The New Spotted Creature Lurks

Leopard arrives tomorrow. Even though this is an evolution, not a revolution, I can hardly wait.

Yes, I’m not the sysadmin type, with the pocket protector and the neck beard, who waits until it’s “safe” to install a new operating system. I’m the impulsive, geeky, shiny new thing admirer, so bite me.

I’ve lived through alphas, betas and RC’s of everything from Microsoft Office to Windows XP to Omnifocus to Firefox to Safari, etc., etc. I’ve enjoyed some spectacular crashes – all of them in the Windows environment so far, but I’ve never lost a single document or photo because of new software.

Truly, the only tears I’ve shed, have been tears of joy.

Friday morning, sometime before 10:30am, I expect FedEx to deliver Mac OS X 10.5. Shortly thereafter, I’ll usher in the next level of a computing experience that has amazed and pleased me to no end since I switched to the Mac in December, 2005.

Ahead of the transition to Leopard comes the most important work, and this holds true whatever your platform or OS.

• Backup: This is a regular procedure, or should be; it’s a mandatory procedure when upgrading an OS. I backup to two external hard drives every couple of weeks. This is the general backup that includes everything – photos, music, movies, documents. I also backup all my documents daily using Amazon’s dirt-cheap, yet rock solid S3 service. JungleDisk automates this process. My photo, movie and music collections grow over time, but change infrequently; my docs change much more often, and JungleDisk offers an incremental backup option to S3. After Leopard arrives, I’ll have an additional layer of security with hourly backups through Time Machine. However, I’ll continue daily incremental backups of docs to S3; and I’ll add SuperDuper, which has all kinds of backup capability, to automate the regular on-site backups, as soon as it’s ready for Leopard.
• Applications, Plugins: I go for the erase and install option because I like giving my computer a shower before it puts on new clothes. And unlike 97% of users, I enjoy reinstalling everything. Tonight, I’ve opened my Applications folder, and I’ve taken a screenshot of everything in it. I’ve also taken a screenshot of all my Firefox plugins. Those pics get tucked away until tomorrow afternoon, when I start downloading and reinstalling my preferred programs. Why don’t I clone the drive or create a disk image? That works, but I like putting each book back on the shelf. It’s kind of fun, it’s relaxing, and I use the opportunity to evaluate which programs are no longer useful.
• Passwords, Software licenses: I use 1Password to manage passwords, licenses, autofill, etc. Keychain data exists in my backup, so the OS’s database just gets imported back in. But after seeing several recommendations for 1Password, I’ve started using it and have been hooked by the portability of my data across browsers, as well as the improved stability of that data – browser crashes occasionally take password files down with them.
• Software Preferences: most of the time, I recreate these as I reinstall software, but some things, like my favorite places in Google Earth, are easier to grab as one chunk, so I reach into my backup drive and lift out a few pref files for import. Saves time.

The first app I reinstall: Quicksilver – Nicholas Jitkoff’s indispensable tool. I’ve become so dependent on launching programs, searching, and executing commands using the keyboard, that if it’s not installed, I look kind of stupid trying to engage the phantom program.