Filed under: OS, Rumors, Software, Leopard
Mac OS X Leopard tidbits roundup part 3
Here we go with another Mac OS X Leopard tidbits roundup - yes, certainly to be confused with our running WWDC 2006 tidbits roundup; I figured it's all about the Leopard now, as we've pretty much exhausted everything WWDC-related besides which brand of socks Mr. Jobs wears with his new Nikes. So enjoy this latest batch of small tips and improvements in the next big cat from Cupertino:- The ReadMe included with the Leopard requires G4, G5 or Intel processors - sorry G3 owners (ok, so maybe this isn't an improvement for the G3 folk out there, but it's still good to know)
- We're receiving reports that Safari can resize any text areas (such as comment fields) on the fly. We can't confirm because we don't feel like risking the wrath of Jobs. Some of us have families, y'know
- "Smart Renaming" - when renaming a file, the extension is no longer included in the file name selection (Someone buy that engineer a beer!)
- If you have to rename a file extension, the Finder now includes a preference for disabling the extension renaming warning (a second round, comin' up!)
- A new preference in the Dock System Preferences pane allows for toggling how quickly the Dock 'springs' when hidden
- The Finder allows for customizing the amount of space between icons
- iChat includes many handy window organizing features, such as a customizable keyboard shortcut for bringing the app to the front, as well as a preference for tabbed chats (instead of simply forcing it on those who aren't quite as hip on tabs)
- It sounds like Safari will know when you've entered text into a website (for example: when leaving a comment in a forum), and can prompt you before quiting and blowing away unsaved changes
- Spaces, thankfully, allows users to bind applications to one desktop or another. This will be handy for, well, keeping everything in its place, but it will probably be something to get used to for virtual desktop newbies
Thanks to everyone who sent these in
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joshua Ochs said 4:04PM on 8-17-2006
"A new preference in the Dock System Preferences pane allows for toggling how quickly the Dock 'springs' when hidden"
Um, no. Unless I'm misinterpreting, that preference controls spring loaded folders on the Dock. I don't have Leopard, so you'll have to go to one of your many sources.
http://impulsivehighlighters.blogspot.com/2006/08/leopard-preview-gallery-part-i-finder.html
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Liquidmark said 4:07PM on 8-17-2006
The ability to go without needing extensions used to be in the pre-X versions of Mac OS. Tho, this system created problems working in a windows environment. Windows relies on the filename extensions.I'll be glad to get them back.
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valgonzarp said 4:33PM on 8-17-2006
That smart renaming thing has been for some time now (since 2004?) in the Gnome Desktop. Just to give the credit (beer) where it belongs.
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Don Wilson said 4:42PM on 8-17-2006
"smart renaming" has been in windows since windows 98...? It was called a security threat.
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minime said 4:51PM on 8-17-2006
-Automator has a new interface, much cleaner an not so wide: library on top
-Time Machine Graphics really slow.. PowerBook G4 1.33 17" Stars moving is in 1sec steps, so Core Animation isn't that kind of speedy yet (well better GPUs help, as in a PMG5 with ATI9800 it's already better)
-Overall improvements like that renaming-stuff is everywhere in the system, just so much of the details that make life a lot better a there right from the start.
-Spotlight is now so great, I'm kinda done with Quicksilver
-Mail has RSS-support: You can add RSS as a subfolder in your inbox, so new items show there or you can use an RSS-container in the sidebar, wich is mailbox-independent. The HTML-Newspage gets loaded in Safari, not in the preview in Mail wich sucks, but I think this is going to be improved
-Much better networking: better wifi-signalrate than with 10.4.7. No more trouble with volumes being remotly disconnected, just eject them
-Finder has only minor improvements, suggesting it's gonna be replaced, even it's snappier there are the old caveeats (handling of many files at once, multithreading)
-the Build used in Keynote at WWDC06 is not the same as the one that got handed out to devs, simply look at Spaces' desktop pager (the arrows stay in the Desktop, in Keynote the arrow touches the desktop your going to)
So far for now, i will add more experience as there is.
By now, i would say it's already worth the $129 without those Top-Secret Features. It's a go.
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Andy said 4:54PM on 8-17-2006
"The Finder allows for customizing the amount of space between icons"
Hallelujah!!
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minime said 4:55PM on 8-17-2006
i forgot to add: mail finally has a real good IMAP-support! yay!
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minime said 5:06PM on 8-17-2006
well beat me, but forgot another thingy: Quartz 2D Extreme
it's disabled by default, but news to you should be the new name: QuartzGL
before i and up with 10 post or so.. the standard-install is 6GB, the install-DVD got bigger too; G3-Support: could be crippled in only in dev-builds, so let's wait for the goldmaster maikng this a real topic (a normal G3-Desktop could be too slow for Core Animations anyways ;)
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Fritz Laurel said 6:11PM on 8-17-2006
On "smart" renaming -- I just want to say to any Apple engineers out there that I really do _not_ like how the Finder handles this currently. It asks me to verify every time I want to change a file's extension. Please, please, please allow me to turn off that annoying notification!
I, like many others, consider myself a power user and don't need my hand held like this, but I know many do. Please give us power users the option to use the OSX power unimpeded.
And thanks for all the good work on the best OS!
FL
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Radu Dutzan said 7:38PM on 8-17-2006
"Safari can resize any text areas (such as comment fields) on the fly."
You can actually do this wth the current WebKit nightlies (http://nightly.webkit.org/), I tried this a couple of months before Leopard. And it's great, cause the newer WebKit builds render my transparent PNG-loaded webpage so well and fast…
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starwxrwx said 9:34PM on 8-17-2006
I will *HATE* it if the Finder will only select the filename and not the extension by default - I regularly press Enter and CMD-C to copy the name of the file to paste somewhere else for one reason or another. BAD BAD BAD *sulks*
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David Chartier said 11:44AM on 8-20-2006
#11: It might not be all bad. This is a feature being built in because the greater majority don't *want* to touch that file extension; most people accidentally change it or don't want to bother with having to re-type it when changing a file's name.
On the bright side, your keystroke won't have to get much more complex. It now could simply be:
Enter
cmd - A
cmd - C
:)
There might also be a preference to toggle whether the file extension is chosen as well, just like there's a pref for shutting off the file extension changing warning now too.
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Thomas Worrall said 6:46PM on 8-31-2006
To #11: You can copy the file name without selecting the name at all! Copy the file. If you paste it in the finder it does a file copy operation. But if you paste into a text editor, it pastes the name. Even fewer keystrokes!
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