The OS X Snow Leopard doesn’t offer anything considerably substantial – at first glance. There are no new first-party software installed and no major interface changes.
In fact, it’s almost the same exact system as the Leopard, except with all the default applications running considerably faster. From opening files to running web apps on Safari to carrying out a system-wide backup, the whole thing just performs better, in very, very noticeable terms.
Don’t expect the same speed reflected on any non-Apple software you run, though. Photoshop? Almost zero difference. Firefox? Still the same thing. VLC? No change. Now, why the hell is that?
As it turns out, the new OS comes with a new middleware that takes full advantage of the machine’s hardware, with a multi-core processor called Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) and OpenCL API that utilize the power in the graphics card to great effect. All the rewritten first-party programs use these middle components to foster the speed differences, which easily clock in between 30% to 50% across all first-party applications.
Since most people are not likely to be running very old computers, I doubt the speed gains are all that crucial. I mean, did you ever complain that “this spreadsheet is so slow” while using Leopard? Probably not. The refinements are invisible to the naked eye and, in fact, may even be overlooked by many users, who will likely exclaim, “So what the heck did I pay that money for again?”
With that middleware in place, though, OS X now holds the potential for amazing performance for future applications. That’s the key word, though – future. As impressive as what Apple has done here, you can probably forego getting Snow Leopard without missing a thing. At least for now.
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
