dickmedd
I nearly started a similar thread to this this morning. This week I became the last person among Mac users I know to still be using Leopard. I've been holding off upgrading for quite a while (just as I did with Tiger) to avoid any teething problems and get myself a nice mature OS.
I recently decided that early next year I'd be investing in a new desktop Mac (last chance for me to capitalise on University cash, discounts etc.) and I was happy to do so knowing that I'd have a 10.6 desktop and a 10.5 laptop, just in case.
This morning I realised that this Mac wouldn't actually have Snow Leopard but Lion. Right now I'm watching the keynote and I'm not keen. App store for Mac? iPad inspired interface? Mission Control? Launch Pad? What? No! I want a proper computer!
What version of Mac OS X does everyone else use? Like the look of Lion?
EDIT: It's not out til Summer '11! It won't come bundled with my Mac but I still don't like the direction.
Squishy Tia
Ugh. They're going the direction of iOS for Desktops, eh? I too am still on Leopard, but that's mostly because of two nagging issues. 1) SATA/eSATA card driver support is spotty as hell, and I kind of need my SATA card as it connects both my blu-ray drive and my external HD dock (I could use the usb2 connection on the dock, but um....yeah. 2) HID device control via apps such as USB Overdrive, which I dearly need for games (minus RB's apps - he actually has competent control config unlike most others), is also hit and miss, and when I say that I mean moreso H/M than Jum 52 (this pun is intended. ;)
There are also a few permissions/file attribute issues in the way SL manages such data that I find both cumbersome and unintuitive (some of it having to do with metadata). I may just have to live with those, though. I'll be forced to update to SL when I'm able to purchase a 5870 though, as 10.6.4 will most assuredly be required for it.
dickmedd
I did wonder if there would be hyper-specific reasons for sticking with an older OS and now I know there are :P I will add to my original post that, while I know these new features probably won't dominate the OS, the very fact that the style of computing you get with an iOS device is making its way to my desktop/laptop fills me with concern. While I love my iPhone and am intrigued by an iPad, I'd prefer that they remain separate entities. I'm also very aware that the kind of criticism Apple has faced for having such a closed attitude when it comes to development for their iOS devices can only get worse as these Lion features expand. Sigh.
jetboy
I'm still a Mac man... I own a MBP with 10.6 (maybe not the latest point release, can't remember.)
That said, I hardly ever use my Mac. Last week I got myself a 4G iPod Touch, and I do everything on it (email, chat, web browsing and lesson planning for work.) For presentations at work I often plug it into a TV or projector and it's ready to go.
Lion... I hear you. To me Macs still use mice, and mine doesn't have a multi-touch mouse/screen anyway... maybe I will skip Lion? I jailbroke my iPT because I use many apps that Apple doesn't like. I wouldn't call myself a developer, but I often compile apps from the source and port them over if need be. I like being able to fiddle!
In the future I can see myself getting an iPad and basically dumping my MBP. People will argue and say I'm an idiot, but I get my MBP in 2006 and little has changed since then IMO. Sure machines are much faster and come with multi-touch trackpads, but my Mac runs all the apps I need flawlessly (I'm not a gamer or designer, neither of whom will be happy until machines interface with their brains and do everything instantly... I exaggerate.) So to me not much has changed with the Mac, and now they are trying to make it more like my iPod.
To me the iPod/iPad are where it's all at. I don't use an iPhone because I hack/fiddle a lot and don't want my phone going down/being unreliable. I have a Nokia that came free with my plan and works fine as a phone (and has a damn good camera for when I don't have my SLR handy.) I'm a big fan of Symbian OS as well because it is very "open"... screw iOS and Android if you want an open platform. With Symbian you just sign apps yourself (for security reasons) and they will install.
I wonder if Bill Gates read it right? One day tablets will take over as the big thing...
My iPod Touch fits anywhere, has a battery that lasts forever, starts up in a matter of seconds (but usually sleeps), is damn fast, does everything I need and was only a few hundred bucks (so I can throw it out and upgrade with every revision and not look guilty... well... except to the environment.) I love it and cant see myself going back to a full sized computer (especially with my baby crawling all over it... iPod fits on the top shelf every time I'm not using it.)
That's my OS rant for the day...
cnhirt
I'm pretty hyped for Lion. I have a simple two-button mouse but I'm convinced that keyboard-shortcuts will be in place for the more essential Mission Control/Launch Pad features. The App Store looks great for the majority of apps.
I'll be getting Lion as soon as it comes out, most likely.
HDL
There will probably be other improvements, but I think Apple is just trying to get the 'i' crowd who don't have/know about Macs to gain interest in it by saying that Mac OS X has adopted some things that they like and are used to. I'll wait to hear more of it before I judge. So far I'm not interested in Launchpad or Mission Control. The full screen feature might be nice for certain apps, though.
I upgraded to Snow Leopard quickly and found that compatibility for a few of the things I needed was broken. Eventually it was taken care of, but I'll probably try to avoid that this time and wait it out some after Lion is released.
Squishy Tia
I had to bite the bullet and update to Snow Leopard today. While the HD5770 can run in Leopard as a 2D card with no acceleration and only the native resolution of the connected monitor available, it needs 10.6.4 plus the SL Graphics Update to fully function.
Thankfully the Si3132 driver works well. Yay external backup.
SL is snappy on an SSD. Contextual menu plugins are dead (thanks Apple, that was a nice kick in the nuts), but thankfully I found FinderPop te replace the QuickAccess CM that was a real godsend. Now if I could just get shitlight turned off again. ;) Oh, and I utterly hate, loathe, and despise the dock's submenu crap. WTB old single menu for right click in dock.
A warning about the 5770 (which is in stock at local bay Area Fry's (ALL of them!) in case you don't want to wait for Apple's 2-3 week ship time): The DVI port is not HDCP compliant. Games like WoW will enter interlaced mode if you try to use 1080p or higher on the DVI port. I have a MD->HDMI adapter on the way which I hope will not only solve that, but give me full audio out via HDMI.
All I need to do now is shell out for the upgrade to USB Overdrive and I'm set for now. :)
GG 3 SSDs, one for for my boot drive (Intel 80 GB 2nd Gen), one for my music/games (OWC SF1200 40 GB), and World of Warcraft (OCZ Summit 60 GB). Now I can pretty much take my HD and move it to the external HD dock and eliminate the blasted vibration caused by the Mac Pro's poorly insulated media shelf (which btw is still a problem even with the 2010 Mac Pro).
I may try to make an SATA backplane to eSATA bracket adapter by using an IcyDock w/ its door left off and an SATA cable connected to its internal connector going to an eSATA bracket, which would give me bootable access to the HD dock instead of just clone capability after the fact.
Here's hoping 10.6.5 comes out soon - Blizzard silently forced the WoW client to require 10.6.5 instead od 10.6.4 to use the Ultra settings. :angry: