Apple's Snow Leopard rumored to be Gold Master
The latest build of Snow Leopard, Apple's upcoming operating system, is rumored to be the "Golden Master," or final copy before the product will be released for duplication on optical media.
Build 10A432 has been seeded to developers, and French Web site Mac 4 Ever has reported that the latest version is the final build, suggesting the product could be pressed onto discs very soon. The latest version of OS X is due to be released in September, but Apple has not announced an official date.
Mac OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard is priced at $29 for the single user license and $49 for the five-license family pack. The upgrade prices are available for users of the current version of Mac OS X, 10.5 Leopard. Snow Leopard will only be available for Mac users on Intel-based computers.
Also available is Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard. Priced at $499, Leopard Server is said to be the most significant improvement to the server operating system since Mac OS X Server was launched. Amazon is also selling box sets with Snow Leopard, featuring the OS, iWork and iLife for $169 and the five-license family pack, iWork and iLife for $229.
To create Snow Leopard, Apple said its engineers focused on refining 90 percent of the more than 1,000 projects in Mac OS X. New features include:
A more responsive Finder
Mail that loads messages 85 percent faster and conducts searches up to 90 percent faster
Time Machine with up to 50 percent faster initial backup
A Dock with Expose integration
A 64-bit version of Safari 4 that boosts the performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine by up to 50 percent and is resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins.
The all new QuickTime X, with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video to YouTube, MobileMe or iTunes.
Half the size of the previous version and frees up to 6GB of drive space once installed.
For the first time, system applications -- including Finder, Mail, iCal, iChat and Safari -- are 64-bit, and Snow Leopard's support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance, and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications.
With the Snow Leopard Up-to-Date program, many customers who bought an Apple computer this summer will qualify for an even cheaper upgrade. Customers who purchase a qualifying new Mac or a qualifying Apple Certified Refurbished computer on or after June 8, 2009 that does not include Mac OS X Snow Leopard can upgrade to Snow Leopard for $9.95 plus tax. To participate, your completed order form must be postmarked or faxed within 90 days of the date of your purchase of the qualifying Mac or by December 26, 2009, whichever is earlier.
For more on Apple's upcoming operating system, read AppleInsider's extensive Road to Snow Leopard series.
Build 10A432 has been seeded to developers, and French Web site Mac 4 Ever has reported that the latest version is the final build, suggesting the product could be pressed onto discs very soon. The latest version of OS X is due to be released in September, but Apple has not announced an official date.
Mac OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard is priced at $29 for the single user license and $49 for the five-license family pack. The upgrade prices are available for users of the current version of Mac OS X, 10.5 Leopard. Snow Leopard will only be available for Mac users on Intel-based computers.
Also available is Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard. Priced at $499, Leopard Server is said to be the most significant improvement to the server operating system since Mac OS X Server was launched. Amazon is also selling box sets with Snow Leopard, featuring the OS, iWork and iLife for $169 and the five-license family pack, iWork and iLife for $229.
To create Snow Leopard, Apple said its engineers focused on refining 90 percent of the more than 1,000 projects in Mac OS X. New features include:
A more responsive Finder
Mail that loads messages 85 percent faster and conducts searches up to 90 percent faster
Time Machine with up to 50 percent faster initial backup
A Dock with Expose integration
A 64-bit version of Safari 4 that boosts the performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine by up to 50 percent and is resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins.
The all new QuickTime X, with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video to YouTube, MobileMe or iTunes.
Half the size of the previous version and frees up to 6GB of drive space once installed.
For the first time, system applications -- including Finder, Mail, iCal, iChat and Safari -- are 64-bit, and Snow Leopard's support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance, and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications.
With the Snow Leopard Up-to-Date program, many customers who bought an Apple computer this summer will qualify for an even cheaper upgrade. Customers who purchase a qualifying new Mac or a qualifying Apple Certified Refurbished computer on or after June 8, 2009 that does not include Mac OS X Snow Leopard can upgrade to Snow Leopard for $9.95 plus tax. To participate, your completed order form must be postmarked or faxed within 90 days of the date of your purchase of the qualifying Mac or by December 26, 2009, whichever is earlier.
For more on Apple's upcoming operating system, read AppleInsider's extensive Road to Snow Leopard series.
Comments
edit: let's not be so open about copyright infringement here.
I just hope this OS is what they say it is, and not just smoke and mirrors. With all the attention given to the iPhone and its OS, I get a little worried. But I guess for 30 bucks, one can't complain too much if it bombs out a lot for the first few point updates. As long as we don't have the file deletion errors, or the current networking shared drive problems, then I'll be happy with a 30 dollar upgrade.
