After the 2006 WWDC, the world is a buzz with news about Apple’s new OS, Leopard. Leopard, Apple’s follow up to OS X Tiger, is designed to take advantage of the new Intel chipset and boosts tons of new features and improvements. Scheduled for release in Spring of 2007, Apple isn’t saying too much right now, but here is what we know about it so far.
- Enhanced 64-bit support - Leopard beefs up on Tiger’s 64-bit support, allowing Leopard to handle the latest 64-bit apps while still giving you compatibility for all of the 32-bit apps you already have.
- TimeMachine - A new backup system that automatically backs up and tracks your files. Time Machine now makes it easy to regularly back up all of your photos, music, and documents. Not to mention, it even allows users to restore to previous versions of a particular file or take a snap shot of your entire system.
- Spaces - Apple’s new virtual desktop application, makes switching between multiple desktop windows a breeze. No longer will you have to manage tons of various applications all on one desktop instance. You can keep your Web browser and email application open within one desktop and your image or video editing application on another, and switch between them easily.
- Mail 3 - Gets new features including notes and to-do items matching Mail up better with Microsoft’s Outlook. Also included are HTML Stationary templates that you can use to create invitations, newsletters, and journals.
- iCal - Thanks to the newly added support for the CalDAV standard, iCal aims to be the calendar/event application of choice for personal and business users alike. Post group calendars to the internet with ease, allow different users to manage event calendars, and a new scheduling feature tells you who is available and who has conflicts during your proposed meeting time.
- Bootcamp - The new version will come imbedded with the new OS, giving you the option to boot back and forth between OS X and Windows XP. This feature is very attractive for someone on the fence that can’t decide between going the PC or Mac route. Microsoft beware!
- Core Animation - Gives Mac developers a new way to create computer animations for their programs. Developers can use Core Animation to add complex animations to their application’s User Interface without sacrificing performance.
- Spotlight improvements - Spotlight gets Boolean searching enhancements making searching across your Mac easier and faster. Plus Leopard’s version of spotlight give you the ability to search across network folders allowing you to find that file you have on your other Mac downstairs.
- iChat - A couple cool new features are added including video backdrops for your video chats, screen sharing, remote desktop control, and Theatre session that allows you to give a slide show presentation to another user or groups of users.
- Dashboard - Dashboard now gives you the ability to create your own widgets with the new bundled Dashcode software. Plus, by utilizing Safari’s Web Clip feature, you can now create a widget based around snap shots of your favorite websites.
All of these new features coupled with the new Intel Xeon processors makes Apple’s OS more attractive than ever. Users can now get the stability of the Mac without losing the ability to run their favorite Windows applications natively. What a shame we’ve got to wait until the Spring to get our hands on it! You can check out all of the action live from the keynote.
