Hi, I'm Michael Mistretta, a teenager passionate about technology, photography, and God. Welcome to my online home where I write about technology, reviews, and my thoughts and opinions on technology-related matters. 
I’ve been keeping a close eye on the ‘Snow Leopard’ rumors as they’ve circled around the web today. Cory Bohon over at TUAW broke the news this morning:
TUAW has received some information that suggests Apple may be working to seed developers with an early build of Mac OS X 10.6 at this year’s WWDC. 10.6 will not include any new significant features from 10.5; instead, Apple is focusing solely on “stability and security.”
We have also learned that OS X 10.6 may go gold master by December 2008 in an effort to start shipping it in January ‘09 at Macworld Expo. Mac OS X 10.6 will be a milestone release for Apple, as it will leave the PowerPC behind: a fully 64-bit clean, Intel-only Mac OS X.
‘Snow Leopard’ has been the topic of many heated debates today. I’ve been most interested in the posts on the MacRumors forum regarding the 10.6 rumor. Comments ranged from: “Does it make sense to do a speed and stability upgrade only? That sounds like a 10.5.X, not a 10.6!” to “Steve Jobs needs to go sooner than Ballmer if he things that is a good move.” to my personal favourite “It’s NOT GOING TO BE Snow Leopard.”—I recall hearing something similar to that in January regarding the MacBook Air…
First, let’s clarify a few things:
- This is a rumor. None of this is confirmed.
- ‘Snow Leopard’ is a codename.
- “Speed and stability” are not the only new features—Snow Leopard is said to be ‘pure cocoa’ as well.
- ‘Pure Cocoa’ does not mean abandoning all Carbon APIs. Apple may only axe the Carbon UI stuff.
- Giving PPC users all the features of Leopard and giving Intel users a “speed and stability” boost is not Apple abandoning their loyal customer base.
- Steve Jobs: “I’m quite pleased with the pace of new operating systems every 12 to 18 months for the foreseeable future”
I was very skeptical about this rumor at first, but as it has developed throughout the day, pieces have fallen into place. The Snow Leopard upgrade may very well be the last version of OS X. It’s a chance for Apple to tie up all the lose ends in the OS before they move on to even greater things—OS 11.
Think of all ‘loose ends’ in OS X. The Finder, FTP, Quartz GL, Resolution Independence, ZFS, etc. This is Apple’s chance to fix the integration and interoperability of their OS, as well as optimize it for the computers/devices on which it will run.
Snow Leopard could mark the end of the Intel transition. Why should the people going out and buying a Mac today have to deal with the bulk of code in OS X and third-party universal binaries? It would make much more sense to have a leaner, faster, more-optimized version of OS X running on those machines. Apple increasingly needs to slim down OS X for it’s growing lineup of mobile devices—iPhones, iPod Touches, MacBook Airs, and possibly a Mac Tablet.
If this rumor is true, and Apple is working on an Intel-only, leaner, faster, more reliable version of OS X, I have to give props to the people over at Apple. This is something that Microsoft has never done, and has put them into the hole they are today with Vista. Feature-ridden bloated code is no solution for an OS. Sure, there will be some unhappy devs, but in the long run, this decision will prove it’s worth to both Apple and their user-base.
The Future for Apple
If Apple seeds developers a beta of Snow Leopard at WWDC next week, it could give us a glimpse of what Apple has planned for the future—both hardware and software-wise. Possibilities include:
- An all-Intel iPhone and iPod Touch
- Beating Microsoft to the game with a multi-touch Mac at Macworld 2009.
- A free—or next to free—upgrade in January for all Intel Mac users that will improve the performance of their systems.
- Resolution Independence, ZFS, and a tabbed fully Cocoa Finder.
- Improved battery life across all portable devices.
- Cocoa updates to iTunes(8?) and Final Cut Pro.
- OS 11—Intel & Cocoa only—slated for a late 2010 release.
