So, I’ve Just Installed Mac OS X: Leopard. Now What Do I Do? (And How Do I Get My iLife Apps Back?)

So, I’ve succesfully installed Apple’s new OS, Leopard, rebooted, and I have in front of me “Aurora,” OS X’s new desktop wallpaper. Striking. My first thought is, new toy. My second thought is, OK, where do I start?

Many of you are more than extremely Mac-savvy. But for those of you who are less experienced, or haven’t been following the Leopard minutae, or are new to Mac OS X, or maybe just never had the patience to tinker with your System Preferences, I’m going to take you, again, as I did with the original Leopard install, step-by-step and show you how I tweak my system to make it more functional, comfortable, and, yes, attractive!

Here’s what I did. Of course, you’ll make your own choices, but it’s good to know all your options.

First, from the Apple menu (top left-hand corner) click on “Software Update.” I wrote about this in Part One. As of this writing, the current version of Leopard is 10.5.1. It’s a good idea to restart your Mac after you’ve installed or updated software. It certainly can’t hurt!

If you have upgraded from Tiger to Leopard, you’ll notice that your iLife apps, like iPhoto, iDVD, IMovie, GarageBand, and iWeb are not included on the Leopard installation. You can purchase iLife for $79, or grab your Tiger installation disks that came with your computer, insert the first disc, and open up the “Install Bundled Software Only” icon.

After you’ve agreed to the software license, click ‘customize,’ and uncheck any of the apps you do not want to install. (The default is to install all the apps.) Click ‘install,’ and get some coffee. This can take a few minutes. You’ll want to reboot once the installation is complete, then head back to Software Update to ensure you are running the latest versions, especially since you’re running Leopard now instead of Tiger.

With any new OS install, or reformat, after updating my software, the first place I go to is System Preferences. This is where you have the greatest impact on making sure your computer works for you. Open System Preferences, (which sits in the Dock, and has a great new icon!) and go through each of the preferences. I’m just moving from top to bottom, so it will be easy for you to follow along. But first, notice that once you click on any of the preferences, there is a question mark in the bottom right corner. Click on it and it will address any questions you have. Apple has done an excellent job of including helpful information. In any program, you can click ‘Help’ in the menu bar, and access a wealth of information. (Alternatively, head over to Apple Support to look for a solution to what ails your Mac.)

Appearance: I change the “appearance” to graphite, just because I prefer it. I like my scroll arrows at top and bottom, but I’m going to try “Together,’ as it should save me some time – if I train myself to only go to one place. (BTW, the less screen real estate you travel, the more time you save. So, keep your windows on the smalller side – be comfortable, but that mouse can rack up a lot of miles!) Also, shareware program Cocktail can place both up and down arrows at the top and bottom of your window.

Click on ”show all“ and open Desktop & Screensaver. If you don’t like the new ‘Aurora’ desktop, you change it here. Thank god Steve got smart about the blades of grass desktop that he introduced at MacWorld. Scary! I’m leaving it set to Aurora but only because I want people at Starbucks to see I have the new 10.5 installed (just kidding.) Actually, I’ll change it when I’ve imported my photos. I have a few desktop images I like better. And I have a folder of images I like for my screensaver, so it will have to get changed later. Leopard offers six new screensavers. I am liking the new ”Word of the Day“ screen saver. And you can have the clock on with your screensaver!

Dock: If you are going to use the dock, (I don’t particularly care for it. There are other options which I will discuss in part three,) set it to automatically hide. More screen real estate. Now is an excellent time to configure your Dock. If you’ve used a Mac before, you know what programs and folders you need the most frequent access to. You can store them here. In the Finder, open your Applications folder and drag and drop into the dock the icon of any application you want quick access to. Place them where ever you want within the dock. You can also click and drag the icons around within the dock. I prefer to keep them arranged by frequency of use, family of use (what apps do I generally use together,) and also, by recognizability. I try to separate icons that look too similar – so I don’t have to think when I choose. Saves time. Also, those apps which I don’t use too frequently, sometimes because I forget that I have them, I store here, just as a reminder. For example, I use Journlr to record my thoughts at the end of the day. Sometimes I forget, so having it there is a helpful reminder. The other important action to take is to remove from the dock those applications you rarely use, and don’t need to be reminded about. Save time- less items to wade through. Perhaps you’re not an online IM person. Click and drag out of the dock ”iChat.“ (The other good thing about removing icons from the dock is they make a cool swoosh sound when you do it!) You can also add frequently used folders and documents to the right side of the dock.

