Apple tech support publishes Snow Leopard FAQ's

Snow Leopard is available internationally now, attracting positive reviews and seemingly delighting customers with its speedy nature.

In conjunction with the release Apple has published a selection of tech support documents detailing certain functions within the new OS, including new features, startup problems, and printing tips.

Mac OS X v10.6: About incompatible software

This advises as to which applications are known to have incompatibilities with Snow Leopard.

“Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard is designed to protect your Mac from certain incompatible software that can quit unexpectedly or cause other issues in Mac OS X v10.6.

“When you install Snow Leopard or migrate to Snow Leopard, known-incompatible software is moved to a folder named Incompatible Software on your hard drive.

“Snow Leopard also prevents known-incompatible software from opening. If you see an "Incompatible software" message, contact the software’s vendor or visit their website for a later, compatible version.”

Mac OS X v10.6: About Sync Diagnostics assistant

The Sync Diagnostics assistant lets you collect information about a sync as it occurs, and email diagnostic information about that sync to Apple. This can be useful in diagnosing and troubleshooting issues when synchronizing data with MobileMe, your iPhone, or a third-party mobile device via iSync.

Mac OS X v10.6: About the Battery menu bar extra for portable Macs

This tech support page details and describes the features of the improved battery menu in Snow Leopard, including the all-new “Replace Soon” battery replacement warning.

Mac OS X v10.6: Printer and scanner software

Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard includes software for many printer and scanner models.

This article lists software provided for printers and scanners. This software can be installed from the Mac OS X Install DVD, and updated by using Software Update (some models have software available through Software Update only).

The report also links to the full list of printer models supported in OS X.

Mac OS X v10.6: Mac 101 – Printing

A step-by-step tutorial for how to install a printer or use the new "nearby printers" feature in Snow Leopard. Also covers printing to PDF.

Mac OS X v10.6: After installing, Mac still starts up into Mac OS X v10.4 or v10.5

“After installing Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard on a Mac that already has Mac OS X v10.4 or Mac OS X v10.5 installed, the computer may continue to start up in Mac OS X v10.4 or v10.5. “This may indicate an issue with your Snow Leopard installation disc or DVD drive.”

Mac OS X v10.6: About gamma 2.2

Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard uses a gamma value of 2.2 by default. In versions of Mac OS X prior to 10.6, the default system gamma value was 1.8. Using the capabilities of ColorSync, the gamma value of 2.2 is automatically applied and seamlessly transitions your display, images and videos to the new gamma value.

Mac OS X v10.6: About Wake on Demand

With Mac OS X you can share your music, printers, files, and even your screen with other computers on your network. Previously, in order for items shared by your Mac to always be available, you had to configure your Mac to never go to sleep.

With the new Wake on Demand feature in Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard and an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule, you can see and access shared items even if that Mac is asleep. This helps you save energy and reduce costs while still ensuring full access to all your shared files and devices, even remotely across the Internet.

Mac OS X v10.6: Unable to use third-party screensaver

“When attempting to install, preview, or run a third-party screen saver in Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard on a Mac that has a 64-bit processor, you may see this alert: "You cannot use the screensaver (NAME) on this computer. Contact the developer of this screen saver for a newer version."

Boot Camp 3.0, Mac OS X 10.6: Frequently asked questions

This article contains answers to common questions about Boot Camp, including new features within Boot Camp 3, such as: Read Mac Volumes Support for advanced features on Apple Cinema displays Improved tap-to-click support Command line version of the Startup Disk Control Panel.

Mac OS X v10.6: Digital camera RAW formats supported

Learn which digital camera RAW files are supported by Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, or later.

Mac OS X v10.6: Mac 101 – The Dock, Dock Exposé, and Stacks

Learn about The Dock, Dock Exposé, Dock menus, and Stacks in Mac OS X v10.6 and later. New in Snow Leopard is Dock Exposé: When you click and hold an active application icon on the Dock, Dock Exposé shows you a thumbnail of every open window for an application, regardless of the Space your application windows reside in or minimized application windows. Just click the Window tile you would like to work on and it will instantly appear.

Mac OS X v10.6: Mac 101 – Finder and the desktop

This report describes all the changes in the Finder and Desktop. Snow Leopard’s Finder has been completely rewritten and is faster and more responsive. It also includes an enhanced icon view with live file previews, so you can thumb through a multipage document or even watch a QuickTime movie.

Snow Leopard also improves the reliability of ejecting discs and external drives

Mac OS X v10.6: Using Microsoft Exchange 2007 (EWS) accounts in Mail

Potentially one of the more important tech support notes, this article offers instructions and troubleshooting advice for adding Exchange accounts to Mail.

Installing QuickTime Player 7 on Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

Apple now offers the older version of QuickTime as an optional install for Snow Leopard, which includes the much-improved QuickTime X which comes with a new QuickTime Player.

“Should you need it, a Snow Leopard-compatible version of QuickTime Player 7 is also available for use with older media or with existing AppleScript-based workflows. QuickTime Player 7 can be used to playback formats such as QTVR, interactive QuickTime Movies, and MIDI files. Also, it supports QuickTime 7 Pro registration codes for access to QuickTime Pro functionality.”

Media formats supported by QuickTime Player in Mac OS X v10.6

This report explains all the various video and audio formats supported in the latest versions of QuickTime on Snow Leopard.

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