Apple's Snow Leopard Takes Two Steps Back

Like a lot of Mac fanboys, I went out and bought Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) when it came out. It was cheap ($49 for the family pack, $29 for the single copy) and supposedly was faster and more compact.

After installing it on one computer, so far as I can tell, there’s no news there. Yes, it’s 64 bit — which makes sense for a server but not my underpowered laptop or bottom of the line desktop.

What’s clear is that there are two major ways that 10.6 is less than 10.5. The first is eliminating PowerPC support. OK, we knew it was coming, as they announced in the runup to 10.6, and these are the oldest machines around. However, at our house, half of the machines in daily use are PowerPC (not counting two archaic laptops we keep in reserve). This makes the economics of the family pack more suspect.

It was also interesting that Rosetta — the PowerPC emulator for Intel Macs — is not installed by default, although the OS will install it for you when needed. Given Apple’s (AAPL) desire to wipe out compatibility mode as quickly as possible (cf. PowerPC, Classic, etc.), I suspect that it is trying to find out how many Macs actually have it running — e.g. from crash logs — and then will use that to decide how quickly they can kill it.

Which brings me to the other major step backwards. Snow Leopard deletes AppleTalk.

I know the Nexties who came to Apple in the reverse takeover of 1997 have been wanting to kill AppleTalk for years. When I was a developer, I heard numerous speeches that justified killing “legacy” code. So I can’t say they didn’t warn me.

Without AppleTalk, almost any laser printer can be used via LPR/LPD. But this is a giant step backwards, because it provides no feedback — paper out, paper jam — which is something that has been available on Mac network printing for 25 years.

The bigger problem is that AppleTalk is the only way to discover most older printers — including my 2002 laser printer at home. So if I go to a strange office and don’t have AppleTalk on my laptop, I won’t be able to find the printers unless I can manually figure out the IP address of the printer. This is very un Mac-like.

So right now the 10.6 is installed on the iMac where it does little damage, but it’s definitely not going to mess up my main machine, the MacBook Air. Paying more for less? Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Comments

[TCK:]

So much for the over hyped lower TCO for Mac fans !

Now looks like the same upgrade cycle for the PC.

Oct 05 08:33 AM

[applefan_no...:]

Your an idiot. While these may be big issues to you, most people are up to date with technology and don't have a Powerbook or an old laser printer. Stop worrying about yourself and think about what most people want. Apple doesn't think about the individual such as yourself, they think about what the general public wants.

Oct 05 08:36 AM

[Tom B:]

I don't think pulling Appletalk was a good move. It's the "Simpletext" of networking; a basic, easy, "always available" (until now) option that was very handy.

Oct 05 08:46 AM

[GetMeOnTop:]

Get a life and suck it up! Things move forward, there are NO guarantees of compatibility as OS progress. Or, get, you can switch to Windows and deal with the thousands of incompatibilities and issues! Your choice - is less more, or...

Oct 05 08:57 AM

[DelGaudio:]

The shortsighted vision of the author's understanding of innovation is laughable. Apple is looking to the future. Apple has always been and will continue to be a driving force in eliminating technology which will become antiquated in the near future. The author probably cried when Apple eliminated the 3 and a half inch floppy too.

Oct 05 09:11 AM

[jimocarroll:]

> "Your an idiot"

And YOU'RE both rude and semi-literate.

Oct 05 09:33 AM

[gbishop:]

Those are some pretty small steps backward for the vast majority of regular users.

Oct 05 09:48 AM

[shutterbug70:]

I have a recent MB Pro and haven't upgraded yet, though will in about a month. Nothing in SL makes me want to have it just today. If you wait a couple of months after a release, a lot of issues typically get sorted out and the risk to existing workflows is reduced.

Oct 05 09:55 AM

[mollytjm:]

I still miss Apple Works and floppies for my old computers-to-new ones, but Apple has to remain at the cutting edge...that's what it does. I haven't installed Snow Leopard because an Apple guy told me a long time ago not to install the first version of anything big because there will be significant fixes in the update but also because some older things won't work with the new and if you wait, you'll find out what they are and if that matters to you.

Apple tries to keep it's OS lean with tight code. It's harder to hack and works faster. But that does mean streamlining and some things that are older will be left behind.

Microsoft keeps a lot...but it's very messy and easy to hack into...and sloooow. So I think that's the choice. I choose Apple products and I think they will continue to grow market share in everything they do so it's a great stock.
Long APPL

Oct 05 10:07 AM

[roger that:]

I still use Appleworks to run my business. I have an installed base of about 10,000 customers, and Apple hasn't given me an easy way to move to Filemaker, so I'll use Appleworks until I can't.

