04-23-2012, 06:30 PM

Hi. Me again. ^^;

As I mentioned earlier and elsewhere, I was thinking about making the switch. So what's been confusing me is which OS X to use; Snow Leopard or Mountain Lion? Or any other feline-named OS X? Which is most secure, stable, reliable, fast, etc. That sort of thing. Also, does it matter which kind of Mac is used? Say, iMac vs. Macbook Pro vs. Macbook Air?

Please be gentle, I'm a Mac/OS X virgin so to speak. Try to make your answers in the simplest terms possible...

04-23-2012, 06:32 PM

Mountain Lion hasn't been released yet. Maybe the choice you're trying to decide between is Snow Leopard or Lion.

- Nick

04-23-2012, 06:35 PM

Okay, thank you very much. As I said, I'm a OS X/Mac virgin. Thanks for clearing that up, I wasn't sure.

So.. between Lion and Snow Leopard?

04-23-2012, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by The-Canuckster

Okay, thank you very much. As I said, I'm a OS X/Mac virgin. Thanks for clearing that up, I wasn't sure.

So.. between Lion and Snow Leopard?

Kind of depends on what computer you get (vintage). If you get a brand new model Macintosh...Lion will be your only choice.

- Nick

04-23-2012, 06:42 PM

I'd want a new one, I think. Why is Lion the only choice? Is Snow Leopard older?

04-23-2012, 07:10 PM

Snow leopard came before Lion and yes it's around 2 years old. Apple with brand new machines usually makes it so only the latest OS will install.

04-23-2012, 07:43 PM

Originally Posted by The-Canuckster

I'd want a new one, I think. Why is Lion the only choice? Is Snow Leopard older?

Like "dtravis7" mentioned. Apple almost always ships new Macintosh computers with the latest OS...and that OS version is usually the minimum OS that can be installed on it.

- Nick

04-23-2012, 09:57 PM

Ah, I see. That makes sense. Thanks guys! So.. one more question. Machines aside, which is the better OS X in your opinion? For the same reasons I mentioned before (stability, reliability, speed, etc.). Between Lion and Snow Leopard.

The reason I'm asking is in case getting an older machine with an older OS X might be better or not.

04-23-2012, 10:28 PM

Originally Posted by The-Canuckster

Ah, I see. That makes sense. Thanks guys! So.. one more question. Machines aside, which is the better OS X in your opinion? For the same reasons I mentioned before (stability, reliability, speed, etc.). Between Lion and Snow Leopard.

To be honest...for a new user...I don't think that it matters. Snow Leopard is 2.5 years old at this point. In another 1-2 years Snow Leopard will start to be thought of as "OLD"...some folks may even consider Snow Leopard "older" now.

Lion will be 1 year-old this Summer...so as a new user...there's really no reason not to start out with Lion.

My 2 cents,

- nick

04-24-2012, 05:20 AM

At this point I think it is quite frankly nuts to be considering an older OS unless:

1. Your machine is so old that Snow Leopard is the latest thing it can possibly run.

2. You enjoy having your machine go obsolete quickly.

So Lion then.

04-24-2012, 11:27 AM

Sorry. Bit of a dumb question then. Many thanks again! Lion it is.

04-24-2012, 11:29 AM

Thanks guys for all the help. It's really appreciated by this Mac virgin.

04-24-2012, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by The-Canuckster

Sorry. Bit of a dumb question then. Many thanks again! Lion it is.

Not really a dumb question. If you were thinking of a slightly older Mac (2-3 years old)...you would have a choice...and could choose. There are some folks who do prefer Snow Leopard over Lion...but mostly because Lion really doesn't have much in the way of "jaw-dropping"...gotta have it...features.

But with that being said...there's really nothing terribly wrong with Lion. For someone that's upgrading...they just have to pay the $29 to get it (which some folks would rather not do if Lion doesn't have features they can't live without).

But for someone who is new to Macintosh computers...and will be buying a new computer with Lion pre-installed...there's absolutely nothing wrong with Lion.

The real bottom line. Eventually all of us will be running Lion (if we have computers capable of running Lion). Maybe not this year, or next year...but maybe 5 years from now.

- Nick

04-24-2012, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Not really a dumb question. If you were thinking of a slightly older Mac (2-3 years old)...you would have a choice...and could choose. There are some folks who do prefer Snow Leopard over Lion...but mostly because Lion really doesn't have much in the way of "jaw-dropping"...gotta have it...features.

- Nick

What kind of "jaw-dropping" features are included in Snow Leopard? It seems kind of strange that the same (and more) features are not included in the newer Lion OS X...hm...
Thank you very much again.

-J.S.

04-24-2012, 02:03 PM

The huge feature of Snow Leopard was the Intel only code. The biggest thing about Snow Leopard was code optimization. They cleaned it up and removed the PPC code so it would run faster and more efficient.