Courtesy of OSWeekly.com

(Column) - While I’ve been testing Leopard, it’s been made clear to me even more so than before that there is a lot to love about OS X. Those of us who use it to have our favorite features of functionality and design, and as a former 24/7 Windows user, I just don’t understand how someone could compare Windows and OS X and pick Windows anymore. For me, the game is over, and Apple has won.

Oddly enough, one of the endearing things about Leopard is made clear as soon as the installation process is underway and then completed. Yes, before you even use Leopard for the first time, you’ll love something about it, and for all of you Windows users out there, you may need to sit down for what I’m about to say: the install is simple and there’s no activation.

It’s funny how different my experiences were when I installed Vista and Leopard. With Vista, I already wasn’t happy with the product before it had even fully installed itself on my computer, and activation pitfalls aren’t always pleasant to deal with. In contrast, Leopard simply installed itself on my Mac and then helped me get started immediately without any activation or the need for complex registration and licensing headaches. Previous versions of OS X have also been like this, but since Vista has complicated things for Windows users, the simplicity of Apple’s install process has become even more worthy of mentioning.

Apple OS X Leopard: First Impressions

For consumers, there is only one version of Leopard, which makes it easy for people who don’t know anything about operating systems to get what they want. Apple sells a single-user package and a Family Pack that enables you by license alone to install the operating system on up to five computers in the same household. Could you technically install the single-user version on five (or more) computers if you really wanted to? Since there’s no activation or license key that needs to be entered, you sure could, although it would be against the terms of the license, which is a legal agreement.

Is the point here that people with multiple Macs in their home should buy the single-user copy of Leopard and install it on every Mac in sight? Obviously not. Apple has trusted us to use the OS as they’ve intended, and to be quite honest, that’s flattering. You and I both know that people are going to abuse that trust in the same way that they do when they go against Microsoft by using illegal copies of Windows, but Apple cares so much about a clean installation that they’re willing to hope for the best, and in turn, they’ve made their installation process far superior compared to Windows in every way.

As a software developer, I understand the importance of software licenses, and if I’m presented with two similar software titles that have somewhat similar licenses, I’ll choose the option that makes it easier for me to use the software without regularly being confronted with the technicalities of the license. When it comes to commercial operating systems, Leopard is this option.

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