Apple today announced that Mac OS X Leopard will go on sale Friday, October 26 at 6pm at Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple’s online store is now accepting pre-orders. Leopard is packed with more than 300 new features and introduces a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac.
“Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is the best upgrade we’ve ever released,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, in the press release. “And everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version, packed with all the new innovative features, for just $129.”
Leopard’s new desktop includes the redesigned 3D Dock with Stacks, a new way to organize files for quick and easy access with just one click. Leopard automatically places web, email and other downloads in a Downloads stack to maintain a clutter-free desktop, and users can instantly fan the contents of this and other Stacks into an elegant arc right from the Dock. Users can also create their own Stacks for quick access to folders, documents or applications. Leopard’s gorgeous new look extends to all applications, with every window on the desktop offering a consistent design theme and active windows outlined by deeper shadows that make them stand out.
The updated Finder includes Cover Flow and a new sidebar with a dramatically simplified way to search for, browse and copy content from any PC or Mac on a local network. Content on any computer on a local network can now be searched using Spotlight, browsed using Cover Flow or copied across the network with a simple drag and drop. .Mac members can use the new Back to My Mac feature to browse and access files on their remote Macs over the Internet.
Quick Look is the fastest and easiest way for users to look inside files without launching them or even having the application that created them. With Quick Look, users can instantly view full-screen, high-resolution files of virtually anything, even media files, from any view in the Finder.
Spaces gives users a powerful new way to organize their work by creating customized desktops which can contain only those applications or documents needed for each project, with the ability to quickly switch between Spaces with the mouse or keyboard.
Time Machine lets users easily back up all of the data on their Mac, find lost files and even restore all of the software on their Mac. With just a one-click setup, Time Machine automatically keeps an up-to-date copy of everything on the Mac. In the event a file is lost, users can search back through time to find deleted files, applications, photos and other digital media and then instantly restore the file. If it’s ever necessary, Leopard can also easily restore an entire system from the Time Machine data on an external drive.
Mail has been updated in Leopard and features more than 30 stationery designs and layouts that look great on a Windows PC or Mac so users can easily send stylish, personalized emails with beautiful graphics and photos. Notes and To Dos help users stay organized by acting just like emails that can be easily created, saved as drafts, synced across multiple Macs and stored in Smart Mailboxes. Data detectors automatically sense phone numbers, addresses and events so they can be added to Address Book or iCal with just a few clicks, and users can keep up-to-date by getting the latest news and blog feeds delivered directly to the their mailboxes with a built-in RSS reader.
iChat, the easiest-to-use video conferencing application on any personal computer, offers even richer video chats in Leopard with iChat Theater, which makes it easy to show photos, presentations, videos or files in a video conference; screen sharing which lets users remotely view and operate another Mac; and Photo Booth effects for fun distortions and video backdrops that can instantly make users appear to be anywhere they choose.
Other new features in Leopard include:
• improved Parental Controls, aiding parents in managing their kids’ online activities with automatic identification of unsuitable content before allowing website access, plus time limits and activity logs that can be accessed from any Mac on a home network
• the complete Boot Camp release, previously available only as a beta, making it possible to run Windows natively on Intel-based Macs
• Web Clip, bringing anything that a user wants from a web page to Dashboard as a live widget
• new Photo Booth features, helping users create animated iChat buddy icons or fun effects and backdrops with still or video images
• an enhanced Dictionary with Wikipedia built in, allowing users to access up to date information on virtually any subject in a snap
• a newly updated iCal with multi-user calendaring based on the new CalDAV standard
• an updated version of Front Row, making it even easier to play music or watch movies, TV shows and photos on a Mac using the Apple Remote.
Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard will be available on October 26 at Apple’s retail stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of US$129 for a single user license, and online pre-orders can be made through Apple’s online store starting today. The Mac OS X Leopard Family Pack is a single-household, five-user license that will be available for a suggested retail price of $199. Volume and maintenance pricing is available from Apple. The standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after October 1, 2007 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95. Leopard requires a minimum of 512MB of RAM and is designed to run on any Macintosh computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5 or G4 (867 Mhz or faster) processor. Full system requirements can be found at http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs
Pre-order Mac OS X Leopard now from the Apple Store. Just $129. Free Shipping.
Whew. Now life can go on.
Apple is really starting to shaft the educational market. The EDU price for 10.5 is only $3 cheaper than the regular box… I remember the days when the EDU OS X would cost $69… So this marks the loss of the EDU discount on iPods and now software… Too bad.
Why 6pm? Now I have to drive in traffic from Huntley to Woodfield, then come home to booze and install it.
It’ll be a long night.
Where are the amazing secret features?
@applekoolaid.com
They are probably phasing it out because too many people are taking advantage of the edu discount who aren’t a students or staff of edu places.
Already ordered. I’ll receive it on Oct. 26th.
Let’s get the party started!!!!
No special event? 🙁
Let’s hope it’s not the latest dev seed that went gold. That would be bad. Usuaully the devs get the gold seed.
applekoolaid.com: I noticed the education pricing change, too, and share your pain. The difference is actually $13, not $3. But, the difference in education pricing in the past was a significant $60.
{tear} I’m so happy!
I have buying a 5-license version for my desktop and laptop.
Let me fix what I wrote — I hate having to buy a 5-license version for my two computers — a desktop and laptop.
iSteve
Better than two separate copies. What’s to gripe about!
OK, I understand why they did the 6 PM deal with iPhone………
Does this mean that there will be some type of registration, download/update, or some new feature that they don’t want to overwhelm the servers with…….like rentals?
I just ordered my copy…
Canada
They could not come up with anything better than “Add a new Mac to your Mac”.
I hope some new ads are on the way to entice people to switch. With Vista’s issues, it would be a perfect time to pounce.
does this mean that if i order a mac on or after oct. 26 that it will come with leopard installed?
@ applekoolaid.com
I totally agree with you. I am really getting worried about what Apple is becoming! cocky about lots of things. Interesting. is MS their model now??
The education discount price ($116) is now a joke. It used to be $69.
My computer became a little snappier after hearing the news.
“They could not come up with anything better than “Add a new Mac to your Mac”. “
That makes it a double Mac…with a little cheese.
And McDonalds all have Wi-Fi……
Coincidence?
I hope so.
Yah the education dicount is a small bummer oh well gonna get it anyway. Though that is a preorder price maybe once its out the education dicount price will be back to normal. It’s a thought anyway.
I am glad they got rid of the default GREEN desktop background.
“Though that is a preorder price maybe once its out the education dicount price will be back to normal.”
You’re probably right. Apple has a history of setting the initial price high and lowering it once all the fanboys have brought.
I was just checking out all the new 300 features:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html
I notice that Address Book will sync with the Yahoo! address book and Google’s GMail isn’t mentioned. It’s interesting that they’re adding support for syncing that doesn’t involve their own .Mac service but I thought Google may at least have been included.