For a long time I have been resisting the urge in writing a blog on this subject, but over the past few weeks using my Apple MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard 10.6, I am compelled to share just how refreshing some aspects of Snow Leopard are to a once die hard Microsoft Windows fanboy as myself.

When I purchased my Apple MacBook Pro, I had none of the typical software that I use day to day, and for several days had to make do with purely the OS at hand. I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to orientate myself with the Apple OS.

The OS itself looks and feels good. I will be comparing OS X to Vista as I have no experience with Windows 7 and a small voice in me tells me I probably never will. Snow Leopard to a windows user is vastly different yet somehow familiar.

The first thing I noticed about Snow Leopard is that straight-out-the-box the OSx is more than capable of reading a multitude of file formats including obscurities such as photoshop files and even EPS files. Usually windows requires some sort of viewer. Adobe PDF seems to be a standard legible format on the Apple with many initial introductory help files being PDF documents.

Getting familiar with OSx is simple enough. There are slight differences in terms and distinct differences in methodology. For example: When you quit an application in Windows Vista, this is usually achieved by clicking on the x icon on the top right of a window. On the Apple I was often surprised to find many of the applications I had used still open. On OSx you need to actually choose quit an application as simply closing the window does not do this/

I find the system preferences in Snow Leopard a lot more intuitive and light years ahead in styling compared to Windows Vista. Everything on the Apple seems to have this distinct polished feel. The system itself certainly comes across as competent regardless of how ‘dinky toy’ their marketing makes their products.

I am not entering a systematic comparison or technical comparison of Windows Vista and Snow Leopard because I do not have advanced enough knowledge on the two operating systems. However I feel now after almost a month with the Apple MacBook Pro, which I have been using extensively, I can compare how it has been for me to work on the Windows Vista and Apple OSX Snow Leopard.

My general armament of software in day to day life would be Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Illustrator, Some ftp program, the typical office suspects (word, etc) and the usual myriad of apps one finds themselves surrounded by.

You could say I have been throwing the same amount of loads at each operating system and in some cases worked on the exact same projects on the exact same software platforms yet on the two very different operating systems and in this case I find Snow Leopard being the clear winner.

The operating system does not seem to stick as much Windows does. From opening the lid of your laptop to launching an application and running with multiple applications in all respects the Apple seems to slice through it’s tasks like a hot knife through butter.

I have had no resentments and have not felt any loss from switching to OSx as my primary work  platform. There seems to be a vast network online of many open source mac applications, where some are clearly made from love for love.

There are some clever usability concepts in Snow Leopard in the form of expose. Expose basically adds additional functionality in the form of additional ‘virtual’ desktops, smart alt tab systems and of course the gorgeous scroll nav “The Dock” that traditionally sits at the bottom of OSx.

What seems to be happening more and more often to me now when I am using Snow Leopard as frequently as I am, is that when I do use my Dell with Windows Vista, I am missing some pretty useful features that I have gotten used to on Snow Leopard.

In snow Leopard their version of the File Explorer is Finder. What I enjoy about finder are the several view options available in which you can view your documents and directories.
If you get used to this pretty early it becomes incredibly efficient when sourcing images or files and adds to the organic feeling that OSx seems to exude.

If anyone out there is looking for a fresh option in terms of their work platform I would highly suggest an Apple Mac. On my experiences thus far working on an Apple seems to allow you to focus more on your work and less on trying to get your work working.

That is how I am feeling the more I use Apple Snow Leopard OSx.

When I think about how that any one time I am running several Adobe Apps on my computer… doesn’t it makes sense that Adobe creates a single shell or  operating system to run their applications?. When you consider how much you work between different adobe applications for any one project, wouldn’t a single operating system tasked purely in dealing with adobe applications offer greater reliability, productivity and speed.

Instead it seems Adobe are interested in the next version as CS5 nears launch.

Here is the third installment of my Cosmic Abstract Art Series. The first image is the pencil sketch raw while the second image is the same image that has been treated.

I have always loved everything about this music video form the music, to the editing, the direction… everything.

Enjoy!

After using my MacBook Pro unibody 13” for about a week, I was introduced to an excellent widget which allows you to monitor various technical aspects of your Apple Mac.

My friend, who introduced me to iStat Pro, showed me on his Mac in passing and noted how even after 100 odd cycles his battery health was still at 100%

Click to visit their website

It was then that I became interested in the battery health of my Apple Mac. iStat initially reported my battery health at 98% which then over a few days dropped to 92%, and now it is sitting at 96%. All this with less than ten cycles?

Being a first time owner of a MacBook Pro, I was naturally concerned if this was a sign of a faulty battery. In my Google searches, and after reading many Apple Mac forums on the topic, I came across another great app.

Coconut battery, is an application as opposed to a widget, that gives you more detailed information on of your battery. Further to the monitoring I found that if you click the arrow by ‘Additional Info’ you can save the current stats of your battery which comes in handy.

Click here to visit their website

After several days of monitoring my MacBook Pro battery’s health, and reading about many experiences online about the same issue, I have concluded that this is normal behaviour for a new Apple MacBook Pro.

A lot of people suggested it takes a month for your new battery to ‘settle’ and only to be alarmed or consider contacting Apple if the battery health drops below 80%. In my search I also found this handy tip on how to ‘calibrate’ your battery provided by Apple. They suggest this is done once a month however it would be interesting to find out what Apple consider normal battery usage.

If you want a more direct non-software approach at finding out about your battery or any other component on your Apple you can go to: Apple Icon / About This Mac / More Info…

When the System Profiler opens just click to the Power category under the Hardware category and there you will find information that looks like this:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number:    ******
Manufacturer:    DP
Device name:    ******
Pack Lot Code:    0000
PCB Lot Code:    0000
Firmware Version:    0003
Hardware Revision:    0002
Cell Revision:    0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh):    5203
Fully charged:    Yes
Charging:    No
Full charge capacity (mAh):    5230
Health Information:
Cycle count:    11
Condition:    Normal
Battery Installed:    Yes
Amperage (mA):    -1066
Voltage (mV):    12365

My Apple seems to be running pretty normal for now, however it will be interesting to track how quick the battery does degrade. I will be sure to update this blog once in a while to let Googlers hopefully stumble upon to compare with their own stats.

Be sure to let me know!