprised when the magsafe melted on me; I was even more surprised when the guy at the local Mac reseller wasn't surprised. He said he'd seen several melted ones, and a google search reveals it's a more common problem than I thought.

[Ensign Steve]

Yet he didn't want to swap it out? Weird.

[ChuckF]

The local guy just didn't have any in stock. That's why I had to drive up to Indianapolis.