Filed under: OS, Features, WWDC, Leopard
Steve reveals 10 features of Leopard for Spring 2007 release
If you're waiting for Leopard, you'll have to cool your heels until Spring 2007, when Apple officially promises the release. To wet your appetite, Apple previewed 10 Leopard features at WWDC today:- Time Machine - a new built-in backup system that will back up your entire system and allow you to restore the whole thing or just selected files.
- Enhancements to iChat -- including a tabbed interface, custom still or video backdrops for your video iChat, iChat Theater (which lets you show iPhoto pics or a Keynote presentation during an iChat), and Photo Booth effects to make yourself look silly during a chat. Other iChat enhancements that were mentioned but not demoed include video recording (yes!), invisible mode, and animated buddy icons. The Apple site also shows the ability to share your desktop during an iChat. Now just let me figure out how to use these features to do screen recordings and machinima -- hmmm.
- Two dashboard additions -- Web Clip, which allows you to build dynamically updating widgets from any Web page (examples -- a cartoon or bestseller list that updates every day); and DashCode for widget development, complete with modifiable widget templates (for RSS, podcasts, and more), and a library of parts to pop into your widget.
- Additions to Mail.app -- a To-Do list made automatically from emails and that ties into iCal and other apps; Stationery (rich HTML email templates); and Notes (to replace those reminder emails you've been sending yourself).
- Universal Access features - natural sounding voiceover, closed captioning in QuickTime, and braille support.
- Core Animation - with features like keyframing and tweening to help developers create animations.
- Spotlight enhancement - Spotlight will be able to search other machines on your network, do Boolean search, and will launch your applications for you.
- Virtual desktop Spaces - letting you combine task-based applications into separate logical desktop configurations. That means you can have one group of apps running for Web design, another for print production, and yet another for podcast creation and editing. You'll be able to drag items between Spaces.
- Complete package - of built-in apps, including Boot Camp, Front Row, and PhotoBooth.
- 64 bit processing.
There's some mouthwatering stuff here. Now I wonder what those other top secret items are that Steve said he's still keeping under wraps?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Neil Cochrane said 3:30PM on 8-07-2006
The stock market isn't too impressed - shares are -$1.40 at time of writing after reaching +$0.80 (to my knowldge) during the event.
Better be one hell of rabbit stuffed inside cupertino's top secret, um, top hat...
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Billy K said 3:31PM on 8-07-2006
Bloat, bloat, bloat, bloat, bloat....
I can't see using any of this stuff except the improved Spotlight.
And Time Machine? Sounds great - if you just happen to have double the HD space you actually use. I don't, and most folks I know don't. My 250+160 are pretty much maxed all the time. Do I need to go buy a 1TB RAID array to use Time Machine?
I guess you could make the case that at WWDC, Steve is only talking about things that actually impact developers. That would make sense, but I'm still underwhelmed. All these reports of all this cool stuff Apple is working on, and this is all we get?
Did I mention I'm disappointed?
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Lee said 3:31PM on 8-07-2006
My Prediction - final features and full demo will be seen at MW in January, following by an announcement along the lines of 'Shipping TODAY!'.
Makes sense on 2 counts - we get to see cool features (hopefully) during a traditionally pumped-up event, and it will beat Vista on shipping. Remember, Apple has a habit of over-delivering with these things.
Spring 2007 = January
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Jason said 3:31PM on 8-07-2006
I, too, am intrigued by the top secret features not yet revealed. I'm betting on a major overhaul to Front Row (which was barely touched upon in the Keynote) and hopefully an improved Finder.
Time Machine is really neat, but it's Spotlight App Launcher optimization, Spaces, and the addition of Core Animation that really have me drooling.
I'm hoping Spaces is accessible via a hotkey (in the same way Dashboard and Expose are).
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Andrew Dunlop said 3:38PM on 8-07-2006
What we have seen is some of the deeper things that will effect developers. What we did not see and is likely to be in the final release are the changes to the look and feel of the OS.
The final release will have more changes to the interface and maybe one of two big surprises. Did sound like there might be something they would like to keep a secret till nearer the time.
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Andrew Dunlop said 3:40PM on 8-07-2006
When do you think can we expect Apple to get the video of the Keynote up on Quicktime site?
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Mac Lover said 3:42PM on 8-07-2006
BORING!
Nothing cool- just what was expected.
