Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 code named "Snow Leopard" - report
Apple is indeed well into the development of Mac OS X 10.6, which the company has internally code-named "Snow Leopard," according to ArsTechnica.
Citing a person familiar with the situation, the technology website confirms several details of the next major Mac OS X upgrade first reported on Tuesday, including a scheduled release as soon as Macworld 2009 this coming January, and that it will not introduce any major new features.
Instead, Snow Leopard is said to focus heavily on performance optimization and security, a move that will in all likelihood widen the gap between Mac OS X and Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system in those areas.
"Things like the MacBook Air, iPhone, iPod touch, and other mysterious devices that have yet to be announced need better performance for better battery life, and that's definitely something Apple wants to excel at in the years to come," wrote Ars' Jacqui Cheng.
Unconfirmed is whether the software will be shown off or discussed at the company's annual developers conference next week. However, AppleInsider in recent weeks has been told to expect discussion of "another big cat" at the event.
Also unconfirmed, but somewhat likely, is that Apple will completely wrap Snow Leopard in its Cocoa application programming interface (API) set, meaning that applications written via the company's legacy Carbon API will fail to run on the new system.
Adding corroboration to an AppleInsider report published last September, Ars adds that Mac OS X 10.6 is expected to support only Intel-based Macs, leaving owners of PowerPC-based systems of yesteryear out in the cold.
Update: Ars updates its report saying: "There may be some disagreement here as to what exactly "Cocoa-only" means, so take that into account when thinking about this. For example, Apple may only axe Carbon UI stuff."
Citing a person familiar with the situation, the technology website confirms several details of the next major Mac OS X upgrade first reported on Tuesday, including a scheduled release as soon as Macworld 2009 this coming January, and that it will not introduce any major new features.
Instead, Snow Leopard is said to focus heavily on performance optimization and security, a move that will in all likelihood widen the gap between Mac OS X and Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system in those areas.
"Things like the MacBook Air, iPhone, iPod touch, and other mysterious devices that have yet to be announced need better performance for better battery life, and that's definitely something Apple wants to excel at in the years to come," wrote Ars' Jacqui Cheng.
Unconfirmed is whether the software will be shown off or discussed at the company's annual developers conference next week. However, AppleInsider in recent weeks has been told to expect discussion of "another big cat" at the event.
Also unconfirmed, but somewhat likely, is that Apple will completely wrap Snow Leopard in its Cocoa application programming interface (API) set, meaning that applications written via the company's legacy Carbon API will fail to run on the new system.
Adding corroboration to an AppleInsider report published last September, Ars adds that Mac OS X 10.6 is expected to support only Intel-based Macs, leaving owners of PowerPC-based systems of yesteryear out in the cold.
Update: Ars updates its report saying: "There may be some disagreement here as to what exactly "Cocoa-only" means, so take that into account when thinking about this. For example, Apple may only axe Carbon UI stuff."
Comments
Also unconfirmed, but somewhat likely, is that Apple will completely wrap Snow Leopard in its Cocoa application programming interface (API) set, meaning that applications written via the company's legacy Carbon API will fail to run on the new system.
This part makes no sense. So no Photoshop? No Final Cut Pro? No Microsoft Office? I really really doubt that.
This part makes no sense. So no Photoshop? No Final Cut Pro? No Microsoft Office? I really really doubt that.
Unless they are going to come out with there own versions of PS, Office, and re-write Final Cut Pro?
Skip
PS But I agree with you, this makes no sense.
Instead, Snow Leopard is said to focus heavily on performance optimization and security
That's the best thing I've heard in years.
It's about time that Apple realised that it has to polish and optimise the Mac OS, rather than adding layers of useless eye-candy.
If this is indeed true, I'll be at the front of the line come 10.6's release...
As someone who came from XP/Vista the release timetables of Mac OS's take some getting used to, back on the PC it was a long time between drinks (like 5 years between XP - Vista), so when Apple say Snow Leopard could be here in January I can't help but think that Leopard just came out yesterday Still, great stuff.
This part makes no sense. So no Photoshop? No Final Cut Pro? No Microsoft Office? I really really doubt that.
Hey get VMWare and run 10.5 in a virtual machine so you can run those old crappy Carbon apps.
I still don't 'get' this rumor.
Please!
