Mac OS X 'Snow Leopard' to Focus on Performance, Quality
After the Worldwide Developers Conference Keynote today, Apple previewed OS 10.6 "Snow Leopard." True to rumors, the release will focus on performance rather than new features.
A new technology called "Grand Central" will make it easy for developers to create programs that take full advantage of the power of multi-core Macs. Also introduced is Open Compute Library (OpenCL), which extends the computing power of the GPU to any application written with OpenCL commands. Snow Leopard will also raise the software limit for RAM to 16 TB.
Also introduced is Quicktime X, which "optimizes support for modern audio and video formats resulting in extremely efficient media playback." Safari will also be receiving an optimized Javascript rendering engine (previously rumored) that will increase performance by 53%.
Beyond speed enhancements, Snow Leopard will also include out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange 2007. Apple is aiming for the software to ship in "about a year."
Other announcements made at WWDC include 3G iPhone, 2.0 Firmware, SDK, MobileMe.
Update: Apple posted a Snow Leopard page on their website.
We have delivered more than a thousand new features to OS X in just seven years and Snow Leopard lays the foundation for thousands more, said Bertrand Serlet, Apples senior vice president of Software Engineering. In our continued effort to deliver the best user experience, we hit the pause button on new features to focus on perfecting the worlds most advanced operating system.
A new technology called "Grand Central" will make it easy for developers to create programs that take full advantage of the power of multi-core Macs. Also introduced is Open Compute Library (OpenCL), which extends the computing power of the GPU to any application written with OpenCL commands. Snow Leopard will also raise the software limit for RAM to 16 TB.
Also introduced is Quicktime X, which "optimizes support for modern audio and video formats resulting in extremely efficient media playback." Safari will also be receiving an optimized Javascript rendering engine (previously rumored) that will increase performance by 53%.
Beyond speed enhancements, Snow Leopard will also include out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange 2007. Apple is aiming for the software to ship in "about a year."
Other announcements made at WWDC include 3G iPhone, 2.0 Firmware, SDK, MobileMe.
Update: Apple posted a Snow Leopard page on their website.
Top Rated Comments
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48 months ago
Quicktime X sounds like it's going to leverage GPU based decoding. Well we would hope so.
48 months ago
Ha! an admission of poor QC, coding and bloat on Leopard!
I dont want a new feature unless it ESSENTIAL, and not fluff
Make a fast, stable rock solid OS that we can all be proud of as Steve leaves the companyy
I dont want a new feature unless it ESSENTIAL, and not fluff
Make a fast, stable rock solid OS that we can all be proud of as Steve leaves the companyy
48 months ago
I really like the fact that Apple is focusing on optimizing and slimming down the OS rather than keep trying to add features. Cutting down on the bloat might really help speed things up and make Safari snappier ;)
48 months ago
I think they are skipping the fact that this is all optimized for Tablet type devices and all the Macs will have multi touch on screen soon.
48 months ago
that NDA lasted long didn't it?
This info is from an apple press release. I assume there's more info that they're not releasing publicly, but I assume it will leak before long.
48 months ago
about a year, this is soooooo long from now. obviously great their working and playing with it, but not even on my scope of things to think about!
48 months ago
Pricing? This is coming out a year from now.. they haven't even figured out the final feature set.
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