Karl just blogged about installing OSX 10.5 Leopard on his Mac. And I began to leave a comment on his post – but realized it’s a full blog post. So here’s what I think…

I was excited as anyone about Leopard. I was hoping to use it as justification to buy a new Mac. But after reading the reviews, I have to say it looks like a waste of time. It’s no secret that Apple moved their top developers onto the iPhone two years ago and this seems to be reflected in the sad lists of improvements that are popping up everywhere.

Let’s have a look:

• Spaces? Okay. Much appreciated, but Linux was doing that in 1999.
• The stacks look cool. But apparently they’re not so user-friendly. I’m eager to play with them.
• Time Machine? Is this a joke? Even Apple themselves are calling it a giant leap backward. I already have a system back-up.
• And according to Dave Winer, the new menu bar is hard to read and he wants the old one back.
• But this takes the cake: Spotlight is now a calculator? MacWorld mentions this in the paragraph after they list the “big changes”. This is 2007 – why wasn’t Spotlight already a calculator? Only Steve Jobs could make people pay for this.

I think I knew Leopard was going to be a disappointment when Walt Mossberg put Steve Jobs and Bill Gates on the spot by asking them (I paraphrase): “Are we going to see anything truly new any time soon? Basically, it’s been twenty years and we’re still using Windows 3.1.” and Steve and Bill just sat there uncomfortably looking at their shoes.

But no problem – between Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Reader, Picnik, and Google Notebook – I think we’re seeing some truly exciting OS developments. Sadly, not on the Mac.

I just read the brilliantly-written Ars Technica review of Leopard that everyone is linking to: “If Apple is going to make mistakes, let them be made in service of a truly daring design.”

Nicely put.

Here’s what I think is a poor cover. I saw this image all over the place when the book was released and I wasn’t remotely interested. It’s got a big, boring font and a dull symmetric design – there’s nothing at all to even hint at the beauty that’s inside.

Anyway Night Fisher is really good. Apparently Johnson did this when he was very young – and it’s fantastic. To be honest, I’m not sure what the story is about. It’s Johnson’s first book and it feels like he’s working through something he needs to – and he’s entitled to that. Something to do with evolution on the Hawaiian islands as a metaphor for immigration. Maybe I’m wrong – in which case I just sound ignorant – which I often am.

But the illustration is fantastic – and that’s what kept me immersed; Johnson’s life drawing is so natural and real, it feels heavily referenced. I don’t really care though. He just has a beautiful insight into the way people move and react subtly. I think I read somewhere that he studied with David Mazzucchelli (Batman: Year One), which makes perfect sense. There is a similar energy in their work.

Here’s one of my favourite panels. I love the angle.