Leopard Update

Monday's Leopard install was fairly uneventful. Considering how long I had been looking forward to 10.5, I'm surprised I made it this long without upgrading. Even my Dad noticed— he said it's the first time he's beat me to it.

It's always nice with the big updates—regardless of how major the changes, aesthetic or under the hood, it always feels like a new computer, at least for a day or two. I'm still trying to get used to/familiar with the new Finder windows, the dock, the pointed-edged menu bar, etc. I actually really like some aspects of the new menu bar— just not the transparency part.

One of the first things I did was to go to this AppleInsider forum and use Post #1's replacement files for the Dock. My new black Dock looks far better, and is more functional; those blue indicators are actually visible now. More Dock replacement files can be found here for those who are interested.

I also opted to switch over to the default Leopard background, that purple aurora borealis image you see in all of the promotional material. I figured, since I was already exclusively using NASA images, I might as well mix it up with a new photo for a while.

Something I hadn't realized: the "inactive" window look is very different; now anything inactive loses most of its shading and gets bright. I'd have gone in the opposite direction— darken and de-emphasize anything that was inactive. The new, current style actually draws me toward the very windows I'm supposed to ignore.

All in all, though, I am digging it, as I knew I would. Anyone who is waiting, I fully recommend going for it; QuickLook and CoverFlow are worth the price of admission alone. Unless you're waiting for specific program compatibility; in that case, keep waiting.