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Ruben Santiago said 3:48PM on 8-07-2006
am i the only one who found this strange? is it one of the top secret features ( in a future mac? tv tuner? macmediacenter?) why and how would Quicktime be needing to read Closed Caprions from US analog broadcasts?
Closed captioning
QuickTime currently supports closed captioning by including a text track alongside audio and video content. But improved QuickTime support will automatically display the CEA-608 closed captioning text standard in analog broadcasts in the U.S.
Bottom of page
http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/accessibility.html
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Joe V said 3:49PM on 8-07-2006
I know *exactly* when Leopard will be released: about three weeks after I buy my lap- I mean *note*book.
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EL Mystica said 3:52PM on 8-07-2006
Imagine Apple shipping Leopard the same day MS ships Vista. :)
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ginzuknives said 3:52PM on 8-07-2006
did anyone notice among all the chaos that the price of the apple screens dropped by like $300? could this mean new screens in the near future?
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TimD said 3:54PM on 8-07-2006
The other things not demoed but mentioned in the Mac OS X Leopard Sneak Peek?
1) Mail is now a full-fledged RSS aggregator
2) iChat Screen Sharing - don't have a need for collaboration? Use it for diagnostics (eg ARD "lite")
3) Accessibilty: "iChat for Leopard speaks incoming messages automatically as they arrive, so anyone can chat." - presumably friends without mics or cams can still participate in A/V sessions.
4) Dashboard - now syncs preferences to .Mac
People are ALWAYS disappointed after a keynote these days. But it's only b/c of the hype that's built up... especially now that EVERYbody is looking to see what they do next. Do you really think they would announce stuff from the iTMS or new iPods? What does that have to do with the App you've been developing?After all, what do people really expect from a developers conference? This is a LOT more exciting than listening to Ballmer shout "developers" until he nearly passes out in a puddle of sweat.
I do think they're getting a little pompous lately but I know people will be satisfied when things finally roll out early next year.
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Chuck M said 3:57PM on 8-07-2006
For the love of GOD!!!! Why can't we get MSN and Yahoo! integratin into iChat. I need to chat with people who use those 2 along with AOL. Yes I use Adium today but would like to have one chat client which also does video back home when I travel.
I only wanted the simplest of things.
I don;t need roller coaster backgrounds... Jeesh...
Chuck
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Jarrod T said 4:01PM on 8-07-2006
All I have to say is, death to Lisa, long live Alex.
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Darren said 4:03PM on 8-07-2006
I believe you mean, "To whet your appetite..."
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Helloooooooo said 4:06PM on 8-07-2006
Whennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn are they going to change the theme of the whole OS. They really need to do something with this.
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rrrrr said 4:08PM on 8-07-2006
RE: Additions to Mail.app
Making it work properly would be a good addition. (e.g.) IMAP
Seems they have done the same thing they did to konfabulator with dashboard by ripping off MailTags (and probably MailActOn).
I won't mind too much as long as it frikin' works properly.
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Billy K said 4:08PM on 8-07-2006
Seriously - these guys' obsession with PhotoBooth is ridiculous. It's a toy!
iChat? Who cares? Adium makes it obsolete.
Mail bloat, er features? I use gMail.
Spaces? You mean Virtual Desktop?
Does anyone else notice that Apple has been playing a serious game of catch-up to third-party developers?
And as far as Spaces goes, this just takes OSX even further away from the simplicity that Steve used to care so much about. A friend of mine just recently got her first Mac ever. She is baffled by many things, and I can't say I blame her. The Finder works entirely differently than iTunes now. She made the rookie mistake of copying files from a CD straight into iTunes, then ejecting the CD and wondering why they wouldn't play. But doesn't it make sense that this action should copy the files?
I can't even begin to imagine the horror of trying to explain "Spaces" to her. Her head would burst.
I long for a stripped-down, lean version of OSX that just screams along. I'm starting to think I need to move to Linux to get this. I don't care about making pictures look funny in PhotoBooth. Sheesh!
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andras said 4:11PM on 8-07-2006
I was really hoping for better upgrades to iChat. The Theater mode is big step, the collaboration is great, but why can't they do something really cool like let me use it with all the Polycom video conferencing gear that I have deployed all over my company?
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Ken69267 said 4:14PM on 8-07-2006
No update to the Finder? :(
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