Having to install Rosetta was a minor inconvenience to keep using Appleworks. Biggest problem is the database won't scroll using 2 fingers on my laptop like every other program I use. This is truly annoying and may eventually persuade me to switch to Filemaker, which I should have used in the first place.

Oct 05 11:00 AM

[R A Clark:]

I have a ten years old PowerPC 3 tower with Tiger 10.4.11. I am happy with Tiger with all old programs, but computer is aged already by few years. I have read many warning statements and articles by Apple and independent Mac services for over a year to say that Snow Leopard is not compatible with PowerPC Macs. I am glad that I listened to the warnings. I am more excited to buy a new generation Macbook Pro or iMac. You can not live on with old fashioned technology with A to Z stuff - appliances, cameras, cars, computers, phones, TV's and etc. Come on, get your life going with technology replacements. - R. Clark

Oct 05 11:37 AM

[TA:]

Some really dumb comments as usual although this one made me laugh the most 'Microsoft keeps a lot...but it's very messy and easy to hack into...and sloooow. '

Oct 05 11:48 AM

[Brian D M:]

Bonjour has been around (in one name or another) since 2004 at least. It works in much the same was as Appletalk, but uses standard IP. It would be nice if the printer manufacturers would/could update their network firmware cards to support Bonjour.

Another option for someone like yourself, is to use another mac on your network thats still running an earlier system, to share the printer out, all other macs will pick it up using Bonjour.

Oct 05 11:55 AM

[Chief Fred:]

Still using 10.4.11 because of access to OS9 that is able to run ClarisDraw 1.0v4. ClarisDraw is a great 2D drawing program with fantastic text editing and fulfills all my designing needs. Have tried MANY drawing programs for OS10 but none come close to the features (especially text). If ClarisDraw was upgraded to OS10, I could shake free of OS9 requirements and 10.4.11. And, unless you forget, ClarisDraw was an Apple product.

Oct 05 12:11 PM

[Avi Learner:]

Joel - you really are missing the delight of Snow Leopard, installing on an older iMac?? What model? Even the oldest Intel iMac benefits from SL optimized code unless you did an "upgrade" instead of a clean installation. Where you might find the biggest gain IS WITH YOUR MACBOOK AIR. Not only will the OS take up a smaller footprint, it will use the processor to it's fullest potential. Yes, the loss of Appletalk is annoying in that wonderful discovery feature we had with it, is gone. However, like other commentors have already noted, Bojour does a FANTASTIC job of replacing it. Providing wither your printer supports Bonjour directly, OR you have another MAC sharing the OLDER PRINTER via Bonjour. I'd suggest yu revert your older iMAC to OSX 10.5 and upgrade your Airbook to 10.6. Connect your old Laserwriter to the iMAc then share it via Bonjour. You'll find out how much faster your Airbook will print under this setup.

Appletalk was really old and dated, slowing the entire OS down with constant needless network polling. That is why it was killed off, just doesn't match with the current scheme for modern OS or modern printers.

Oct 05 12:36 PM

[gopher:]

theappleblog.com/2009/.../

Explains some nice workarounds. Not sure if it gives you everything for Appletalk, but it is good to hear there are some. I suggest Googling Appletalk Snow Leopard to see if there are others.

Oct 05 01:51 PM

[bill42:]

when calling someone an idiot, you should say "YOU'RE and idiot".

Just sayin.


On Oct 05 08:36 AM applefan_not_enthusiast wrote:

> Your an idiot. While these may be big issues to you, most people
> are up to date with technology and don't have a Powerbook or an old
> laser printer. Stop worrying about yourself and think about what
> most people want. Apple doesn't think about the individual such as
> yourself, they think about what the general public wants.

Oct 05 02:52 PM

[TriangleJuice:]

> I still use Appleworks to run my business. I have an installed base
> of about 10,000 customers, and Apple hasn't given me an easy way
> to move to Filemaker, so I'll use Appleworks until I can't.

Have you heard of iWork?
It can open AppleWorks documents, but if you wait too long, that feature might be dropped too in the next revision.

Oct 06 08:01 AM

[MisterRon:]

I really feel that some features of Snow Leopard went out the door a bit too early. QuickTime X is a prime example of this. Yes, I still have QuickTime 7 Pro, but it does not work within a browser, and all my sound icons (thousands of them, each formerly reflecting the programs that created them) now all have stupid black icons with a note on them.

This is reflective of the changes Apple has been making since iMovie 8 -- dumb down apps for the masses, and short shrift the pro users.

Oct 06 09:12 AM

[Aussiecharles:]

Only had problems since Snow Leopard - could not use scan function on HP printers. Slower. Have to Force Quit programs on a daily basis.

SL seems to have compatibility issues with Microsoft Office 2008. Apple should have used MS strategy to get more people involved to test the software.

My strong advice: WAIT!

Oct 28 03:38 AM