Can someone tell me i Snow Leopard will run a 64-bit kernel in a MBP with a 2.2 GHz core 2 duo? I have the one with the Santa Rosa chipset, and I cannot confirm this anywhere.
Core 2 Duo = 64bit
Core Duo = 32bit
Aka: The first gen of MBPs are 32 bit only.
Can someone tell me i Snow Leopard will run a 64-bit kernel in a MBP with a 2.2 GHz core 2 duo? I have the one with the Santa Rosa chipset, and I cannot confirm this anywhere.
Core 2 Duo = 64bit
Core Duo = 32bit
Aka: The first gen of MBPs are 32 bit only.
The ability to run the 64-bit kernel is based on more than having a 64-bit CPU. MacBooks and MacBook Pros with only the Nvidia IGP will not have the 64-bit kernel option, and i don?t think older MBPs will get the option as well.
Woohoo.....time to torrent when leaked!
Hopefully you are just making a joke about getting it ASAP. If not, it is only $29.00 and we should be rewarding Apple for selling it so cheaply by buying it legally.
Hopefully you are just making a joke about getting it ASAP. If not, it is only $29.00 and we should be rewarding Apple for selling it so cheaply by buying it legally.
Yeah hopefully, but not really. They can make their money elsewhere.
Wonder when they dump Intel in favor of another chipmaker?
Yes maybe they can call up Transmeta.....wait they are gone. Bitboys Oy!? Nope. Ummm, yeah Intel is the only game in town unless they want to look into AMD. I really wished that PPC was as scalable as Intel's chips are. PPC was so much better from an internal plumbing standpoint.
The ability to run the 64-bit kernel is based on more than having a 64-bit CPU. MacBooks and MacBook Pros with only the Nvidia IGP will not have the 64-bit kernel option, and i don?t think older MBPs will get the option as well.
Wait- this is what I've got:
GeForce 8600M GT:
Chipset Model
Type
Bus
PCIe Lane Width
VRAM (Total)
Vendor
Device ID
Revision ID
ROM Revision
Will I get a 64-bit kernel?
Yes maybe they can call up Transmeta.....wait they are gone. Bitboys Oy!? Nope. Ummm, yeah Intel is the only game in town unless they want to look into AMD. I really wished that PPC was as scalable as Intel's chips are. PPC was so much better from an internal plumbing standpoint.
It was as scalable, maybe more, but there was no interest.
Yes maybe they can call up Transmeta.....wait they are gone. Bitboys Oy!? Nope. Ummm, yeah Intel is the only game in town unless they want to look into AMD. I really wished that PPC was as scalable as Intel's chips are. PPC was so much better from an internal plumbing standpoint.
AMD is making solid chips, these days.
I'm not a big fan of Intel from a business standpoint - they've done some pretty despicable things to get where they are today. I'd love to see AMD and Apple collaborate.
AMD is making solid chips, these days.
I'm not a big fan of Intel from a business standpoint - they've done some pretty despicable things to get where they are today. I'd love to see AMD and Apple collaborate.
AMD is well behind Intel. Also, Apple has learned from their experience with IBM that they need a steady supplier. I hope they never move to AMD. They don't even make their own chips anymore. They are going to suffer from that.
I know Mac Pros have 64-bit EFIs since early 2008, but do any Apple laptops have 64-bit EFI?
I'm having a tough time deciding between the $29 version and the bundle. I bought Leopard for my Tiger system, so it has an old version of iLife and I also purchased iWork08. The box set is a good deal, but I don't know if I would get enough value out of it The new iPhoto features would be nice, but $29 is such a low price.
I'm planning to get the basic $29 upgrade when it comes out, and then buy the box set in January '10 (or whenever the next iThing updates arrive). By then the first few point releases of SL should be rolled into the newer DVD, and I can have a single disc for all my Apple apps. It will probably be the last disc they press until 2011.
The ability to run the 64-bit kernel is based on more than having a 64-bit CPU. MacBooks and MacBook Pros with only the Nvidia IGP will not have the 64-bit kernel option, and i don?t think older MBPs will get the option as well.
Maybe I'm just dumb or something, but as long as your motherboard supports the 64-bit features of your CPU (and the CPU is 64-bit), it should be able to run a 64-bit operating system. All other hardware is supported at the driver level.
Now, I'm new to Macs having just bought my first one a few weeks ago, but this is how it works on the PC/Windows side.
AMD is making solid chips, these days.
I'm not a big fan of Intel from a business standpoint - they've done some pretty despicable things to get where they are today. I'd love to see AMD and Apple collaborate.
Intel still bests AMD with notebook-grade chips, which is what Apple mostly uses, and I doubt that AMD could keep up with what Apple?s bulk needs of the exact same chip, so I see nothing that looks like Intel will be pushed out anytime soon.