Apple refines Mac OS X Snow Leopard

By: Raghav Kapoor

The enhanced and refined version of this OS will be available from September 2009

MacBook Pro running OS X Snow Leopard

Apple first gave us a preview of Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" at last year's WWDC. This year at the WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) Apple announced that it is going to start shipping an improved and refined version of the operating system from September onwards at a price of just $29 (update for existing Leopard users). Users who will buy a Leopard machine between now and December can get the upgrade for $10 only.

Apple has managed to add quite a few new features to this operating system like the OpenCL technology, which is based on the GPGPU (general purpose graphics processing unit) technology that will allow the GPU to not only render complex 3D graphics but also to run other complex applications a lot faster than the average computer. Another technology called the Grand Central Dispatch makes it easy for all sorts of applications to take advantage of multicore processors and makes the Mac more efficient at handling numerous tasks at the same time, resulting in improved performance. Other important updates to this OS are as follows:

·         The installation process is hassle free and up to 45% faster than the earlier versions. Moreover, the space required for this OS is lesser than the previous version by about 6GB.

·         The trackpad now supports three finger and four finger multitouch gestures and can also handle handwriting recognition. 

·         All core applications are 64-bit.

·         Mail offers almost 85% faster loads and Time Machine has a 50% faster initial backup time.

·         There's built-in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 support in the OS, including Mail, Calendar and Address Book syncing.

·         QuickTime X has also been updated and it now supports a new look with provision for HTTP streaming. Users can also record and trim video easily and then upload it to sites like YouTube.

·         Safari 4 comes with "Crash Resistance" which keeps browser and tabs intact even if a plugin crashes.

·         The Finder has been upgraded and now supports faster Quick Look previews and Spotlight searches.

Besides this Apple has also made several other changes which can be checked on their official website.