^ yea i didn't notice until after i'd finished the format and install that my keyboard continued to work the whole time

9/3/2009 7:29:36 AM

i like how they had to sprinkle snow on the leopard's head to make sure everyone knew it was "snow leopard"

no wonder why that cat looks pissed in the picture

9/3/2009 7:52:05 AM

Quote :

"As a sidenote (kinda) I was surprised that my bluetooth keyboard stayed synced with my Mac Mini throughout the HDD format and OS install. I guess it stores that pairing somewhere in the hardware of the Mini itself rather than on the HDD somewhere."

I was very skeptical about getting a bluetooth keyboard for my mac because I had the microsoft bluetooth keyboard and that thing was a bitch to get working and keep working. And of course if you ever did anything in bios or reinstalled the OS...you had to have a 2nd non-bluetooth keyboard laying around. Apple did a great job with theirs to my surprise.

9/3/2009 9:35:34 AM

Quote :

"i like how they had to sprinkle snow on the snow leopard's head to make sure everyone knew it was "snow leopard""

9/3/2009 9:37:41 AM

there is also blood on his mouth. did apple do that too?

9/3/2009 10:38:14 AM

I was gonna say I thought the picture looked kinda dumb, mostly because of the snow.

9/3/2009 10:56:44 AM

i didnt like the snow leopard at first but he has grown on me

9/3/2009 2:17:24 PM

am i the only one who has noticed a slight decrease in speed after upgrading to snow leopard? applications take longer to open, it takes longer to wake from sleep, and occasionally i get a funky-looking pixelated screen where my screen saver typically would be after waking from sleep. running on a year-old iMac.

9/3/2009 3:43:21 PM

^thats the complete opposite from what snow leopard is supposed to do for you. Bad install or maybe something else is wrong with your setup.

9/3/2009 3:44:44 PM

http://lifehacker.com/5351485/how-to-build-a-hackintosh-with-snow-leopard-start-to-finish

9/3/2009 6:50:12 PM

just used Preview for the first time for some PDFs, and the changes are great. Several pretty big changes, including much easier moving/copying pages from one document to another, better sidebar/preview options, and finally a decent set of annotation tools so a 3rd party PDF mark-up editor isn't needed

9/4/2009 1:15:00 AM

ok, so I'm new to Mac and just picked up a macbook from a buddy that just upgraded to a new mbp. Just finished installing SL & getting ready to RE-install it since I didn't realize that I wouldn't get an option for a fresh install.

I'm assuming that it's not possible for me to back up my programs, right? I've been reading and everyone keeps talking about bringing all of your data back in but I haven't seen an answer to this question yet. I'm still reading but since I'm new, I don't know the best forums for mac stuff and my google searches haven't gotten me there yet.

9/4/2009 8:27:33 PM

Clean Install is available as an option, I think under Utilities or Tools or something. It's just not in the main installer interface.

but, if you were going to do a Fresh Install before, without backing up your Applications or anything, then why do you want/need to back up the Applications now?
Maybe the easiest way is to get an external drive and plug it in, and set it as your Time Machine backup. By default, it will backup all the Applications and Application settings. Then you can do a clean install and restore your Apps/files/settings from the TM backup.

here's a step-by-step of how to to a clean install and restoration from a backup drive (using Carbon Copy Cloner instead of Time Machine)
http://www.cultofmac.com/how-to-upgrade-to-snow-leopard-the-right-way/15141

9/4/2009 8:57:42 PM

because it bugs the hell out of me that everything shows the previous owners name instead of mine. I'd also just like to do a clean install (maybe the Windows part of me but...). I was originally going to do it before I knew the answer because I just plain didn't think about it. There are some progs that I would like to keep on here though and I realized it about half way through the update..

Thanks too. I'll check out the TM backups.

