10.6?

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ow_at_apple_developer_event_drop_powerpc.html

Thoughts? It looks like I'll have to switch to intel, finally.

 

not loadin for me

 

Their server is down.

Anyways, Deifiic, time for a shiny new Macbook Pro, eh?

 

I wonder what the new features are going to be. Hopefully window snapping.

 

Loads fine for me. Seems as if it'll just be a general update with not many huge additions. Kind of like 10.3 to 10.4(unless I'm forgetting about some stuff they added for 10.4)

 

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...os_x_10_6_code_named_snow_leopard_report.html

Latest rumors are that it will be called Snow Leopard. And they say it'll be pure Cocoa and Intel and possibly drop Carbon UI elements, which is crazy. Not only will that limit the compatible installed base, but if there is no Carbon UI a lot of software like Office and Creative Suite won't run. I can see how being only 64-bit Intel can streamline optimization, but it won't matter how fast it is if needed software won't run on it.

I hope Apple remembers to port the Finder to Cocoa, before dropping Carbon.

 

Haha, yeah, although I want to wait for the redesign whenever it's supposed to be.

 

I'm not buying that as legit. They wouldn't release a whole .x release after a year.

They also wouldn't drop support for computers that could at that point still be under warranty (They sold the last PPC box in 2006).

This could happen in late 2009, but it doesn't seem logical that it would happen this year.

 

I don't see why not... some of the earlier .x updates came out in less than a year or just over a year, just there was comparatively quite a long wait between Tiger and Leopard.
Good point on the PPC Macs though.. although maybe they would continue full support for PPC-supporting Leopard until such time as the PPC Macs were no longer under warranty?

 

Well, that's actually precisely what Steve Jobs wants.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/technology/22apple.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

A January 2009 launch for 10.6 would correspond perfectly with Jobs' plans. Personally, I think 12-18 months is too rapid. 18-24 months is a more reasonable timeframe.

I too think it's ridiculous for Apple to limit themselves so much by making 10.6 a 64-bit Intel only Cocoa release, but I can understand why they would do so. So far the OS X kernel itself is still 32-bit, with applications being 64-bit. If Apple is going to take the big step to rewrite the kernel to 64-bit, they might as well save themselves work by making it 64-bit Intel only, which will also allow them to heavily optimize it. The thing is, a 64-bit kernel will need new drivers for all devices, just like 64-bit Windows, which is where things don't make sense. If 10.6 is announced at WWDC for a January '09 Macworld release, that only gives device manufacturers 6 months to come up with drivers for all the peripherals and more likely than not, drivers won't be ready.

It'd make more sense for a Q2 '09 launch so that 10.6 can be announced at WWDC this year, release candidates given out at Macworld in January '09, launch in Q2, and tutorials available at WWDC next year.

 

If things go the way the article is talking, it would make sense for Apple to continue to develop 10.5.x since the install base of PPC computers that are still in service is still strong, regardless of whether or not those machines are still under warranty. Apple's a big company, so they would have the resources to use multiple teams developing the OS. Some would work on 10.6, and they could still easily have one or two continuing 10.5. It would seem highly unlikely that Apple would unceremoniously discontinue 10.5. outright, especially if 10.6 is as radical a change as the article indicates.

We'll just have to wait and see.