It's been under the hood since OS X 10.4! But it never saw the light of day.
Yet it would be such a cool feature which could clearly distinguish OSX hardware from Windows hardware.
Steve, you reading this?
Please!
It's about time that Apple realised that it has to polish and optimise the Mac OS, rather than adding layers of useless eye-candy.
Useless eye candy? I thought that was the domain of Windows Vista, care to show me where it is in Leopard? (Except the shift slow motion)
Edit: Ah, menu bar too, I have mine set to solid, so I did not think of it.
/Adrian
and no ppc or 32bit x86??
Apple better have a $800 - $2100 desktop system like they did back in the PPC days and the imacs screen is not good for photo work as well. The mini is over priced and weak.
also apple has good technology that makes Windows' 32/64bit support look bad so why dump it after one OS release?
education is also still a big user of PPC.
That's the best thing I've heard in years.
It's about time that Apple realised that it has to polish and optimise the Mac OS, rather than adding layers of useless eye-candy.
If this is indeed true, I'll be at the front of the line come 10.6's release...
Yeah, except that it is hard to get people to shell out $99 for "everything is a little better."
Most people think that is what the point releases are for.
Eye-candy and new features are what people (in general) pay for...
1. Apple releases a competitor to Photoshop and Illustrator
or
2. Adobe Updates CS4 to Cocoa
I don't care about MS Office, I rarely use it.
who will pay $129 for no major new features and alot of now working older apps?
and no ppc or 32bit x86??
Apple better have a $800 - $2100 desktop system like they did back in the PPC days and the imacs screen is not good for photo work as well. The mini is over priced and weak.
also apple has good technology that makes Windows' 32/64bit support look bad so why dump it after one OS release?
education is also still a big user of PPC.
We don't know the pricing Joe and if we're talking about January 09 then chances are we have a mini refresh. It's WELL known that you think the mini is pathetic but give it some time.
Apple could certainly do a $69 update to 10.6 and give us the polish and a bit of forward movement that simply would be inappropriate for Leopard.
This kind of uneducated speculation is a hilarious waste of time.
Leopard itself brought massive additions and improvements to both the Cocoa and Carbon frameworks. There are things you simply cannot do in Cocoa, which is why most applications make use of both Cocoa and Carbon frameworks. If Carbon isn't available in 10.6 most Cocoa application won't run.
Although, Apple is more like to kill backwards compatibility than Microsoft.
Could we finally get Resolution Independence?
Please!
It's been under the hood since OS X 10.4! But it never saw the light of day.
Yet it would be such a cool feature which could clearly distinguish OSX hardware from Windows hardware.
Steve, you reading this?
Please!
You can enable it in 10.5 (without installing developer tools) but there are some things that just don't look right. There is stilla lot of work that needs to be done to fix it.
You can check it out by putting the command below into Terminal in Leopard. Exchange the trailing x for any value (up to 3, I think), where one is the default norm. Then log out and then back in to see the changes.
How unfortunate. This Quad G5 is more than capable of lasting through 2012, but Apple wants to give me the shaft. Fuck them.
Could we finally get Resolution Independence?
Please!
It's been under the hood since OS X 10.4! But it never saw the light of day.
Yet it would be such a cool feature which could clearly distinguish OSX hardware from Windows hardware.
Steve, you reading this?
Please!
It's going to take a lot of selling to get customers to buy into a feature that promises to look worse and take a lot more processing power at the same time. I honestly don't understand the hankering for this feature. Unless you have 200dpi displays or like to look at things reeeeally up close it doesn't buy you anything, and just makes stuff less than pixel-perfect.
We don't know the pricing Joe and if we're talking about January 09 then chances are we have a mini refresh. It's WELL known that you think the mini is pathetic but give it some time.
Apple could certainly do a $69 update to 10.6 and give us the polish and a bit of forward movement that simply would be inappropriate for Leopard.
Murch, making Leopard more secure and stable is called a 'point' update. Not a full upgrade.
And if it breaks all the old carbon apps, I don't know why anyone would upgrade. Snow Leopard would make Vista look good.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a preview of 10.6, but I think It'll be a bit different than what is being said at Ars and TUAW. Either you get some major new 'killer' features at the expense of carbon compatibility(and PPC compatibility for that matter). Or you get good backwards compatibility with the addition of few or no new features.