Snow Leopard API's Finalized, A Step Closer to Release?

[MacRumors]

One tidbit that we failed to mention during our coverage of the newest Snow Leopard Mac OS X 10.6 developer release last Friday is the fact that it appears that Apple has stated that no further application programming interface (API) changes are planned for Snow Leopard. There was some debate in our mind if this referred to the entirety of Snow Leopard or a subportion, but others have interpreted it as the entirety of Snow Leopard.

The API's are the hooks that developers use to take advantage of the various features of Mac OS X. If true, this means developers can feel comfortable moving forward with their own applications with less concern that a future version of Snow Leopard will break their applications.

Apple is expected to release more information about Snow Leopard at WWDC next month. The release of Snow Leopard is expected roughly mid-year.

Article Link: Snow Leopard API's Finalized, A Step Closer to Release?

[kidtronix]

Have we seen anything of Marble yet?

[bedifferent]

Seems as though Snow Leopard is moving faster than 10.5.7.

[NT1440]

Originally Posted by kidtronix

Have we seen anything of Marble yet?

Assuming the rumors are true, i bet apple will keep it undder wraps until WWDC to give the "normys" something to drool over

[MikhailT]

API is just a part of the OS, it doesn't really mean that the whole OS is finished in terms of new coding. They are most likely in the refactoring/stability/optimization stage of the development after the new code/feature implementations/phototyping stage.

[InTheUnion]

Ok does this still mean a September or October release or sooner? August?

[bobbleheadbob]

Sign me up. I'm upgrading on Day One!

[Peace]

Originally Posted by MikhailT

API is just a part of the OS, it doesn't really mean that the whole OS is finished in terms of new coding. They are most likely in the refactoring/stability/optimization stage of the development after the new code/feature implementations/phototyping stage.

In otherwords it's gone from "Alpha" to "Beta"

[MikhailT]

Originally Posted by Peace

In otherwords it's gone from "Alpha" to "Beta"

More like Pre-Alpha to Alpha.

The first Beta will be the WWDC build.

[Kilamite]

September 2009 release I'd guess.

I don't think we'll see it in time for WWDC.

[MikhailT]

Originally Posted by InTheUnion

Ok does this still mean a September or October release or sooner? August?

It means absolutely nothing. We'll know a little bit at the WWDC.

I don't want Apple to rush to beat W7 release (Most likely Oct also) but I rather they just take all the time they need to make it really awesome at launch but I am betting Apple is doing a lot of analysis on the W7 release because there is one very important question that Apple has to answer. That is, if SL is ready shortly before the W7 release, when should Apple release it? Before, After, how long after?

Originally Posted by bobbleheadbob

Sign me up. I'm upgrading on Day One!

Heh. I'll be upgrading the week after the first day to make sure there are no major bugs that'll cause data loss.

[qubex]

Next month is mid-year. The last sentence of the article must be wrong.

[solipsism]

There was some debate in our mind if this referred to the entirety of Snow Leopard or a subportion, but others have interpreted it as the entirety of Snow Leopard.

I don't understand what the Apple Insider link on 'others' has to do with the following comment about the entirety of SL. They very clearly state that it's just a freezing of the API changes.

[MrCrowbar]

Originally Posted by MikhailT

It means absolutely nothing. We'll know a little bit at the WWDC.

I don't want Apple to rush to beat W7 release (Most likely Oct also) but I rather they just take all the time they need to make it really awesome at launch but I am betting Apple is doing a lot of analysis on the W7 release because there is one very important question that Apple has to answer. That is, if SL is ready shortly before the W7 release, when should Apple release it? Before, After, how long after?


Heh. I'll be upgrading the week after the first day to make sure there are no major bugs that'll cause data loss.

I got my (10.5) leopard in the mail a few hours before street date and installed it on an external hard drive to play around with it a bit, checking which applications (system hacks, etc.) work well with it and which didn't. After a week or two I transitioned everything over from Tiger to Leopard. Importing iCal and especially all my e-Mails was a bit messy, I recommend trying it all out before you commit to the new OS.

Anyway, I'm just waiting for Snow Leopard to get a new Macbook that will last me 3+ years like this one.

[MikhailT]

Originally Posted by qubex

Next month is mid-year. The last sentence of the article must be wrong.

Mid year isn't a single month, it's the mid part of the year. June-Sept.

Originally Posted by solipsism

I don't understand what the Apple Insider link on 'others' has to do with the following comment about the entirety of SL. They very clearly state that it's just a freezing of the API changes.

I think they are not sure whether it is just the Grand Central APIs that are completed or all APIs are completed.

[qubit]

The way I read it, it was referring only to the API for Grand Central Dispatch, since it was mentioned in the same paragraph and under the heading of changes to the GCD APIs.

[Battlefield Fan]

come on please be released sometime before the start of July!

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by MikhailT

I think they are not sure wither it is just the Grand Central APIs that are completed or all APIs are completed.

Originally Posted by qubit

The way I read it, it was referring only to the API for Grand Central Dispatch, since it was mentioned in the same paragraph and under the heading of changes to the GCD APIs.

Thanks for the reply and being civil toward my poor reading comprehension.

[macguysoft]

Cool! I've heard a lot about SL updates but nothing much at all about it's speed. I'm guessing it has to do with the NDA agreement. Can't wait for WWDC. I wanna see how much of an improvement it will be.

[zub3qin]

Can someone explain what is so new about Snow Leopard?

