Leopard: Is it worth the upgrade?
Mail upgradesAll in all, I think Mail is one of the worst applications on Mac OS X. It isn't nearly as useful as Thunderbird or Gmail, and it simply doesn't do anything special that would make me want to use it. Simply put, it's Apple's version of Outlook Express.Unfortunately, it looks like Mail on Leopard will be just as bad. Notes and to-do? Who cares? Even worse, Apple keeps promoting RSS feeds in the program now, but it's too far behind the curve on that one to even make it relevant. Leopard effect: Stay with Tiger. You're not getting much improvement here.  The new Finder application is a must have. (click for larger image) FinderAm I the only person who thought Finder was in serious need of an upgrade? Luckily for me, Apple came through and improved it to such a degree that it's one of the main reasons I decided to buy a copy of the new OS.Unlike Tiger's Finder, you can now view all of your files and folders in a Cover Flow view as you do on the iPhone or iPod Touch. For those of you who don't know about Cover Flow, it's probably one of the most useful additions to any Apple device since the scroll wheel. Even better, you can now use search engine syntax to get better search results when you use Spotlight. As someone who has spent far too long searching for one file on my computer, you can imagine how happy I was to hear that I can make better queries and find files faster. Generally speaking, Finder is what I'm most excited to use. Leopard effect: Buy now SpacesSpaces is a new feature on Leopard that should help you eliminate much of the clutter you deal with when you have a slew of programs open. And while I think this is a nice feature if you're fine with a segmented screen, it's tough for me to say just how useful this will be until I use it. But at first glance, I think it's moderately useful, at best.More often than not, I'll have five or six windows open at any given time. And while this may not seem like too many to some, it can easily become quite difficult to handle if I need to keep switching back and forth. And to be quite honest, Tiger is pathetic at handling open windows right now. But according to Apple, all of these issues will be resolved once I get Leopard in-house. If that's true, you can bet I'll be happy to see it. If not, it'll be a huge disappointment. For this one, all I can say is, let's wait and see. Leopard effect: Neutral So there you have it--just a quick taste of what we can expect from Leopard. As you know, I'm not a fan of "early and often" operating system updates; to be quite honest, I find this despicable. But by the looks of things, it seems Leopard will be a nice update to an already nice operating system. That said, do I think everyone should upgrade to Leopard right away? Not a chance. If you rely on software that must work all the time, I simply can't recommend an upgrade until you know all the kinks are worked out. But if there is no mission critical material at your disposal and you don't mind some growing pains, spend the S$238 (US$175.23) and upgrade to Leopard.
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