As excited as I am about new operating systems, I usually stay away from release versions and wait for the updates. Snow Leopard was no exception, and even so, I wondered just how much of what Apple promised would be true. 10.6 was intended to offer mostly "under-the-hood" updates, a departure from the feature-laden announcements that typically precede a Mac OS release. To me, the main point of interest was the newly-rebuilt Finder, something that should have been prioritized long ago. Sure, it would (finally) be rebuilt as a 64-bit application in the native language of OS X, but would it really be free from the glitches I've been complaining about for years?
After using Snow Leopard for a few weeks, I'm impressed. It feels like the Leopard update that should have been released a year or so ago. I've spent time stressing the Finder to examine its new behavior, and I have yet to see any of the glitches that were so common to the pre-10.6 days. Moving, deleting, and changing permissions on files located on a mounted AFP volume (eDisk) has been remarkably easy, which is vastly more than I could say about 10.5.
In a nutshell, I'm almost convinced that any computer with Leopard currently installed should be upgraded to Snow Leopard. Take note of the word "almost" – compatibility issues still remain (including an incompatibility with Symantec AntiVirus, which is why ITS does not yet recommend the update.) I'll be keeping my eye on http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/ to be certain that all my software will work with Snow Leopard before I fully commit myself.
-Christopher Silansky '05, Desktop Support Specialist
Windows 7 is set to be launched on October 22, 2009 for the general public. This operating system upgrade will have the most dramatic impact since the release of Windows 95 (at least to the world of Windows users). Microsoft has finally made an operating system that looks good, is easy to use, and runs efficiently. One of the ways they accomplished this was by having one of the largest beta tests ever by opening it up to the public. The test was so popular that on the initial day of its release, it crashed the Microsoft servers.
My favorite part of the new operating system is the enhanced features in Windows Aero. In Vista, Aero was something that was used to make Vista look pretty. All of the pretty features are still there, but now there is additional functionality with features like Aero Peek and Aero Snap. The most useful change in Windows 7, I think, is how User Account Control (UAC) functions. You can finally change the settings so you are not prompted as often for permission to run programs. It is also a lot "smarter," so you might not even need to make adjustments. I find that, in general, you are prompted for permission a lot less in Windows 7.
Now for the bad news…I know that many users of Windows XP didn’t like Vista because it was so different and it was hard to get used to. This does not change with Windows 7, and is, in fact, worse. Many of the options are difficult to find if you are looking in the same places that you used to look in Windows XP. That being said, if you use the search bar, it is very easy to get to most of the common features in Windows 7.
After using Windows 7 for a couple of months now, my conclusion is that if you have put off upgrading to Vista, wait a little bit longer and take the plunge to Windows 7. Microsoft has fixed most of the annoying little problems that plagued Vista, and Windows XP has long outlived its usefulness.
-Jon Miller, Coordinator of Windows Support
