An[other] OS X 10.6 to 10.8 Survival Guide for Editors

Camera Log on PVC by Adam Wilt

“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.” Well, mostly.

With the release of Mac OS X 10.8 (the word “Mac” has been struck from the name of the OS), an increasing number of apps requiring 10.7 or later, and the presumed end of Apple’s support for 10.6, it’s getting to the point where Mac users have to decide to make the jump, or remain forever on 10.6. I’ve spent the last two weeks systematically testing 10.8 in real-world scenarios, and I’ve got both good news and bad news, or, more precisely: the good, the bad, and the ugly… and the just plain “think different” stuff… and how to fix [most of] what’s broken.

(You’ll notice I don’t use the cat names, not if I can help it; version numbers are much more comprehensible and are naturally ordered. Quick now: was Puma before Cheetah, or after? Sheesh.)

What follows is my list of what’s good, what’s bad, and so on. It’s based on my experiences and preferences and working habits, leavened with some of the more significant complaints I’ve seen from other early adopters. I don’t pretend to cover every single thing that people have found fixed/broken/different, I just discuss what caught my eye.

You may find my writeup to be right on, right off, or not even worth writing off, depending on how your experiences, preferences, and working habits differ from mine. No worries: I’ve got links to other resources at the end of the story, so you can plot your own way through the 10.8 minefield. read more...