9/4/2009 9:15:17 PM

well then..... before you do all that, just create a new User Account first. Go to System Preferences > Accounts and click the + sign at the bottom of the list (you may have to click the lock-icon first and enter the current password) and create a new account for yourself (be sure you make it an Administrator account). That will create a clean, fresh account with no old files or icons or whatever. However, you should still have access to most or all of the Applications that the other user installed, but you will get "clean versions" of those applications where you can create set your own settings and preferences and stuff.

And while, yes, it is sometimes nice to have a clean install of OS X, it is not nearly as critical as it is with Windows, and the difference won't be nearly as big. I would just create a new account first and use that, and see if that takes care of all your issues

9/4/2009 9:36:53 PM

I've got the new account already. I'm talking about the home directory being his name, owner showing up as him, etc. Looking online, it's either impossible or extremely difficult to change that stuff and after 4 pages of google results saying "just do a clean install", I give up and just want to do a clean install. If I could get everything renamed, I probably wouldn't care although I still wouldn't mind starting fresh so that I can judge all the changes that he's made to see whether I prefer them or not.

Also, it's looking like I cannot restore the programs from a backup. Anything that mentions it is always a question from a reader that never gets answered. It's not a huge deal though. It'd just be nice if I could do it all simply. It's kinda odd. I'm completely enamored with Apple now after using this for a week. Everything just works better. Unfortunately, that really makes it that much more disappointing when there's something that I want to do that isn't possible/easy/right (delete doesn't delete, no way to "maximize" windows, etc). Windows wouldn't do it either but my expectations have been set higher by the Mac.

Anyway, thanks for the help.

9/4/2009 9:51:52 PM

i'm not sure what you mean by "home directory" still has his name.....
If you create your own Account, then you should never see his name when you're in your account. It should be:

/Users/hisname/<shit you never see>
/Users/yourname/[Documents,Pictures,Movies,etc]

and concerning

Quote :

" Unfortunately, that really makes it that much more disappointing when there's something that I want to do that isn't possible/easy/right"

just try to keep in mind that just because things are different doesn't necessarily mean they're "wrong" or "right" or whatever. And, ask around - you will probably be surprised at how many things you can customize or what hidden features/settings there are.

For example, if you want to "Delete" (forward delete, like the Windows Delete key), just hit fn+delete.
If you want to use the delete key in Finder to throw away files, hit CMD+delete.

As far as maximizing windows? Well, that's something you'll have to get used to, and you might end up liking it better. OS X will attempt to pick a good size for the content inside the window. iPhoto and iMovie, for example, will usually maximize to cover the whole screen, because there is a lot going on in those windows. Safari, though, will probably maximize itself vertically, but not horizontally, because generally webpages don't need to spread all the way across the screen.

9/4/2009 9:58:49 PM

honestly, the first thing i would do if i bought a used machine is reformat the hard drive.

9/4/2009 10:29:29 PM

agent, I'm not sure exactly how he did it, I'll have to ask him next time I talk to him. He may have just changed the log-in name. As for the right/wrong, I know a lot of it is just stuff I have to get used to. I do have to say that delete should delete though. It's not a big deal though. The biggest thing is that the bar has been set high so the disappointments are bigger. Overall, I love it though. I'm on my Win7 laptop now and it's driving me crazy.

evan, normally I would too. The only reason I didn't on this one is a combination of who I got it from & the programs on it. Anyone else or if it was a PC, it'd be done already.

9/4/2009 10:58:40 PM

^^ yeah, i guess I would have to agree with you there..... there's no way I would be using someone else's computer without cleaning it completely off

and ^, not to belabor the point, but.... if there is only one backspace/delete key on the keyboard, and it is in the traditional backspace location, even if it says 'delete' on it, wouldn't you expect it to act like a backspace, and delete leftwards?

9/4/2009 11:19:11 PM

doesn't the same argument apply to the ctrl key then? I just think the function is backwards. It should either be a backspace key or it should delete & apple+delete = backspace or something. That would be more difficult but it's already incorrect so... Every other key on the keyboard does what it says. I don't have to hit anything special in order to put an "a" on the screen, right? Like I said, it's not a big deal, it's just one of those things that make me say "WTF Apple?"

