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Mac OS X 'Snow Leopard' to Focus on Performance, Quality
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Half of "speed and stability" sounds like "bugfixes" to me. The other half sounds like an opitimization of a few specific parts of OS code, not reworking "from the ground up." In any case, I'm sure Apple will have more than just this to offer if this release is still a year away. Heck, whatever happened to ZFS?
How would you know? You don't have Leopard. Though if you can wait another year and are fine now that's cool too. I just love the Calendar read/write benefits from Calendar Store in Leopard and wouldn't want to go back to not having this feature. Though it depends on how much your life is integrated with a Calendar.
AND, Stabilizing and speeding up the OS very well may enable new functions in the applications. I'm sure we will see new features in iLife and the pro apps that take advantage of Snow Leopard. And that's what most customers care about.
Can we please, please stop with the propagating of these baseless rumors of Apple multitouch tablets and having it integrated in the next version of OS X. Yes, we have it in the iPhone, and yes, Windows has demonstrated it in their coffee table thing, but it is not a proven desktop or laptop technology. Besides wishful thinking, there is no reason to think they will include it as of now. Apple's stated that they are pausing on adding new features, this automatically discounts multitouch.
I don't know why people are complaining about the name either, there's nothing wrong with it, and it's completely appropriate for a stability release. It's an evolution of Leopard; Snow Leopard fits perfectly.
Some things I'm curious about:
1. Will Snow Leopard require users to have Leopard installed to upgrade? I currently run Tiger and would love to skip straight to Snow Leopard if it's possible.
2. Will 10.6 feature a change in the desktop appearance, as Leopard changed from Tiger? I'd be receptive to a change that breaks away from the flashy gloss and metal textures used in Leopard to something cleaner, fresher...maybe spotted.
3. Does Apple seriously plan to charge the full amount for an OS upgrade when that upgrade amounts to not much more than a service pack? I'd be willing to pay the $69 student price if it's released before I graduate next year, but I'm guessing it'll get pushed back to October (just as Leopard was). Maybe Leopard owners won't be expected to pay the full $129?
- ZFS
- Resolution Independent UI
Apple has never ever spoken of ZFS publicly, but others have and it is clear HFS has had its day. They also have the open source port underway.
Apple has definitely spoken of Resolution Independence. They said 2008 is when we expect to be ready.
Interestingly there was no mention of either in the press release by Mr Serlet.
- Resolution Independent UI
Apple has never ever spoken of ZFS publicly, but others have and it is clear HFS has had its day. They also have the open source port underway.
Apple has definitely spoken of Resolution Independence. They said 2008 is when we expect to be ready.
Interestingly there was no mention of either in the press release by Mr Serlet.
This indeed is a good thing. Leopard is the best operating system out there that is accessible to the regular person.
Apple's pausing the feature building, will enable them to create a much faster and better platform.
After 10.5 came out I truly feared that Mac OSX was going the way of windows. Namely adding features instead of optimization.
Not so long ago hardware needed to catch-up to software. Now it is the other way around. We have 64 bit multi-core processors, but there isn't a single piece of normal software (I know their is scientific software) that takes full advantage of the power these new chips give us.
So the further optimization of Mac OSX is truly a very good thing. They need to slim the beast down.
I for one applaud Apple for taking this step, I know that sounds like ass kissing, but we all know it needs to be done, not the ass kissing of course, Steve pays people to do that for him
Apple's pausing the feature building, will enable them to create a much faster and better platform.
After 10.5 came out I truly feared that Mac OSX was going the way of windows. Namely adding features instead of optimization.
Not so long ago hardware needed to catch-up to software. Now it is the other way around. We have 64 bit multi-core processors, but there isn't a single piece of normal software (I know their is scientific software) that takes full advantage of the power these new chips give us.
So the further optimization of Mac OSX is truly a very good thing. They need to slim the beast down.
I for one applaud Apple for taking this step, I know that sounds like ass kissing, but we all know it needs to be done, not the ass kissing of course, Steve pays people to do that for him
I skipped Leopard. I've had no issues that would require me to upgrade, and other than Time Machine the extras don't matter to me. I'd be paying $129 for an OS that does nothing except eat up 10 GB more of hard drive space. I was planning on holding out until something forced me to upgrade (e.g., software compatibility), but now that Snow Leopard is slated for 2009, I'll wait for it.
If it's really x86 only, it would be nice if Apple stopped shipping universal binaries for every executable in the system.
If it's really x86 only, it would be nice if Apple stopped shipping universal binaries for every executable in the system.