I set my Expose options: the top left corner is set to ”All Windows“ and he bottom left corner is set to ”Screensaver.“ Easy, and I move to Spaces. I’m trying Spaces, and I love it. This is one of the most important productivity enhancements you can make. But here’s why.  I click enable and Show in menu bar. Cool. To add apps to Spaces, you can drag and drop from your apps folder. I’m using Safari (1) Mail (2) iTunes (4) and saving (3) for Ecto, my blogging client. NetNewsWire is on 5, and iCal is on 6.

In International, I like to use a period instead of a forward slash for dates, so I am changing that. Click the ”Formats“ tab, then ”customize.“ I also like to use two digits, like ‘01′ instead of just ‘1′, so I am changing that as well in dates and times. I don’t care for the new drag and drop date elements. For the input menu, I am not adding it to my menubar, but may later. It’s handy when you need quick access to symbols, like a bullet point.

OK. Security. Very important, and yet I hear most folks don’t touch this! You really need to. If I’m working from home, I hate having to login in upon startup or when the screensaver has started. But, I have yet to find a location manager that works the way I need, so I will suffer. Click on Disable automatic login, unless you only use the computer at home, and you live alone, and don’t have a housekeeper or nosy landlord.

Though I rarely use my infrared remote, I will not change the default setting to disable it. For now. I’m not using filevault for now, and until I set up I’m leaving open the firewall until I set up sharing, but you should click to block all incoming connections unless you are going to be creating a network.

I’m not changing any Spotlight options.

Bluetooth CDs & DVDs, and Displays: I’m leaving the default.

Energy Saver: I am not going green here. Under Power adaptor, I am choosing ‘custom’, and setting ‘Put the computer to sleep after 1 hour’ and display to ’sleep’ after 30 minutes. I do not like the issues I have when the hard disk goes to sleep, so I uncheck that box. No need to change defaulted options, so I change to the Battery setting and put the computer to sleep after 20 minutes, and display after 15 minutes. (There is a bug in the Energy saver preferences, and I am in contact with Apple about it. Currently, my screen goes to sleep after 5 minutes of inactivity.)

Keyboard & Mouse: I like a speedy mouse, so I ramp up the tracking to a few notches before fast.

Print & Fax: Will leave until I install software that comes with my printer. (Note: If you have an HP printer, you may have problems installing the HP software. My HP printer software CD is not compatible with Leopard. You can visit the HP site, look for software and driver downloads, or visit this page on the HP site.

Sound: Here’s where you can choose your ‘alert’ sound. I use ‘Funk.’ (More on system sounds in part three.)

Time Machine: Huge. One of the best additions in Leopard. You’ll want to get an external hard drive for this. Do not wait to set this up (see above.)

Date & Time: I suggest you simply choose to ”set date & time automatically.“ Also, click on the ”Time Zone“ tab and click on where you live.

And you’re finished! You’ll find your new OS to be faster and more elegant. It will provide you with more ways to be productive, and, of course, there’s always the option to install Windows as well. Enjoy, and feel free to email me with any questions you have – I’m happy to help!

---

Editorial note: This is the second of a series on installing Mac OS X: 10.5, Leopard. The first part, Live Blogging My OS X Leopard Installation On MacBook Pro. discussed, step by step, minute by minute, what to expect when you install Apple’s new OS X: 10.5/Leopard. This part discusses how to ”tweak“ your new installation of Leopard, via the System Preferences, to increase productivity and comfort. Later, third-party freeware and shareware opportunities will be discussed. And apologies to those who have been waiting for this. My 5 month-old MacBook Pro died! Turns out the Logic Board died. Logic Boards cost $1055. (Extended) AppleCare is a MUST!

---

You may also be interested in:
Chris Pirillo’s Top 100 Mac Apps, And Other Leopard Goodness.
MAC OS X: When Will It Grow Up?
iPhone, AppleTV: MacWorld Keynote Wrapup. Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive, and Apple Rule!

---

I welcome your comments, or, feel free to email me. Why not take a look around? If you like what you see, why not add me to your blogroll? Or, subscribe to my RSS feed? Or both. Thanks.

---

Tags: 10.5, Apple, customize, iLife, Install, Leopard, Mac Apps, MacBook Pro, optional install, OS X, PowerBook, shareware, Spaces, Time Machine, tweak