Apple's Mac OS X Leopard operating system is the newest toy for early technology adopters, but users will have to do some extra tinkering in order to use it on Penn's wireless network.
While Leopard, officially released on Oct. 26, lacks the "must-have" cachet of some Apple products like the iPhone, certain tech-savvy students have been quick to upgrade.
"I love shiny new things," said College senior and Apple campus representative John Kneeland when asked why he took to upgrading with such haste.
But being on the cutting edge of technology has a price.
Leopard users at Penn have reported having problems connecting to AirPennNet, the University's wireless network, Information Technology rechnical director Michael Lazenka wrote in an e-mail. The problem, he added, amounts to only "a subset of user population at Penn."
College House Computing associate director Marilyn Spicer, who oversees the computer labs and Information Technology Assistants in all College Houses, added that "there are problems with any OS that's brand new," and that Penn is working out those kinks with Apple.
Students who have encountered networking issues with Leopard should visit the Penn Computing Web site for a manual solution.
Still, Apple users are excited about the product and its capabilities.
"It's already saved my hard drive once," said Kneeland, a former blogger for The Daily Pennsylvanian, referring to a feature called TimeMachine that allows users to restore previous states of their computers.
"It's really snappy, quick and in your face," added Engineering senior Nick Lupinetti.
Lupinetti admitted that he "tends to hang back and see what the word is like on the street" when it comes to new software, but that he and his friends pitched in for the multi-license Family Pack version of the software.
He particularly likes a feature in the mail program that automatically turns dates mentioned in e-mails into calendar appointments.
Leopard, officially known as Mac OS 10.5, is the sixth iteration of Apple's OS X operating system.
Apple boasts over 300 upgrades for Leopard, including retouched graphics and improved search capabilities.
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