Exciting times are ahead for Apple and the Macintosh. It will be interesting to watch how Apple markets Snow Leopard, and the real-world performance gains from leaning the OS. I want to publicly ask Microsoft to stop their photocopiers, and refrain from pulling any stunts like ‘Snow Vista’. Please Microsoft, no.
Not to toot my own horn, but I talked about this on Appletell before anyone else. I do think 10.6 will be the last of OS X. Mac OS Touch will be a more advanced OS X, with a completely different end user experience. And it will be coming soon.
http://www.appletell.com/apple/comment/106-and-then-no-more-hope-so/
Comment by Adam Fisher-Cox — June 4, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
I too have been watching these rumours, but I’m not quite as convinced as you seem to be on things. Particularly the whole PPC argument, I think it’s too soon to drop them, particularly the late G5’s. They are still very capable machines.
You do make one very interesting point, which i can see being true, but also confirms to me that this release would not be purely Intel, instead it would be the last PPC/Universal version of the OS. If Apple use this release as the final version of Mac OS X, prepping it for bigger and greater things as OS 11, it seem the ideal opportunity to use it as the way to tie-up the PPC life.
In short, if this does happen, I don’t think it will be Intel only but I do think it will be the last PPC compatible version. This would leave OS11 to close the door on PPC and push forward on innovation and the Intel platform.
Comment by Phil Bowell — June 4, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
I do not feel that any of this is true (I hate rumors…). Although, i did also say that the Macbook Air wasn’t going to exist. So, yeah I could be wrong about that. *If* it is true, then it will be a great release … hopefully not expensive though .. I did just have to buy Leopard after all…
I will not comment on the future of Apple, as I believe that thinking that far ahead serves no purpose.
Dear Apple, release whatever you want. Just please, please change the name to something that isn’t Snow Leopard. Thanks.
Comment by David — June 4, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
I like how you added in the Cocoa Final Cut Pro, Michael.
That won’t happen, though. Too many people are used to the current interface (including me) and even like the way it looks (also including me).
On a different topic, what do you think about iTunes 8?
Comment by Kevin Stauss — June 4, 2008 @ 7:03 pm
@Phil
My one argument against that would be that Apple wants the fastest, most stable OS possible on the machines shipping over the next few years as they work on Mac OS 11. That may mean dropping PPC support in “Snow Leopard”. But the features on both the Leopard G5s and the Snow Leopard Macs will be the same—except Snow Leopard is optimized for Intel. Cleaning out the old code and making way for the transition to a whole new OS.
Comment by Michael Mistretta — June 4, 2008 @ 7:35 pm
The death of my MacBook Pro today is probably an omen that I’ll be buying a new Mac next week.
Comment by Mike Cohen — June 4, 2008 @ 8:17 pm
If 10.6 is going to be an optimized and more efficient version of Leopard then Apple should at least get rid of the last remains of the old Aqua interface to provide a visible change. Also, if this rumor is true they shouldn’t charge $129 for it. Maybe around $20-$50. Mac OS 11 should be saved for a huge change in the OS design such as a completely multi-touch GUI designed only for the hands.
Comment by Sheridan Haskell — June 4, 2008 @ 10:10 pm
I think that along with the speed and stability we will also see some small new features rather than a big main feature. OS 11 sounds quite exciting and as they are half way through OS X it would make sense to tie up loose ends. Very nice post and some very good idea Michael.
Comment by rmaspero — June 5, 2008 @ 1:22 am
i believe under the hood changes to the OS are just as valuable as changes that are visible. if this upgrade will mean that we have much better use of all processing available to us then that justifies the cost imo
Comment by gm — June 11, 2008 @ 6:23 am
A pay-for service pack? I’ve had to defend OS X releases against people who label them as such but in this case I’m going to have to join in. I’m personally fine with them tying up loose ends but it should be free and it should done as point releases between 10.5 and 10.6.
Comment by web design company — June 14, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
It’s not a service pack at all. It lays the groundwork for tons more features, speed, etc. in upcoming OSes.
Comment by Adam Fisher-Cox — June 14, 2008 @ 3:33 pm