First off, let me get this part out of the way. With Leopard, the user won’t see major changes like the jump from one Windows’ OS to the next. This is partly due to Apple releasing updates to OSX more frequently than Microsoft and Windows. As a rule, the cost of OSX updates are less than half of Windows updates. So if you’re expecting a leap in visuals like the upgrade from Windows XP to Vista, you might be somewhat disappointed. Apple has taken a “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to the graphical interface of Leopard. The same basic functionality of Tiger is still there, but what Apple has done with Leopard is still very pleasing.

Leopard is the most user-friendly operating system I’ve seen on any computer. Almost all changes and additions to the user interface increase productivity even more than before and allow faster browsing through all your files. A new feature call Quicklook allows you to quickly view, open, and browse all kinds of videos, music, PDFs, images and even documents without opening a single program. It’s one of those features you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

When browsing files in Finder, users now have the option to look at the contents of a folder in Cover Flow view, much like iTunes. When used along with Quicklook, browsing any type of multimedia becomes a faster and more enjoyable experience.

The dock is now the all-in-one starting place for everything on your system. Stacks allow you to quickly expand any group of files located in any folder you want to quickly access (like applications) directly from your dock. Other than some nice new eye candy, the dock hasn’t changed that much, but it wasn’t broke in the first place.

Spaces enables users to have multiple desktops to work between. While this isn’t by far a new idea, it’s handled very well and works smoothly since it’s built right into the OS.

Many experts agree the main appeal of Leopard hasn’t been seen yet. Apple has changed a lot of OSX’s inner workings with Leopard and therefore developers haven’t had time to create software to fully utilize it. Using Core Animation, another new feature, developers will be able to create increasingly intuitive software for users.

Here’s a quick run-down of other things I like and don’t like in Leopard.
+ It’s smoother, if not faster, than Tiger. Seems like apple has fixed the “spinning ball of doom” somewhat.
+ Everything you see is classy without being hokey.
+ Programs running under Rosetta (Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, and Diablo II in my case) seem to be more responsive while being emulated.
+ The install was painless.
+ Most programs that I used before didn’t need an upgrade.
- Like I said before, not much has changed visually. More options for visual preferences would be great, but I’m assuming someone will make a hack for all of it soon.
- Word is, Leopard doesn’t work nearly as well on Power PC Macs as it does on Intel based ones. Then again, Apple is pushing very hard to make all Mac platforms Intel based.