David Pogue provided this link to a very extensive compatibility chart for Snow Leopard and various applications. I don't know how recently this site appeared, but it's very interesting.

http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/

Fantastic! Thanks!

According to David Pogue's review of Snow Leopard, not everything listed is hunky-dory:

I experienced frustrating glitches in various programs, including Microsoft Word, Flip4Mac, Photoshop CS3, CyberDuck and TextExpander, an abbreviation expander.

That's an impressive list, but I think I'll sucker for early adoption this time. I do nearly all my word processing on InDesign CS4 and Adobe has said CS4 is OK. As for SuperDuper!, Nanian has said v2.6 will download tomorrow and it is OK. Given that, I'll install to the Sandbox after making my customary three backups of 10.5.8 (two from SD! and one via Time Machine). I usually wait quite awhile, but I have the time to do it right now and I'm curious about size reduction and increased performance.

I think I'll stop at SmallDog on the way home from work tomorrow...

Good luck. I imagine that tomorrow's threads will originate from the Eastern Time Zone and points east. By this time tomorrow, we should know a whole lot more about SL than we do right now (unless you're under an NDA and already know what's up).

Apple Discussions: Category : Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard
MacFixit: Apple releases a slew of Mac OS X 10.6 knowledgebase documents

I didn't see TechTool Pro in the list, under 'T' or 'M'

I'm sure that MMT3 will jump in but, if I had Snow Leopard, I would not run any utility that that was written before Snow Leopard existed. That's asking for trouble.

I would not run any utility until it is certified by the vendor as Snow Leopard compatible. That would include not only Diskwarrior, Drive Genius, and TechTool, but also Cocktail, Onyx, TinkerTool, TinkerTool System, et. al. Even utilities that are generally pretty innocuous such as MacPilot would be on my suspect list. I will disable any and all haxies before installing as well as any GUI modifiers and especially APE (Application Program Enhancer) and anything else from Unsanity. (Note: there have been two APE updates in the last three days.)

I even downloaded a new version of the postage printing application Endicia/Dymo Stamps yesterday "for OS X 10.6 compatibility". Just as happened when Leopard shipped I suspect we will see a lot of minor application updates.

Among the flurry of anticipated application/utility/driver updates, I will not be surprised if we begin to see non-universal (Intel only) versions beginning to appear. The reduced application size, potentially lower development costs, and possible performance improvements using Intel only code should be very attractive to developers.


Even as I was typing this I received notification of preliminary SL updates for TinkerTool and TinkerTool System and compatibility updates for the launcher app Overflow and SuperDuper. At the moment the SuperDuper download seems to be overloaded.

I agree. And along with the upside for Intel users and devs will come the downside for the many folks still running PPCs. An especially pricey proposition for companies who still have large late-model G5 rollouts, like mine. But none of this is unexpected; that's how things go when you invest in Apple product cycles. Strong legacy support is not the Apple way.

This thread is a huge help to me as bruised user of software who has no formal IT training.

I just downloaded SuperDuper! 2.6 which I will run on Snow Leopard in the Sandbox to back up my Macintosh HD volume that will remain 10.5.8 until things sort out on 10.6.

Thanks to all of you for this wonderful forum. You're doing a great work. Best regards.

Disk Warrior has just been updated for SL compatibility.

loaded it in this morning, it took about 45 minutes, and wow! I love it. things feel very much faster!

and to add to a thread in the FAQ forum (which I can't reply in, yet), the dvd is white, with the snow leopard picture on it. seems to be a full install disc. this is the $30 "upgrade" disc.

Hi Anybody
I wasn't really ready - financially - yet to get a new macmini for BH, but I was wondering, given some of the "old" applications she runs (e.g. AppleWorks, Audion & others I can't think of at the moment), whether it would be better to get a macmini now before they come pre-installed with SL. I could then purchase SL via "Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program", install as and when at my convenience, and if compatibility problems occurred I could revert to "plain old" Leopard.
I am thinking on these lines on the, perhaps irrelevant, basis that one cannot revert to an older system than that originally installed.
Can anyone who has understood what I am trying to get at possibly "point me in the right direction", "put me out of my misery" or in simply tell me I am talking a load of rubbish and that this scenario does not/will not apply.
Looking forward to any - yes any - suggestions. Regards. Mike

Mike your problem will be finding a new Mac of any variety that does not have Snow Leopard installed. Perhaps some large third party retailer may have some pre-Snow Macs in stock, but Apple has been drawing the supply chain down in anticipation of the Snow Leopard release so there won't be that many out there.

There has been a flurry of application updates this past weekend after the developers got their hands on a release copy of Snow but the places you are most likely to encounter problems are drivers, third party preference panes, utilities, plug-ins, and GUI modifiers.

Whatever you decide, my BH suggests talking to your BH in terms of what she is most afraid of losing. Is it access to her information or her sense of competency in what she is doing. Then work on that. The day will come sooner rather than later that AppleWorks will no longer be viable for her.

Hi Joe
Thanks to you and your BH.
I think my BH is suffering, unnecessarily, from both points made, as she usually manages to adapt when the time comes.
In hindsight, I'm thinking that I am probably doing her a bit - only a bit - of a dis-service/injustice and am just trying to clarify a few things in advance in my own mind.
There, what an admission.
So, in conclusion (hopefully), am I right in "assuming" that one couldn't revert to Leopard on a SL installed machine. Also, is/will Appleworks be a no-no under SL?
Thanks again to the dynanic duo. Regards. Mike

Until Apple releases a hardware refresh, Minis should still be downgradable to Leopard.

Thanks Doni.
Thats a piece of good (and bad) news. Possibly damned if I do and damned if I don't.
Regards. Mike

Of course that's a "should" not a definitive. Historically Apple usually only changes firmware and/or EFI (bootable) support if they release a hardware refresh, which is something they not-coincidentally often do with the release of a new OS. (Maybe the Sept 9 "Apple event" will coincide with a minor hw refresh?) However, that doesn't mean this time around they won't cripple the firmware and/or EFI of new boxes that roll off the assembly lines to limit Leopard support immediately. It's just an educated guess that they won't go out of their way to do that.

Point taken. Thanks again. Regards. Mike

Well, I've done the dirty deed and ordered a macmini from one of the UK's top stores (John Lewis) who had 3 left in stock, so, hopefully (seems a strange word to use I suppose) it will come without SL. Also they give a free 2 year guarantee.
Now I just have to get my head around transferring stuff across. I know it should be straightforward, but the way BH's existing computer is set up, that probably won't be the case. However, in order not to incur the wrath of the mods, I am going to open a new topic called, excitingly, something like "Migrating from PPC to new macmini". See you there?
Regards. Mike

In an entry on their Weblog, Unsanity stated that FruitMenu was under revision for Snow Leopard.

Of course they said that a month and a half ago and if the experience with Leopard is any indicator it'll be another 10 months before there's actually an update. I moved on last time to Butler which does the same thing (only in it's own menu and not the Apple menu) and more for free and I heard works with Snow Leopard.

> I moved on last time to Butler which does the same thing (only in it's own menu and not the Apple menu) and more for free and I heard works with Snow Leopard. (Emphasis added)

Just to clarify... Butler is $18 (suggested) donationware (that I consider to be so important to my computing experience that I've made additional donations to match its cost to that of more expensive, less important software I've purchased).

Note: I just noticed that the Butler site does not specify $18, but the "About Butler" window in my 4.1.6 installation does.

I couldn't find much of anything on that wikidot page.

FWIW, one of the better SL compatibility "charts" i've run into is over at >MacInTouch<