9/4/2009 11:26:13 PM

ok, well then I guess what's bothering you is that the key actually says 'delete' on it, but that it doesn't "delete" in the same way Windows "deletes", which is, as far as I know, arbitrary and simply another word used to describe the act of deleting characters on a screen because "backspace" was already being used.

In this case, I can agree with you that I wish the Apple keyboard said 'backspace' instead of 'delete', because the word "backspace" is more descriptive of what it does in most cases, at least in word processing. However, it doesn't bother me at all because I don't actually look at the keyboard when typing, especially not the backspace/delete key. So, whether this particular key says "backspace" or "delete" on it doesn't bother me at all, as long as it acts like a typical backspace. Now..... if it actually did do a forward delete, that would piss me off to no end, because backspace is a much more common activity in most cases than forward-deleting.

as far as the Control/CMD keys, and their locations? Yeah, that annoys me too, but that's definitely one of the things you just have to get used to in Mac. If you can't get used to it, though, you can always go to the Keyboard Preferences and hit the Modifier Keys button and change what actions all the modifier keys are bound to.

9/4/2009 11:51:05 PM

Getting the upgrade on order.

I hope I get it soon!

9/4/2009 11:52:42 PM

The lack of a true delete key is definitely my biggest peeve of using a mac. True, I suppose it's mostly arbitrary and it's only annoying to us because windows choose to do it a different way. After a little while it's now second nature to hit Apple+Delete to delete files so that doesn't really bother me (much) anymore.

The thing that I absolutely LOATHE is that Apple+Delete doesn't translate to delete when using Remote Desktop to control a Windows box. I spend 2-3 hours a day on my mac remoting into a Windows Box and a large portion of the things I do there is deleting files. AFAIK, there's no easy way to send the windows command of delete through the RDP session from a Macbook.

Of course this problem is compounded by the fact that Microsoft fucked with the UI for Windows 7 and decided that the delete icon now needed to be hidden within a menu as opposed to right there in the explorer window like it's always been. I suppose it's not the biggest deal in the world, but I don't see why I can't just hit the a button and make files go away. Shouldn't be that hard.

9/5/2009 12:18:00 AM

So after getting all worked up typing that (not really) I decided to look and see if there were any solutions to my problem. And I kind of found one. There's a pretty cool free program called Double Command that you can use to reassign certain keys on your Mac to other commands. I made the Enter button (the one to the right of the space bar, not the carriage return) act as forward delete. Which, as far as the Mac is concerned, only works in typing. You still need to use Apple+Delete to delete files. But in my RDP session it deletes files just like the delete key on your windows box.

So it's not a completely perfect solution, but it's worlds better than the way it was before.

/crisis.

[Edited on September 5, 2009 at 1:10 AM. Reason : Now if I can just figure out a way to send the alt+F4 command, I'll be in heaven.]

9/5/2009 12:46:14 AM

Anyone using hulu desktop with snow leapord and also using the mac remote. I noticed that after I upgraded the remote defaults to frontrow instead of hulu desktop. Example, in Hulu desktop i want to stop watching a show and go back to the menu. Click menu on remote and frontrow pops up at the same time hulu desktop goes back to the menu. Any ideas? Or just wait for hulu to upgrade their shit.

9/5/2009 9:23:57 AM

From their website: http://www.hulu.com/labs/hulu-desktop

Quote :

"Apple Remote control functionality is not fully compatible with Desktop on the new OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). We are currently working on a fix."

9/5/2009 9:28:57 AM

Quote :

"Which, as far as the Mac is concerned, only works in typing. You still need to use Apple+Delete to delete files. But in my RDP session it deletes files just like the delete key on your windows box. So it's not a completely perfect solution, but it's worlds better than the way it was before. /crisis. [Edited on September 5, 2009 at 1:10 AM. Reason : Now if I can just figure out a way to send the alt+F4 command, I'll be in heaven.]"

