Mac OS X
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Upgrading Graduate Center Macs to Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5)
As soon as we have received the new OS software, we will begin testing to ensure that all GC services function well under Leopard. Once this is complete, we will begin scheduling upgrades. If you have a Mac here at the GC and you are interested in upgrading to Leopard, please email the Help Desk with the subject line: UPGRADE - Leopard
Upgrading Your Personal Mac to Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5)
1. Create a complete back-up of your existing Hard Drive before upgrading.
It's always a good idea to have a fallback plan. If for any reason, something were to happen while you're upgrading (power failure, coffee spill on your laptop, hard drive crash) you'll be able to return to your back-up and start again.
2. Check your applications for compatibility and licensing.
Check with the developers to ensure your important applications will work under the new OS. This usually isn't a problem, especially if you're already using an Intel Mac, but it's good to double check. For example, running OS 9 in Classic will not be possible in Leopard and you should be prepared to give up OS 9 before upgrading. Also, when you upgrade, some applications will ask for Serial Numbers again - it's a good idea to make sure you have those before upgrading. Applications that may be affected by this are Adobe Creative Suite and Apple Pro Apps such as Final Cut and Logic.
3. For further reading, see these online articles about upgrading
Simple Walk-Through of Installation Options and Preparation:
About Running as an Upgrade:
About Doing a Clean Installation:
Overview of Requirements and Options for Upgrading:
4. Software Compatibility Resources
- Adobe Leopard Compatibility and Support PDF media: Adobe Leopard Support.pdf
History of Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a line of proprietary, graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple, the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently shipping Macintosh computers. Mac OS X is the successor to the original Mac OS, which had been Apple's primary operating system since 1984. Unlike its predecessor, Mac OS X is a Unix-like operating system built on technology that had been developed at NeXT through the second half of the 1980s and up until Apple purchased the company in early 1997.
Versions
The character X is a Roman numeral and is officially pronounced "ten". It is the next logical release following the numbering of previous Macintosh operating systems such as Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9. However, it is common to hear it erroneously pronounced as the letter "X".
Mac OS X versions are named after big cats. Prior to its release, Mac OS X v10.0 was code named "Cheetah" internally at Apple, and "Mac OS X v10.1 was code named internally as "Puma". After the immense buzz surrounding Mac OS X v10.2, codenamed "Jaguar", Apple's product marketing began openly using the code name to promote the operating system. Mac OS X v10.3 was marketed as "Panther", and Mac OS X v10.4 as "Tiger". "Leopard" is the name of the current release, Mac OS X v10.5. "Panther", "Tiger" and "Leopard" are registered as trademarks of Apple, but "Cheetah", "Puma" and "Jaguar" have never been registered. Apple has also registered "Lynx" and "Cougar" as trademarks.
Computer retailer Tiger Direct sued Apple for its use of the name "Tiger". But on May 16, 2005 a US federal court in the Southern District of Florida ruled that Apple's use does not infringe on Tiger Direct's trademark.
Mac OS X 10.0 (Cheetah)
On March 24 2001, Apple released Mac OS X v10.0 (internally codenamed Cheetah). The initial version was slow, not feature complete, and had very few applications available at the time of its launch, mostly from independent developers. Many critics suggested that while the OS was not ready for mainstream adoption, they recognized the importance of its initial launch as a base on which to improve. Simply releasing Mac OS X was received by the Macintosh community as a great accomplishment, for attempts to completely overhaul the Mac OS had been underway since 1996, and delayed by countless setbacks. Following some bug fixes, kernel panics became much less frequent, and Mac OS X began garnering praise for its stability at an early point in its development.
Mac OS X 10.1 (Puma)
Later that year on September 25 2001, Mac OS X v10.1 (internally codenamed Puma) was released. It had better performance and provided missing features, such as DVD playback. Apple released 10.1 as a free upgrade CD for 10.0 users, in addition to the US$129 boxed version for people running only Mac OS 9. It was discovered that the upgrade CDs were actually full install CDs that could be used with Mac OS 9 systems by removing a specific file; Apple later re-released the CDs in an actual stripped-down format that didn't facilitate installation on such systems.
