NEW YORK --- While Microsoft Corp. prepares to release the next incarnation of Windows on Oct. 22, Apple Inc. is cutting ahead, launching a new version of its operating system for Mac computers today.
Apple's new Snow Leopard software isn't as big of a step forward from its predecessor as Windows 7 will be from Windows Vista.
The most important changes in the Apple operating system are under the hood, allowing software developers to rewrite their programs to run much faster.
Snow Leopard is a relatively cheap upgrade, costing $29 for an individual user who has Leopard, the previous operating system. A "family pack" for five users costs $49.
For Mac owners using the older Tiger operating system, switching to Snow Leopard costs $169, or $229 for a family pack. That "box set" includes the latest iLife and iWork software for such tasks as movie editing, photo organizing and word processing. Buying the DVD is the only upgrade option for consumers -- you can't download the software.
What's the catch? Well, part of the reason Snow Leopard can promise faster, better applications is that it's designed for Macs with Intel chips, which Apple started using in early 2006. It won't run on older Macs with the previous PowerPC family of chips. The launch of the new operating system is a hint to get a new computer.
SOFTWARE CHANGES
These were some of the most obvious changes that stood out in Snow Leopard:
- The built-in e-mail, calendar and address book applications will support Microsoft Exchange servers. But it supports only the most recent release of Exchange.
- Moving the mouse cursor over a program icon in the "dock" at the bottom of the screen reveals all the windows open in that program, tiled side by side.
- You can make the file thumbnails even bigger.
- The operating system is more compact.
- Ejecting disks should be easier.
- Web browsing and image and document previews should be noticeably faster.
- Developers will also be helped by a new system called Grand Central Dispatch, which makes it easier to take advantage of the multiple "cores" in today's processors.
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