Preparing Your Mac for Leopard

[Frodo]

Not everyone is going to make the leap, so this topic seemed to warrant its own thread for those who are considering trying Leopard sooner than later.

http://www.macworld.com/2007/10/secrets ... /index.php

There are suggested links, tips, books, utilities, warnings, etc.... all useful, hopefully.

[mhschmieder]

Thanks for posting that; that is very useful advice.

Because my G4 iMac is 64 MHz too slow for the minimum requirements of Leopard, it looks like it's going to stay parked at 10.4.11 (once released).

Even for people in my situation, where Leopard will come as part of a new computer, much of the advice is still useful, as we'll still need to transfer most of our apps and licenses to the new box.

So about the only piece of advice that doesn't also pertain to cloning an old system, is the instruction to update third party libraries and products before doing the Leopard update.

And even that might still come in handy, if a Leopard point release comes out that is newer than the version installed on a new computer. In that case, it might be best to do the full update downloaded from Apple's website vs. the partial update from the Software Update tool, and do that after installing updates from other vendors.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Remote Desktop REQUIRED for Leopard?

http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?sto ... 8151028161

Isn't that a problem for DP?

Also, why would this be required??? Will Apple be wanting to spy on us?

Am I just... um... high?

[Frodo]

Hmm-- could it also be read or interpreted as Leopard being required for this version of Remote Desktop?

It is odd wording, and I hope it doesn't mean what it literally appears to mean.

It does say that earlier versions of ARD than 3.2 will not work on Leopard, so maybe we live to suck another after all!

[MIDI Life Crisis]

If I am required to have remote desktop on my mac to run Leopard, that is a deal breaker. I will stay at 10.4.9 FOREVER... Reeks of Big Brother.

NO REMOTE DESKTOP...

NO REMOTE DESKTOP...

NO REMOTE DESKTOP...

(repeat after me...)

NO REMOTE DESKTOP...

[cuttime]

Hmm-- could it also be read or interpreted as Leopard being required for this version of Remote Desktop?

This is how I interpret it as well, but it took me three careful readings, plus a careful reading of the Apple support doc to come to this conclusion.

So, can anyone convince me upgrade to Leopard? I'm having a hard time getting enthusiastic about it. I work with an Apple certified tech (and Kool-Aid drinker), and he keeps telling me I can't afford not to... "But it has automatic backups!"-(...what are all those plastic discs I have piling up?)-"...and it has improved searches!"-(...yawn...)-"...and a dynamite speech synthesizer!"-(...yeah, I'll use THAT a lot...)-"...and improved graphics!"-(...and increased system and memory usage...can you say 'Vista'?)...

Frodo, of all people, I can't imagine you taking a bite of that fruit so soon.

[James Steele]

I don't know. From what I've read about Frodo's problems wth his MacPro, DP, and Tiger, maybe Leopard will improve things once MOTU puts out a Leopard-certified DP. At least that would be the hope anyway.

[Frodo]

Frodo, of all people, I can't imagine you taking a bite of that fruit so soon.

I don't know. From what I've read about Frodo's problems wth his MacPro, DP, and Tiger, maybe Leopard will improve things once MOTU puts out a Leopard-certified DP. At least that would be the hope anyway.

I appreciate the thoughts, guys.

Yeah, I'm not switching just yet, but am adding a test drive (so to speak) to run Leopard.

So, the original thought was-- "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But since it's at least suffering from a nasty sprain, there's the question of whether the devil you know is really better than the devil you don't know.

So even if the grass is not greener on the other side, I'm convinced that it cannot possibly be any browner.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

So even if the grass is not greener on the other side, I'm convinced that it cannot possibly be any browner.

But it may smell more like dog piss if the OS is a dog... or worse, if Apple wants EVERYBODY to have Remote Desktop on their machine. After the Verison debacle, I don't trust companies to keep my confidential information confidential. I don't even have anything to hide, but it's the principal that bothers me. Big time.

[James Steele]

So even if the grass is not greener on the other side, I'm convinced that it cannot possibly be any browner.

But it may smell more like dog piss if the OS is a dog... or worse, if Apple wants EVERYBODY to have Remote Desktop on their machine. After the Verison debacle, I don't trust companies to keep my confidential information confidential. I don't even have anything to hide, but it's the principal that bothers me. Big time.

There's large enough contingent of anti-Big Brother hacker types out there, that someone will figure out a patch to block it or remove it if that were the case. It's probably harmless, but still ironic that Apple produced the famous "1984" commercial, eh?

[James Steele]

Actually... I just now read the link you posted at MacFixIt. I should've done that before commenting. It really reads to me that it means that if you want to run ARD, you have to use 3.2 and not an earlier version. It doesn't seem to me that it means you MUST have it installed.

[Frodo]

I like e-loo's reminder of doing a bare bones install for DAW work. I'd love to see how much less than 9GB of required HD space for the whole thing can be salvaged.

This should help reduce or eliminate the need or use of any big brotherly software.

[emulatorloo]

Actually... I just now read the link you posted at MacFixIt. <SNIP> It really reads to me that it means that if you want to run ARD, you have to use 3.2 and not an earlier version. It doesn't seem to me that it means you MUST have it installed.

Agreed -- somebody at MacFixIt FLUNKED Headline writing 101.

So MLC, Leopard does not "require" Apple Remote Desktop.

But if you want to run Apple Remote Desktop on Leopard, you need version 3.2 or later.

--

See the tech note the article links to:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306745

Basically confirms this -- 3.0 will not work on Leopard, if you run ARD, you need to update to 3.2

Nothing in the note or article says the ARD is installed by default.

ARD is an option, I beleive one that requires a credit card and a trip to the Apple Store!!!!

http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/

Unlimited Managed Systems edition: $499/administrator (MA232Z/A)
10 Managed Systems edition: $299/administrator (MA231Z/A)

---

[emulatorloo]

http://www.macworld.com/2007/10/secrets ... /index.php

Thanks so much for that link -- I especially enjoyed reading about the "clean-up" utilities at the end of the article. That whatsize one is pretty useful!

=

[OldTimey]

previous versions of mac os x include the client version of remote desktop. go to: System Prefs/Sharing/Services....it's right there a checkbox. click on the firewall tab, enable the firewall for all services, and nobody can get into your mac unless it's through some sort of backdoor security flaw in safari or other internet accessing program.

since leopard has new screen sharing features (very cool in my opinion, no need for third party VNC thingies anymore) it will require a new version of the client software, and will include some sort of viewer.

really nothing to be worried about.