Oh please...iLife applications have always been the extra icing on the cake, not the substance. Any new Mac customer is going to be happy with their iLife applications no matter what version they are. And Pro Apps like FCP and Adobe CS3 have always been held separate, with few if any benefits from upgrades to the OS (and in the case from Tiger to Leopard, perhaps disadvantages, as far as compatibility is concerned).
Color me happy and impressed. I will gladly pay for and optimized OS X; that is optimized for multi-Intel processors. I look forward to the speed of it all and a snappier Safari experience. Love the name too, it does not always have to be about guts to be about glory.
...and the Mini. Do not diss the Mini. Its next iteration will also have integrated graphics.
Quiet you. These are the sorts of things that like to go into the photocopier. Please set the way back machine to before you opened your big yap.
What did Jobs say last year? New OS every 20-24 months?
I don't want a yearly OS. Useless. Especially now with the computers slowing in progression. Apple is fading from macs to iphones, in terms of development and upgrade. The home is tied down, now for the road.
OSX has become a hulking load of trivia since OSX 10.3, so they should get it trimmed down back to what it was originally: a basic, useful, fast OS. All the goofy little helpers should be added at the expense of the user and able to be edited out to speed up OS for those who don;t need them.
I don't want a yearly OS. Useless. Especially now with the computers slowing in progression. Apple is fading from macs to iphones, in terms of development and upgrade. The home is tied down, now for the road.
OSX has become a hulking load of trivia since OSX 10.3, so they should get it trimmed down back to what it was originally: a basic, useful, fast OS. All the goofy little helpers should be added at the expense of the user and able to be edited out to speed up OS for those who don;t need them.
"Snow" Leopard
Perhaps, maybe, just perhaps, Apple chose Snow Leopard because it's the same as Leopard, but only cleaner...?
Either way, enough with the name. If only Microsoft had done something like this back with windows 98 (windows 98 SE), maybe Windows wouldn't have sucked so much.
And yes, I am a fanboy. But how can you not be once you taste the kool-aid.
Perhaps, maybe, just perhaps, Apple chose Snow Leopard because it's the same as Leopard, but only cleaner...?
Either way, enough with the name. If only Microsoft had done something like this back with windows 98 (windows 98 SE), maybe Windows wouldn't have sucked so much.
And yes, I am a fanboy. But how can you not be once you taste the kool-aid.
Mistakes happen
Leopard was a let-down without a doubt. However, at least Apple is working to make a better product. I am really happy with Leopard's features so taking the time to make it actually work is fine with me. It should be discounted to current Leopard users however!
Leopard was a let-down without a doubt. However, at least Apple is working to make a better product. I am really happy with Leopard's features so taking the time to make it actually work is fine with me. It should be discounted to current Leopard users however!
piss off apple
Leopard is full of bugs. Now they want to release a new OSX which introduces very little new features but "improved performance" just to make more money. The performance is fine if it doesn't crash all the time. Stability improvements should be free upgrades to an OS because of previous f**k ups.
Leopard is full of bugs. Now they want to release a new OSX which introduces very little new features but "improved performance" just to make more money. The performance is fine if it doesn't crash all the time. Stability improvements should be free upgrades to an OS because of previous f**k ups.
Ummm... So they are charging us for "speed and stability"? Other people call these Service Packs.
...Liquid Leopard, Solid Leopard, Diamond Leopard, Ruby Leopard, Emerald Leopard... They're all fine with me.
Personally, I like the Snow Leopard name. It's awesome. I am actually still running Tiger, so everything is new to me.
It's a year off, relax.
I can not believe people are discussing price and complaining ... complaining!
I can not believe people are discussing price and complaining ... complaining!
Does quicktime x mean they are going to provide proper support for codecs like WMP does? That would be a miracle. No more unstable and featureless VLC player for MKV. OS X has NO good options for video playback, not a SINGLE good option at all. Apple needs to stop making quicktime such a half assed piece of garbage and actually put some effort into it like iTunes, I hope this "quicktime x" isnt another 1990's disaster of a program.
By "other people" you mean Windows? Windows calls them service packs because they are a band-aid for what ails them. Apple, on the other hand, is working out the bugs, weaknesses and flaws, then reissuing a full new CLEAN OS instead of putting band-aids on a bad system. Let Windows keep their band-aids to themselves.
Once the system has been refined, Apple will have a clean base to build in new features not already mentioned as being a part of Snow Leopard. Additionally, Apple is famous for adding much more than they let on in pre-release info.