Some Changes......

Just spent a couple of days rejigging things here at the ScreenCastsOnline studio :-) I've always wanted to have a play with OSX Server and with the advent of the new Leopard OSX Server with all its extra goodies, I decided now was the time. So rather than shell out the $499 for a copy of OSX server, I ended up joinng the Apple Developers Connection as a Select level member. This cost me $499 but includes:

• ADC Software Seeding Program
• Mac OS X and Xcode Tools
• 1 ADC Hardware Discount
• 2 Technical Support Incidents
• ADC Monthly Mailing
• ADC Compatibility Labs Access
• ADC Business and Marketing Programs

Included in all that is a full copy of OSX Server for development and testing. Just be aware that it looks like the licence key for the server does need renewing in December so I assume I'll have to renew next year but that's OK. Also included in the Select membership is a hardware discount (not sure how much) but it may come in handy if I make a major purchase next year, like when the next rev of the Octo Mac Pros come out :-) Plus, A rather cool T-shirt has just arrived in the post with a copy of Leopard (Doh! I already bought a family pack) plus a developers DVD of extra stuff. So the changes I've made are to move from my G5 as my main machine to the MacBook Pro. The G5 is now installed with OSX Server and will act as the new central machine serving the other macs on the network. It already had the eSata card and a Sonnet RAID array attached so this is a good role for the machine. My MacBook Pro is now my workhorse and I've attached the big Dell Monitor to it. I eventually decided to do a complete erase and install on the MBP and have been manually re-installing applications as I need them. Damm, I didn't realise I used so many apps! OSX Server looks to be a serious beast and I'm looking forward to having a look at some of the more advanced features of using OSX in a business or Enterprise environment. Would anyone like any Leopard OSX server screencasts?

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Kudos to The Omni Group

Nice page on the Omni Groups website consolidating the current "Leopard" status of all their applications. Makes it nice and easy to upgrade where necessary! And while you're on the OmniGroup website, you might want to check out some information they're sharing with the developer community - a update on Leopard adoption based on stats they are retrieving - thanks for sharing OmniGroup! (spotted by Fraser Spiers via Twitter) Any bets on how many weeks before the Leopard and Tiger lines cross over - I'll say 8 weeks!

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A Leopard Weekend

Damm, is it really almost a month since I last posted here! If truth be known, I'm probably micro blogging more than ever on Twitter rather than traditional blogging, it just seems more immediate and easier. You can checkout my micro blogging and follow me at Twitter and can get a great OSX client from Snitter Anyway, A quick update post Leopard release. The big cat arrived on time (actually before time) on Friday and I've spent the best part of the weekend installing Leopard on various machines including the MacBook, PowerMac G5, the Mac Mini and the MacBook Pro. I've used all three different installation schemes and had various results but on the whole, it's been a fairly painless experience! I'll cover the installation processes during this weeks show and give you my initial thoughts but some immediate things spring to mind...

• SuperDuper is worth its weight in gold - do not even attempt an install without a good bootable backup (preferably two)
• If you have any external cards in your Mac, check with the manufacturer that they are certifed for Leopard. My eSATA card in my PowerPC G5 appears not to be so I've had to revert to Tiger on that machine.
• If you have Application Enhancer installed either remove it or upgrade to the latest version. Only use a clean install or Archive and Install otherwise you'll have problems. I'll cover this in this weeks show.

Because of the issues with the PowerMac G5 which has been my main machine for a long time. and the fact I need to use Leopard on a regular basis, I decided to promote my MacBook Pro to be my new main machine running Leoprad. So some initial teething problems aside, my initial impressions are extremely favourable! I won't write screeds about it but my favourites at the moment are:

• Spaces - Excellent, excellent, excellent - Virtual desktops done right by Apple.
• Mail - Integration of to dos and notes is great but does need the iPhone intergration introduced.
• UI - Unlike the general trend to bash the Dock and the new UI, I like it!

Lot's more to cover but I'll bring that out over the next few shows. If you want to read the definitive review on Leopard, I'd highly recommend the Ars Technica review.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Leopard

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Leopard Launch?

Still no official leopard launch date and the clock is ticking? Everyone seems to think 26th Oct @ 6pm but still no official word from Apple. Ah well, today is a Tuesday (16th Oct) so I imagine we'll hear today. Update (14:08) - Told you so :-) Leopard Launch

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