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Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Review (with video!)

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Software, Videos,

Snow Leopard Review

Mac owners, the time for upgrading is upon as, as Mac OS X 10.6 is now available on a worldwide basis. If you didn’t know that there was a new operating system from today, we wouldn’t blame you, because it’s kind of been released without much fanfare. You see, Snow Leopard is all about fine tuning, refining, and improving upon OS X 10.5 Leopard. It’s a makeover that, at first glance, seems underwhelming because the majority of the changes occur “under the hood” so to speak.

So, what can you expect? Well, if you’ve used an iPhone 3G and an iPhone 3GS, think of it in those terms. They are really pretty much the same product, but the 3GS is much snappier, and has a couple of new features that the 3G doesn’t have, namely a better camera and a compass. Comparing Snow Leopard to Leopard is similar - you get speed, things feel faster, and potential is unlocked for the future, because there are some cool things that third-parties can tap into now.

Not everything is under the hood, though. You will see a few UI tweaks, like Dock Expose, right-click dock menus, Finder icons, and the like. We will cover all of those in more detail, but again, that isn’t the focus here. If you are underwhelmed right now, read on, because there is a lot to be excited about. At the very least, though, understand that upgrading to Snow Leopard will cost you just $29. Now that we have your attention, let’s move on. We’ve got videos for you, after the break.

Click to continue reading Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Review (with video!)


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Have you pre-ordered Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Hot Deals, Software,

‘s next major operating system release, hits stores and doorsteps this Friday, August 28th. That’s at least 4 days earlier than even Apple estimated, as the expectation all along has been that Snow Leopard would see a September release. On Monday, the online Apple Store went down briefly, and when it came back up, Snow Leopard was center stage, announcing a delivery date of August 28th to customers who pre-order, so they’d get it the same day that it hit stores. If you haven’t yet, Amazon has got some nice discounts:

So, how about you? Did you pre-order Snow Leopard? Are you excited about it? Is it no big deal? Let us know, we wanna hear you.


New Mac OS X Snow Leopard Disc Art

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Design, Software,

Snow Leopard Install Icon

First thing we noticed after getting our hands on the latest build ? The new OS X install icon, which is usually indicative of how the disc is going to look. Goodbye purple galaxy goodness, hello big, snowy animal.


Apple Snow Leopard Developer Preview Update 10A432 now available, Golden Master?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,

Snow Leopard 10a432 Golden Master

Progress on ‘s is nearing completion, as the next version of Mac OS X is set for release sometime next month. To that effect, it is widely believed that today’s Developer Preview seed, build 10A432, is the 10.6 Golden Master. One big change from the last few Snow Leopard releases is that this build needs to be installed fresh from a bootable partition or DVD, no more of that Software Update stuff. The download is 6.1GB in size, and if that isn’t telling about the progress of Snow Leopard, we don’t know what is.

It’s almost here - can you feel it?


Mac OS X 10.5.8 now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,

Mac OS X 10.5.8

has just unleashed the latest update to the Mac OS X Leopard operating system in the 10.5.8 update. If you are running Leopard, just fire up Software Update, and the 165MB package will be available for you to download. This will likely be the last 10.5.x update before launches next month. We’ve got a rundown of all the fixes and security updates includes in 10.5.8 after the break, but you can look forward to a Safari update, improvements, and more.

Click to continue reading Mac OS X 10.5.8 now available


Apple releases iPhone OS 3.1 beta 3 build 7C116a

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,

iPhone OS 3.1 beta 3 7C116a

Hey developers, Apple has just released iPhone OS 3.1 beta 3 build 7C116a, and it’s available now in the iPhone Developer Portal now. The download is 307MB. iPhone SDK 3.1 beta 3 build 9M2808 is also available immediately, with different versions for Leopard and . Get to downloaded, and let us know what you find!


Apple Snow Leopard Developer Preview Update 10A421 now available [Updated]

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,

Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10a421

Progress on ‘s continues to roll along, as the company has just released Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Developer Preview Update 10A421. Apple says that Snow Leopard 10A421 includes “general operating system fixes for stability, compatibility, and security.” We will report back when we find some more specifics on improvements in this one. Snow Leopard 10A421 is a 741.7 MB file, and is available now in Software Update if you happen to be running 10A411.

Update: Looks like QuickTime 10 got updated to a new build, and that QuickTime has also picked up a new icon.

Quicktime 10 build 51

Apple Snow Leopard Developer Preview Update 10A411 now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,

Snow Leopard 10A411

Just five days after Apple released Snow Leopard dev build 10A402a, we now have another new release in Developer Preview Update 10A411. This latest update is 748MB in size, and according to Apple, includes “general operating system fixes for stability, compatibility, and security.”  Getting a bit more specific though, a reader on the MacRumors forums has pinpointed a few changes:

  • Dock Expose now previews windows from other spaces.
  • Expose’s animations are very smooth now. I think they sped up the animation, so the user’s perception of the OS is visually faster as well.
  • In the Desktop & Screen Saver preference pane, selecting “Change picture every…” and then “Random Order” does not select a random photo at first—the first photo will always be selected.
  • A bug is still present where applications do not retain proper focus when activating spaces. For instance, this Safari window is in focus, and a Preference Pane is opened behind it. Start spaces—and the pane appears on top.
  • No put back for items trashed from Dock or stacks.
  • Updated QuickTime.
  • Items can now be dragged to trash from stacks.
  • Trashed desktop items no longer fade away.

Once again, the update is available through Software Update, so have at it.


Apple releases iPhone OS 3.1 beta 2 build 7C106c

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,

iPhone OS 3.1 beta

Hey developers, Apple has just released iPhone OS 3.1 beta 2 build 7C106c, and it’s available now in the iPhone Developer Portal now. The download is 320MB. iPhone SDK 3.1 beta 2 build 9M2804 is also available immediately, with different versions for Leopard and .


Apple releases Snow Leopard dev build 10A402a

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Software,

Snow Leopard 10A402

has released another updated developer build of . This time we are looking at Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard build 10A402. If you are running either of the two latest Snow Leopard builds, you can access this update through Software Update. Apple says this build includes “general operating system fixes for stability, compatibility, and security.” The update weighs in at 1.31GB, so go grab a snack. Good luck!


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