It seems to me that there won't be any significant new features in this OS.
So how is Apple going to convince the user that they must get this new release?

Sure, there are a lot of under the hood changes- but to the avg computer user, they won't know or care. Things like interface, visual effects, features, are what sells the OS to the normal user.

So what is Apple up to? My guess that 10.6 is all about getting a small footprint "complete" MacOS (unlike iPhone OS X) onto a small piece of hardware- maybe a netbook/touchscreen device.

Here is what Apple says about Snow Leopard:
"Taking a break from adding new features, Snow Leopard — scheduled to ship in about a year — builds on Leopard’s enormous innovations by delivering a new generation of core software technologies that will streamline Mac OS X, enhance its performance, and set new standards for quality. Snow Leopard dramatically reduces the footprint of Mac OS X, making it even more efficient for users and giving them back valuable hard drive space for their music and photos."

Why do we care about footprint/disc space in this era of cheap hard-drives? As of today, a fully functional OS 10.5 takes only about 5 Gb (without iLife). Maybe they want to get the whole OS on a chip, and not take up too much flash memory on their new device with the OS, allowing you more space for "music and photos".....





Why

[dagamer34]

Originally Posted by zub3qin

Can someone explain what is so new about Snow Leopard?

It seems to me that there won't be any significant new features in this OS.
So how is Apple going to convince the user that they must get this new release?

Sure, there are a lot of under the hood changes- but to the avg computer user, they won't know or care. Things like interface, visual effects, features, are what sells the OS to the normal user.

So what is Apple up to? My guess that 10.6 is all about getting a small footprint "complete" MacOS (unlike iPhone OS X) onto a small piece of hardware- maybe a netbook/touchscreen device.

Here is what Apple says about Snow Leopard:
"Taking a break from adding new features, Snow Leopard — scheduled to ship in about a year — builds on Leopard’s enormous innovations by delivering a new generation of core software technologies that will streamline Mac OS X, enhance its performance, and set new standards for quality. Snow Leopard dramatically reduces the footprint of Mac OS X, making it even more efficient for users and giving them back valuable hard drive space for their music and photos."

Why do we care about footprint/disc space in this era of cheap hard-drives? As of today, a fully functional OS 10.5 takes only about 5 Gb (without iLife). Maybe they want to get the whole OS on a chip, and not take up too much flash memory on their new device with the OS, allowing you more space for "music and photos".....





Why

This is what a new UI is supposed to alleviate. Quite pathetic, yes, but it will work for most people. Besides, I doubt Apple is not going to add ANY new user features, but they definitely won't be the focus or as numerous as Time Machine, Spaces, and the new Finder were in Leopard.

However, piecing together what has been put into Snow Leopard from leaked screenshots in the Developer Builds, there's still definitely small user features that people will appreciate when they install the OS. And also, I expect within 18-24 months for a lot of CPU/GPU intensive apps to require Snow Leopard because of Grand Central and OpenCL. Supporting two different codebases to separate out major features like that is suicidal for most development houses.

In the close future, I can easily see the 64-bit version Final Cut Pro requiring Snow Leopard. They'll just let the 32-bit code base die out while the 64-bit version gets updates. It'll also officially mark the death of PPC Macs.

[MikeTheC]

I'm very interested in Snow Leopard myself, but it may be some time before I am able to run it at all. However, my interest extends beyond merely my having hardware suitable to running it. It extends into the technologies behind it themselves, their implementation by Apple, and their adoption and implementation by others (e.g. Linux).

This should be a very interesting next couple of years in the technology world.

[Bevz]

Originally Posted by zub3qin

Can someone explain what is so new about Snow Leopard?

It seems to me that there won't be any significant new features in this OS.
So how is Apple going to convince the user that they must get this new release?

Sure, there are a lot of under the hood changes- but to the avg computer user, they won't know or care. Things like interface, visual effects, features, are what sells the OS to the normal user.

So what is Apple up to? My guess that 10.6 is all about getting a small footprint "complete" MacOS (unlike iPhone OS X) onto a small piece of hardware- maybe a netbook/touchscreen device.

Here is what Apple says about Snow Leopard:
"Taking a break from adding new features, Snow Leopard — scheduled to ship in about a year — builds on Leopard’s enormous innovations by delivering a new generation of core software technologies that will streamline Mac OS X, enhance its performance, and set new standards for quality. Snow Leopard dramatically reduces the footprint of Mac OS X, making it even more efficient for users and giving them back valuable hard drive space for their music and photos."

Why do we care about footprint/disc space in this era of cheap hard-drives? As of today, a fully functional OS 10.5 takes only about 5 Gb (without iLife). Maybe they want to get the whole OS on a chip, and not take up too much flash memory on their new device with the OS, allowing you more space for "music and photos".....





Why

I don't know why, but I'm hoping you're right when you talk of the reasons apple will require an OS with a small footprint... Makes perfect sense to me!

[libertyforall]

So is Blu-Ray movie playback support in there somewhere? How about Blu-Ray movie authoring? ;-)

[t0mat0]

Originally Posted by zub3qin

Can someone explain what is so new about Snow Leopard?

It seems to me that there won't be any significant new features in this OS.
So how is Apple going to convince the user that they must get this new release?

Sure, there are a lot of under the hood changes- but to the avg computer user, they won't know or care. Things like interface, visual effects, features, are what sells the OS to the normal user.

Do you mean normal Apple user?

The under the hood changes will affect the interface, visuals, features. you've answered yourself