The Update

So after several failed attempts at updating to 10.5.2 for Leopard, I finally got it working.  I'm fully updated with 10.5.2, the Graphics Update, and Aperture 2 now.  I've really lucked out with Ruri; it seems from reading the forums over at InsanelyMac.com that the Presario c714NR is the perfect laptop for Leopard.  The upgraded versions of this laptop (the ones that have come out since I got mine) have changed a few things hardware wise and don't work as well.  I'm still having my issue with audio where I can't use the headphone/mic jacks, but that's nothing more than a minor annoyance.  

I've installed the programs that I need to make my laptop work for my job too; they send us XP laptops to do photo-editing with, and we're supposed to only use those to do said edits.  Since we shoot in a RAW format (Canon's CR2 to be exact), we have to use Canon Photo Professional to do our "edits" (it's really just rotating the pictures, reordering them when needed, and deleting bad frames).  Leopard has built-in support for RAW format, but I couldn't rotate the pictures.  It took a while, but I tracked down a copy of Photo Professional, so I can do my edits on my own lappy without them knowing.  While that sounds like a minor (if not insignificant) accomplishment, it means I can carry my own laptop around with me to do my work without having to lug an extra laptop bag.  I also needed support for burning a DVD-RW in reburnable format, so I tracked down BurnAgain DVD.  Even Toast can't do an RW right, so if you're looking for an RW solution for Mac OS, check out BurnAgain.  Well worth the money, in my opinion.  

So, after a few weeks of using Mac OS X exclusively, what is the #1 feature for me?  Hands down, Time Machine.  It has saved me countless times and allowed me to experiment with updates, drivers, and kernels with losing nothing more than the time it takes to restore.  This is the best backup solution I've ever used, and I've used a lot in the past.  I have a 120 GB external hard drive dedicated for it and that seems to be adequate for me (my internal drive is 120 GB too with 50 GB free).  Not to mention, it's got a pretty slick interface.  lol

Do I have any regrets about nuking Vista?  Nope.  Gaming is fun, but hardly worth the hassle when it comes to Windows.  Windows is slow and takes up way too much room; I'm running a comparable setup, application wise, under Leopard that I did under Vista and I have WAY more room (like 40 extra GB) over what I did with Vista.  Will I ever go back to Windows?  Probably not seeing as how I know I can get a $400 MacBook (with some tweaking).  lol  I love my "Mac".