Gone, for example, is the old Clean Install option--which moved your existing OS and system add-ons to a Previous Systems folder and installed a fresh copy of the OS, requiring a good amount of tweaking and transferring of files afterward. Instead, Snow Leopard provides a more intelligent installation process that makes such tweaking largely unnecessary. The Erase and Install option is now gone, too (at least as a discrete Installer alternative; see "Simple steps, easy decisions," below).

According to Apple, your Mac must meet the following minimum requirements to install Snow Leopard:

* Intel processor

* DVD drive (or Leopard's Remote Disc feature)