Apple has launched Mac OS X Leopard, the newest version of Apple's operating system, to the general public.
Apple retail employees welcomed Leopard customers with a standing ovation and T-shirts. The first 500 people in line at retails stores were given T-shirts to mark the occasion.
Apple's web site counts more than 300 new features in Leopard, and some of them will make iMacs and MacBooks much more fun to use.
Apple's web site counts more than 300 new features in Leopard, and some of them will make iMacs and MacBooks much more fun to use.
One of the important new feature is 'Time Machine', an automatic back-up system, which has garnered a lot of attention for its simplicity. With an external hard drive, Macs will automatically back everything up. If the computer crashes, the entire system can be restored with Time Machine's record. Owners of Windows machines need to purchase extra software, like Norton's $70 Ghost, to get a similar result and almost nobody does.
Many of Leopard's features meet Apple's user-friendly reputation, including a desktop search system called Spotlight that quickly and thoroughly finds words in documents, e-mails or past visited Web pages based on a few keywords. Windows' slow and limited search function is notorious.
Many of Leopard's features meet Apple's user-friendly reputation, including a desktop search system called Spotlight that quickly and thoroughly finds words in documents, e-mails or past visited Web pages based on a few keywords. Windows' slow and limited search function is notorious.
Apple new user-interface innovations include Cover Flow, a feature Windows users might recognize if they've downloaded iTunes or have a video iPod. Cover Flow is a way of paging through documents like a flipbook. The files look like their contents, rather than like icons. Rather than opening up each file, you can breeze through a stack of photos until you recognize the one you're looking for.
With a built-in version of Boot Camp, Apple users can turn Leopard off and switch to Windows when they need a change.
With a built-in version of Boot Camp, Apple users can turn Leopard off and switch to Windows when they need a change.
Leopard needs to run on a Mac with at least an 867-MHz PowerPC G4 chip. Leopard will also run on Intel based Macs. Users will additionally need at least 512 MB of memory on their computers and 9GB of available disk space to run OSX Leopard.
Apple is now taking online orders for the software. A single user upgrade pack is priced at $129.00, while a Family Pack good for five installations costs $199. Leopard will also ship pre-installed on the full range of high-end Macs.
Apple is now taking online orders for the software. A single user upgrade pack is priced at $129.00, while a Family Pack good for five installations costs $199. Leopard will also ship pre-installed on the full range of high-end Macs.
