Apples new operating system for the Macintosh – Leopard is finally here.

After an unanticipated delay because of the iPhone, is Leopard finally worth the wait? Should you go out and purchasing a copy right now? Having done so myself, I must say that the answer is a resounding yes.

Take for example how easy it is to upgrade. Leopard comes in one box. One version. For any Mac built in the last few years. You simply load the DVD – click a few buttons, and bam. There are no configurations with drivers, or updates to be done beforehand. It is a single step process that seamlessly keeps everything you had before and adds a smorgasbord of new features. But thats not enough.

Leopard adds automatic backups for any computer connected with an external hard drive. Relatively inexpensive, these drives are a safe, reliable way to make sure if anything were to happen photos, movies, music, emails, and more there is always a spare copy. Included with this is the ability to “move through time” with the backups using one of Apples newly designed programs that can bring back accidentally removed data at any point. With Leopard, there is no excuse to not have a backup.

While adding new features that please both computer novices and technical minds alike, Leopard provides an attractive upgrade to any existing Macintosh owners. With the addition of a unified operating system, productivity applications such as multiple desktops, and an improved Finder, the price of the operating system seems minute to everything that it comes with. Apple touts “300 new features” and while one may never use all of them, the ones they will use make it a worthy addition.

In a conversation I had with another computer user, I explained to them how I was going to buy Leopard as soon as it came out. “Shouldn’t you wait for all the bugs to get fixed before you buy it?” I was asked.

My point here is not to start an operating system war, but I simply must say that using Leopard reminds me of why we all use computers in the first place. Computers are supposed to make tasks easier, with minimal effort. Using Leopard has brought me back to the feeling of such, without the struggle and frustration I put into my work before I switched. There is a reason Apple is making strides in the computer industries, and Leopard is simply one of them.