Snow Leopard + Python = :)

[update 14-Sep-09]
Macports + python26 has been patched and is working correctly. The only issue left which is easy to work around is virtualenv. I install pretty much everything in the virtual environments and just leave the tricky or base packages to macports so here are the select packages that get installed via macports, and which now install nicely.

port install python26 
rinse and repeat for python_select (then python_select python26), py26-pip,  py26-fabric, py26-pil, mercurial, git-core

Finally to workaround a virtualenv snow leopard bug in 1.3.3 easy_install-2.6 virtualenv==dev + don't forget virtualenvwrapper.

I prefer to use macports + python26 + virtualenv but the python26 port is broken at the moment. There are documented workarounds which gets it up and running but I was still missing the _locale module which in turn broke the mercurial port etc etc.

In the interim I thought I'd use the default x64 2.6.1 that comes installed, and was pleasantly surprised. For one, they've moved the site-packages to /Library/Python/2.6/site-packages which just seems a better place for it to live. Secondly to kick off installation of a few essential packages such as virtualenv I noticed easy_install is in /usr/bin this time around. That makes me one happy camper.

Beyond python Snow Leopard seems a very subtle upgrade for the user. It seems silly but the new Expose feature showing minimized windows, combined with the minimize to application preference was my number one reason for upgrading.  I enjoy the aesthetics of OSX more than other aspects of it, but minimize was one ui inconsistency which always irritated.

The other thing I really like is the fact there are no serial numbers to input and no forced earlier os requirements - just an intel mac. It's an interesting move which moves the OS to the backseat and makes it all about the hardware and apps. People might say it's only a service pack - which is superficially true, but modest changes for the user make it easier to keep people on the upgrade treadmill, especially when driven by new apps that take advantage of the hidden technologies of Snow Leopard. Microsoft faces an uphill battle to get people to upgrade at their price points. For those that have adopted and survived the initial horror of Vista, it's an expensive ask to upgrade to Windows 7, and for everyone else still on XP Microsoft pretty much expects it's resellers to sell it with a new computer. The only real hope for MS is they can limit the headway of osx now its looking more enterprise ready.