Apple Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Available for Pre-Order

Surprise, surprise. Apple OS X Tiger, which was leaked by Apple rumor sites weeks ago, has shown up (again) on the virtual store shelves of Amazon. This time it's not a hiccup in the Amazon listing system and you can actually pre-order OSX Tiger for $129.99 with a $35 rebate bringing the total to $94.99. System wide search indexing and upgraded versions of many bundled programs will be featured in this nextMac OS Version.

Now, there's still no specific release date pegged on the Amazon site, all it says is "Expected to be available in first half of 2005". But then on the rebate form it says the rebate should be postmarked by May 31st, so we can at least figure the OS will ship before then. Some rumors say as early as April 1st...no joke.

Link to Amazon.com Buying Page for Tiger OSX

Link to $35 Rebate form for Tiger OSX

Tiger OS X Product Description (from Apple)

Tiger keeps up Apples blazing pace of innovation with more than 150 breakthrough new features, including Spotlight, a revolutionary new way to find files and information on your personal computer; Safari RSS, a new version of Apples innovative Web browser that provides instant access to the most current RSS information on the Web; Dashboard, a dazzling new way to get in and out of a collection of new all-purpose "widgets" quickly; and iChat AV multi-way video and audio conferencing, the industrys first consumer solution with a stunning 3D interface.

Second-Nature Searching

Tigers new system-wide Spotlight search helps you find anything on your Mac, instantly. Spotlight can find email messages, calendars, and contacts along with documents, movies, images--any kind of file--all at once. Spotlight results are displayed in easy-to-understand categories that help you browse, pick, and click. Finding the stuff you need on your personal computer is now as fast and effortless as searching for songs in iTunes. Tiger also introduces enhanced searching in the Finder to help you locate files and documents more quickly and easily. New Smart Folders in the Finder, Smart Mailboxes in Mail, and Smart Groups for contacts let you categorize and organize all of your important information into logical groups automatically.

Start a Party

You may never need to rent video conference time or crowd around a tinny-sounding speakerphone again. With iChat AV you can video conference right from your Desktop with up to three more people, or audio conference with up to nine more people. iChat AV doesnt sacrifice quality for quantity. New H.264/AVC video technology in Tigers QuickTime dramatically improves picture quality while high-quality, full-duplex audio delivers natural-sounding conversation. iChat AV keeps conferencing simple: just click on a buddy to start your conference and then invite a few more buddies. An innovative new three-dimensional virtual chat-room interface keeps your video conference organized. Graphical sound-level indicators keep you on top of whos talking in audio conferences so you can always put a voice with a name.

Facts, Functions, and Fun... Fast

Dashboard zooms across your Desktop in a flash, giving you instant access to information and application controls that you use frequently. Just like Expose, you open and close the Dashboard by pressing a function key, so its a snap to get in and out. The Dashboard displays new mini-applications called widgets. Theyre cool looking as well as handy: get quick stock quotes, check the time around the world, or access Mac OS X-application features such as an iTunes playback widget or an Address Book contact widget.

Get More from the Web

Safari RSS consolidates all of the most recent news and information from thousands of major news organizations, community Web sites, and personal Web logs into simplified listings. Using Safari RSS, you can quickly find the very latest stories on your favorite topics by searching easy-to-use listings rather than having to browse individual Web pages. You can even create your own personal news-clipping service that compiles only articles and stories that you want from any number of sites. Safari also adds page archiving, so you can save or email complete Web pages with images and links intact. Safari also protects your id entity on shared or public Macs. Using the privacy feature, your personal infor mation and activities on the Web are never saved, so they cant be snooped later on.

Features:

Spotlight: find anything, anywhere on your computer in no time flat.

iChat AV: video-conference with three other people from your Desktop with higher-quality picture.

Safari RSS: surf, receive RSS news-feeds, personalize content, and view Web pages in one place.

Dashboard: open and close the Dashboard instantly using a function key to access Widget mini-applications.

Automator: automate manual, repetitive, and batch tasks with point-and-click simplicity.

VoiceOver: access the Mac through speech, audible cues, and keyboard navigation for the visually impaired.

.Mac Sync: keep valuable data on Macs, portable devices, and .Mac accounts up to date using sync

Enhanced UNIX support: work efficiently using Tigers 64-bit enhancements, new utilities, and an optimized Kernel.

Xcode 2.0: develop applications more quickly and take advantage of new Apple technologies with Xcode 2.0.

Technologies:

64-bit: run a new generation of 64-bit applications that can use 16 exabytes of virtual memory.

Spotlight technologies: sort, search, and organize by tapping into a search architecture within applications.

Core image: develop ultrafast, hardware-accelerated and pixel-accurate filters, effects, and transitions.

H.264/AVC: see how H.264/AVC delivers higher quality video at lower data rates for everything from 3G to HD.

Andrew Baxter -

sleepcontrol Newbie