Free leopard, between bugs and t-shirt

See update at the bottom of the article – Rome – There is a lot of talk on the net about a phantom blue screen of Leopard’s death. Only rumors? Apparently, a handful of users, who had installed an outdated version of Application Enhancer (APE), would have collided with an incompatibility of the program with the new Mac OS; incompatibility which, however, certainly cannot be attributed to Apple (APE is produced by Unsanity). Nothing alarming, but it happened. And it is obvious that in the days when Leopard came out on the market, we talk about nothing else.

The problem occurs when you choose the Update option during installation. As explained by the manufacturer, the APE framework would conflict with a procedure performed by the computer when it restarts after the update, causing it to stall. Some say they have waited patiently, staring at the blue screen for hours and to have seen his wait rewarded with the completion of the operations.

If you find yourself among the unfortunate ones bogged down on the blue screen, then, do not panic: just be patient and everything should be for the best. Perhaps, before installing Leopard it is a good idea to update Application Enhancer or remove it entirely. In the latter case, however, it is appropriate make sure that the APED daemon responsible for the block has been removed : the instructions for getting it out of the way are all explained here.

Putting aside these negligible problems of youth, the commentators are Let loose to sing the praises of the new Mac OS with a spotted coat . Time Machine, the incremental backup utility, would have a perfect interface. Of course, he’s still arguing with Aperture – not a small thing for professionals – but there’s no need to make a tragedy of it: the technicians are already at work, and churning out updates as if they were michette.

And what about the ability to do the math directly in Spotlight? Which is fantastic, NYTimes columnist David Pogue says. However, never more than the search box in the Help menu, which helps the user – it must be said – to find that coveted function that is hidden among 20 others in the Tools menu. Or wherever it has gone to stick.

The calm before the storm
The wait of the fans, lined up in front of the apple shops in half the world, seems to have been rewarded. There were about three hundred of them lined up in Lenght too (in the Roma EST shopping center, just outside the capital), in front of the only Apple Store in continental Europe. All there to finally see the little one of the house at work. Among them also Punto Informatico, there to record their moods, which we give you below. Friday 26, Apple Store – Rome – 5pm
The enthusiasm is palpable, there are also people in the queue who do not intend to take the new Mac OS home the same evening: they first want to understand how it works, if there will be problems, if it will keep its promises. But they want to be the first to get their hands on it: maybe the 500 T-shirts up for grabs for the loyal ones who will cross the threshold of the shop at 6 pm precisely, it is worth the wait of a couple of hours.

The desire to enter increases by the minute: passers-by smile curiously in front of the shouting crowd of people in line. The genius, indefatigable salespeople, Mac enthusiasts with whom Apple flocks to stores around the world, they distribute water and supplies of comfort to everyone. He talks, we meet, we meet in line. Without distinction between who you know and who you don’t: if you are in line, you are one of us.

17.55
When there are a few minutes left, the shop assistants all disappear to gather in a kind of druidic circle in the center of the store. All dressed in black, chatting about who knows, while outside the tension is now maximum. Countdown . Ten, nine, eight. Flashes go off, dozens of cameras record. Five, four. The crowd sways, the doors open, the geniuses applaud. Three two one! Everyone inside, and let the party begin.

After all, who cares if you have to put up with an hour in line to pay, when you can take home a box with a holographic design? Hundreds of copies of Leopard take off in minutes , the latest arrivals regret having lost their t-shirts, shop assistants continue to replenish the shelves while all the iLife and iWork DVDs in circulation also disappear. Even the store’s supply of iPods takes a hard hit.

After a couple of hours you return home exhausted, enthusiastic and with a great desire for spotted. You open the MacBook to put pen to paper the sensations experienced, but you realize that good old Tiger now looks sad and puzzled with age . Maybe you could think of the package with five licenses. Maybe tomorrow we go to the Apple Store. Maybe yes. In these hours Engadget has thought about giving substance to the fantasies of geeks around the world: in a challenge between Leopard and Vista, who wins? The winner only four points off the opponent, but it is a challenge to the last feature.

Vista often hits the mark in the field of multimedia : it seems incredible, but in fact a PC with Windows 6 is able to record TV programs from almost any source, and has a good interface (in some versions) to function as a media center. Mac OS defends itself with iDVD, iPhoto and iMovie, but the round certainly goes to the Redmond OS.

Substantial parity in the networking and security sectors, while Vista definitely outclasses Leopard when it comes to gaming: with the DirectX titles in circulation there is no story. Mac OS hits hard to the body with built-in applications in the operating system: Exposè, the new Spaces, Time Machine, iCal, iChat, Safari, TextEdit. Windows Mail and Windows Calendar can’t resist the ring feline’s combination of hits.

The system tools, one above all Automator, deliver this round to Mac OS 10.5 too: something must be given up in the field of business-oriented applications, but the numbers speak for themselves. It ends 46 to 41 for Leopard . All that remains is to wait for Windows 7, scheduled for 2010, to relaunch the challenge. By then, however, there will already be Mac OS 10.7.

The full face-to-face between Vista and Leopard is available here.

If, after seeing Leopard in action, you have a clandestine desire for apple, you can always try your luck and try to install it on a PC with an Intel processor.

Update (17.33) – Apple intervened on the issue of blue screens, proposing a solution.

Luca Annunziata