Mac OS X 10.5 is the best OS ever written for the vast majority of consumers, according to Edward Mendelson at PC Magazine on Wednesday. Leopard was characterized as startlingly fast, brilliantly streamlined and packed with conveniences and innovations.

Mr. Mendelson spent three months with Leopard and concluded that while Linux is a treat for propeller heads and Vista will have its share of devotees (once SP1 is out), Mac OS X 10.5 is the most polished and easiest to use OS.

The author looked at networking with PCs, which had some wrinkles that were mostly worked out in 10.5.2 and finally more reliable than in Tiger. He also pointed out that Time Machine, while really easy to use, doesnit do well with large database files that change often, like Entourage mail.

Later in the review, Mr. Mendelson raved about Appleis e-mail program, improvements to the Preview app and the improved Stack management in 10.5.2. The author also pointed out how easy it is in virtualization mode to just double click a Windows application and have it appear in a Mac OS X Window. "If youire in the market for a new machine, itis time to look seriously at a Mac, especially now that all Macs can run Windows along with OS X," he said.

Mr. Mendelsonis conclusion was particularly notable. In the Internet age with complex networking and media files, an OS has to have certain characteristics, and Leopard fills the bill.

"Leopard again raises the question of whether to switch from Windows to a Mac," Mr. Mendelson summarized. "Iive found Vista to be a major disappointment that tends to look worse the more I use it. I still use Windows XP for getting serious work done in long, complicated documents. But OS X is easier to manage and maintain and I vastly prefer OS X to Windows for Web-browsing, mail, and especially for any task that involves graphics, music, or video. Leopard performs all such tasks even better than previous versions did—and Leopard is the only OS on the planet that works effortlessly and intuitively in todayis world of networked computers and peripherals.

"Leopard is far from perfect, but itis better than any alternative, and itis getting harder and harder to find good reasons to use anything else." [Emphasized text by TMO.]

Thatis exactly what Macintosh customers have been saying for years. Itis notable that even PC Magazine now recognizes that and has consistently panned Vista compared to Mac OS X.