I believe the reason the delete key doesn't delete files in Finder is because of Apple's tendency toward safety. They opt for non-destructive behaviors, and deleting a file with a single keystroke is very destructive. They just want you to be damn sure you're doing what you want to be doing when you throw stuff away.


Alt+f4 - that closes the window, right? Cmd-W. Or Cmd-Q to quit.
Or does alt-f4 have some other magical properties?

9/5/2009 12:09:19 PM

^ he's trying to send Alt+F4 to Windows via Remote Desktop. But OS X probably hijacks the F4 keystroke and doesn't fwd it into Windows-land

9/5/2009 12:27:21 PM

Quote :

"deleting a file with a single keystroke is very destructive"

Actually deleting a file? Sure. Sending it to the Trash Bin? Eh, not so much. But yeah, it's not that big of a deal.

^That's right. But I did find out that you can hit Shift+fn+Option+F4 and it does the same thing. So that's easy.

There's actually a program called Keyboard Maestro that allows you to do stuff like remap those 4 buttons to one button on the keyboard. But the program is $30, and I'm not sure it's worth that much for me to have a button that closes windows on my RDP session. I'm trying the 15 day trial now, and if I can find some other uses for it, I might end up buying it. It does seem to be really full featured.

9/5/2009 5:46:58 PM

Quote :

"I believe the reason the delete key doesn't delete files in Finder is because of Apple's tendency toward safety. They opt for non-destructive behaviors, and deleting a file with a single keystroke is very destructive. They just want you to be damn sure you're doing what you want to be doing when you throw stuff away. "

not to mention that for more than a decade, the keystroke in Mac OS has been command-delete to delete a file.

9/5/2009 6:08:09 PM

^^ Why the shift key? Obviously option and F4 since option is what maps to alt, and you probably need the function key because the computer is eating F4 as a hardware control (in your keyboard prefs there should be an option to use F keys to control software functions or something like that).

9/5/2009 6:50:54 PM

I dunno man, I thought it was pretty fucked up too. I tried it with all 3 combination of just 2 buttons and none of them work. You need to hold down all three for it to send the command.

9/5/2009 8:09:31 PM

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8300945231/m/116004031041?r=763009331041#763009331041

Apparently if you have a Playstation 3, there is a built-in driver to use it in Snow Leopard.

9/6/2009 3:13:30 PM

did they get rid of the "double click on titlebar" to minimize a window in snow leopard?

sonofabitch, i spend 30 minutes googling, then i post here and the next setting i find in system preferences is what i was looking for

[Edited on September 6, 2009 at 5:30 PM. Reason : .]

9/6/2009 5:29:33 PM

anyone else notice that the trash bin takes forever to empty now?

oh and checking for software updates also takes forever.

[Edited on September 8, 2009 at 12:33 PM. Reason : .]

9/8/2009 12:32:41 PM

10.6.1 is out now.

Quote :

"The 10.6.1 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes for: compatibility with some Sierra Wireless 3G modems an issue that might cause DVD playback to stop unexpectedly some printer compatibility drivers not appearing properly in the add printer browser an issue that might make it difficult to remove an item from the Dock instances where automatic account setup in Mail might not work an issue where pressing cmd-opt-t in Mail brings up the special characters menu instead of moving a message Motion 4 becoming unresponsive For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3810. For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222."

9/10/2009 10:35:35 PM

Okay I took the time to read through all of this... But I'm wondering if there is a way to do an upgrade to snow leopard without having the leopard upgrade on the system...

I'd like to do it, but with not being familiar with Macs I don't want to screw anything up...