On January 7 2002, Apple announced that Mac OS X was to be the default operating system for all Macintosh products by the end of that month.
Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar)
On August 23 2002, The headline of the press release mentioned "Jaguar", while the codename was not mentioned for earlier versions. It brought great performance enhancements, a sleeker look, and many powerful enhancements (over 150, according to Apple), including Quartz Extreme for compositing graphics directly on an ATI Radeon or NVIDIA GeForce2 MX AGP-based video card with at least 16 MB of VRAM, a system-wide repository for contact information in the new Address Book, and an instant messaging client named iChat.
The Happy Mac which had appeared during the Mac OS startup sequence for almost 18 years was replaced with a large grey Apple logo with the introduction of Mac OS X 10.2.
Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther)
Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther" was released on October 24 2003. In addition to providing much improved performance, it also incorporated the most extensive update yet to the user interface. Panther included as many or more new features as Jaguar had the year before, including an updated Finder, incorporating a brushed-metal interface, Fast User Switching, Exposé (Window manager), FileVault, Safari (web browser), iChat AV which added video-conferencing features to iChat, improved PDF rendering and much greater Microsoft Windows interoperability. But, support for some early G3 computers such as "beige" Power Macs and "WallStreet" PowerBooks was discontinued.
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" was released on April 29 2005. Apple stated that Tiger contains more than 200 new features. As with Panther, certain older machines were no longer supported; Tiger requires a Mac with a built-in FireWire port. Among the new features, Tiger introduced Spotlight, Dashboard, Smart Folders, updated Mail program with Smart Mailboxes, QuickTime 7, Safari 2, Automator, VoiceOver, Core Image and Core Video.
Tiger's retail package was updated and reduced in size around the end of April 2006. It was called Mac OS X 10.4.3, and replaced the first release in retail stores.
On January 10, 2006, Apple released the first Intel-based Macs along with the 10.4.4 update to Tiger. This operating system functioned identically on the PowerPC-based Macs and the new Intel-based machines. Because the implementation of the OS is built separately for the two processors, in implementation the PowerPC version and Intel versions are two separate installers (one cannot use the PowerPC installer to install the OS onto an Intel-based Mac).
At some time in 2006 the retail packages were again updated with 10.4.6, also a PowerPC-only DVD installer. As of yet, no retail package for an Intel-based Tiger Installer exists or has been released by Apple. There is unlikely to be such a release as customers who own an Intel-based Mac received Tiger along with their computer and the release of OSX 10.5 is imminent.
The latest update to Tiger has been 10.4.10.
Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" was announced at the June 2005 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and was shown to developers for the first time at the following WWDC in August 2006. There Steve Jobs said that Apple planned to "ship it this coming Spring", the second quarter of 2007. But, due to the developer resources needed to keep the iPhone on track, Apple later revised the estimate to October 2007, then at WWDC said it would be available for sure in October, with a feature-complete beta sent home with developers at WWDC in June 2007. At WWDC 2007, Jobs said it will have 300 new features and demonstrated some of them. Apple has said Leopard will support both PowerPC- and X86-based Macintosh computers and is listed on the Apple Store for $129 for the single pack. Versions for all computers (including 64-bit machines) will come on one disc. Though Apple maintains that "All features referenced in the Mac OS X Leopard Sneak Peek are subject to change" on its web site, some officially previewed features include a new Finder, Time Machine, Spaces, Boot Camp pre-installed, full support for 64-bit applications (including graphical applications), new features in Mail and iChat, and resolution independence. Jobs confirmed these features at WWDC 2007.
Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard", is an Open Brand UNIX 03 registered product. Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" is also the first BSD-based OS to receive the UNIX 03 certification.
Apple officially announced Leopard's release date on 16 October, opening pre-orders on its site. Leopard was released on October 26, 6.00 p.m. worldwide, with pre-orders shipping with an estimated arrival of that date.
The standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after October 1st, 2007, for a shipping and handling fee of US $9.95 (plus tax)/UK £5.95 (inc VAT)
