Christopher J. Buckley

Not a great surprise this one. . . AppleInsider brings confirmation from Steve Jobs, the ever charismatic Apple CEO, that Apple OSX ‘Leopard’ will ship worldwide on October 26. Whilst i am looking forward to Leopard, I must admit to not being that excited by this news. Tiger already fulfils nearly all of my requirements in a desktop OS, though the use of ports and fink are essential. That said, there are some very smart new features we can look forward to according to AppleInsider:

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 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.

Meanwhile, Apple bills Quick Look as 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.

Another new feature, 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.

On a personal note, hopefully by next friday I will be moved in to my new flat in the south-east, with a weekend free to install and experience the next Mac OS. One thing is certain to be sure: leopard leaves Microsoft’s much rushed, widely acknowledged as buggy, Vista operating system further behind in the next-gen OS wars.

With Compiz now making good head-way on X, and Ubuntu now deciding to enable Compiz by default in “Gutsy” 7.10 Microsoft looks increasingly left behind, ironic of course as Microsoft has essentially already won the desktop wars; software-as-a-service has been the battlefield for well over a year now… but I digress.