9/16/2009 10:56:40 PM

You mean you're trying to go from Tiger (10.4) to Snow Leopard, and you want to upgrade and keep all your programs? I'm not sure if you can do that or not. The "upgrade" doesn't actually check to see if you've got a previous Leopard install, so you can install the entire OS to a completely blank hard drive. But I don't know for sure if it will let you install on top of a Tiger install. You could always grab a backup, format, and then restore your programs. That would probably end up better for you anyway.

9/16/2009 11:55:21 PM

Well there was an issue on my laptop (which had leopard on it i think) and then my boss (who owns the computer) gave me the 10.4 OS disk thinking that was the right now.

I did an archive and install so that it would keep all of my data.

The problem is, mail now doesn't give me an option to set up my MobileMe account and the toolbar thing at the bottom looks completely different.

So I'd like to install the new operating system (my boss has it for her computer) and still keep all of my data...

Is that possible?

9/17/2009 12:05:19 AM

^^ and ^ confirmed that you can upgrade from Tiger to Leopard. I just did this past sunday.

9/17/2009 12:14:43 AM

My boss has the disk, can I use the same one for my computer?

(thank you for all of the help!!!!!)

9/17/2009 12:20:00 AM

Any disc will work. meaning it doesn't matter if you have your boss' snow leopard disc or your own. Apple operates under the 'honor system' so there is no CD key or activation or phone home system in place.

9/17/2009 12:21:53 AM

You just made my night

thank you!

9/17/2009 12:24:13 AM

np

9/17/2009 12:24:47 AM

http://news.techworld.com/security/3201863/snow-leopard-less-secure-than-windows-says-hacker/?pn=1

9/17/2009 12:52:23 AM

Quote :

"Well what did you expect? Apple is a DESIGN store, not an IT vendor. People pay for the design. And when they get full of virus, they just take their beautifully designed Apple to the Apple store, and the employees there will happily reformat the harddrive for you for FREE. Yes, FREE. I laughed my arse off when a group of Mactards told me of this wanderful service of theirs that Windows don't have."

i found this comment really amusing. haha (From the article)

9/17/2009 1:14:41 AM

I wish Safari would stop crashing every 15 goddamn minutes

9/19/2009 5:56:08 PM

safari is a piece of shit

yeah i said it

9/19/2009 6:15:35 PM

Process:         Safari [3451]
Path:            /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari
Identifier:      com.apple.Safari
Version:         4.0.3 (6531.9)
Build Info:      WebBrowser-65310900~1
Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:  launchd [166]

Date/Time:       2009-09-19 13:15:34.417 -0400
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.6.1 (10B504)
Report Version:  6

Interval Since Last Report:          27784 sec
Crashes Since Last Report:           1
Per-App Interval Since Last Report:  27777 sec
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report:   1
Anonymous UUID:                      B78C567D-AC34-4B93-8DE6-9F96EE648217

Exception Type:  EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000
Crashed Thread:  0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Application Specific Information:
objc_msgSend() selector name: _shouldPostEventNotifications


Thread 0 Crashed:  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0   libobjc.A.dylib               	0x00007fff83fa9340 objc_msgSend + 44
1   com.apple.AppKit              	0x00007fff864bc863 forwardMethod + 157
2   com.apple.AppKit              	0x00007fff8658a62f -[NSWindow sendEvent:] + 8681
3   com.apple.Safari              	0x000000010004941b 0x100000000 + 300059
4   com.apple.AppKit              	0x00007fff866e8497 -[NSApplication _handleGestureEvent:] + 235
5   com.apple.AppKit              	0x00007fff864bf53c -[NSApplication sendEvent:] + 5767
6   com.apple.Safari              	0x0000000100031f0e 0x100000000 + 204558
7   com.apple.AppKit              	0x00007fff86455acc -[NSApplication run] + 474
8   com.apple.AppKit              	0x00007fff8644e798 NSApplicationMain + 364
9   com.apple.Safari              	0x0000000100001d0c 0x100000000 + 7436

9/19/2009 6:15:35 PM