Leopard — A Qualified Yes

I upgraded because my main computer, a two year old Power Mac G5, was showing signs of imminent failure, enough such that I started pricing a new Mac Pro. The problem being that Leopard was just released and the Mac Pros are rumored to be due for a new model in mid-November. So it made no sense to buy a new machine right away. As an interim measure I cloned and swapped out the main hard drive for a new one, added a bit of memory, and am keeping my fingers crossed. It had run stable for two years but started experiencing frequent kernel panics, started dropping internet connectivity several times a day (such that it required re-setting the DSL modem and router), and had other problems. With the new drive those seem to be resolved.

Upon reflection I realized I didn't want to go through both a switch to a new machine and an OS upgrade simultaneously, so after a bit of experimentation with Leopard on my MacBook, and after updating all those applications on the Power Mac to be Leopard compatible that could be, I upgraded using Archive and Install. Everything went smoothly except my sound recording software didn't work at first (Yikes!), but some tinkering fixed it. And Mail has had a few glitches I've had to work around. That's about it. If you read the Apple forums there seem to be some real horror stories out there — take them with a grain of salt: I suspect most people will have a fairly easy time with an upgrade. I've had no significant issues with Leopard on my iBook G4, my MacBook, and my Power Mac, but, I reiterate, making a backup copy of your current drive should be standard procedure.