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So what other tricks can we expect from Leopard?

by Nik Fletcher Oct 16th 2007 at 10:30AM



Along with today's announcement of Leopard's release date, Apple has also now updated the Mac OS X site to reflect all the enhancements you can find in the latest release of OS X. So, what's new?

Apple, clearly keen to show what they've been working on in the last few months (what with the delay n'all), have listed all 316 features, categorised them and allowed you to peruse them at your leisure. Here's just a few that caught my eye:
  • AppleScript can now read and write plist files (whilst a little thing, and a niche feature at best, this is promising if you're wanting to backup items such as serial numbers for applications from the application plist files, and do it in AppleScript)
  • .Mac syncing of more system items (Dock items, Dahsboard widgets, Mail notes and, it appears, even the entire System Preferences)
  • TextEdit now support Open Document and Word 2007 files.
  • Open panels now have a Media Browser tab, allowing you to open items directly from the relevant location.
  • Library Randomization - identical to Windows Vista's Address Space Layout Randomization, meaning that people looking to exploit Mac OS X can't rely on system code being at a specific memory address (i.e. it's harder to persuade an OS X system process to execute malicious code). Whilst Apple has always touted the more robust security of Mac vs Windows, it's good to see they're not sitting on their laurels and becoming complacent with OS X. Also of note is the digital signature technology in all the Leopard applications (and third-party developers can sign applications too). I've always believed this to be a technology that would be used in any iPhone SDK, so seeing it within XCode is a promising move - even if the possible use of Digital Signing in an iPhone SDK is pure conjecture on my part.
  • Front Row now sports the Apple TV interface, and the integration with the Apple Movie Trailer site.
  • iChat has seen a smorgasbord of new features added - Photo Booth effects, new media codecs, video and audio chat recording, tabbed chats, the ability to hide your own local video from a chat window, and screen sharing.
The list goes on. After a somewhat disappointing WWDC Keynote this year, the '300+ feature' proclamation has reassured me that Apple hasn't necessarily lost its way as a desktop OS and computer company. 26th October just cannot come quick enough.

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Along with today's announcement of Leopard's release date, Apple has also now updated the Mac OS X site to reflect all the enhancements...
 

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42 Comments

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Brian

Yeah, what happened to resolution independence?

On my parents' iBook, I want to make text, icons, and windows larger so they're easier for them to read, but I don't want to have to drop the screen resolution and make everything that much fuzzier.

I thought with Leopard we were supposed to be able to make the UI larger or smaller without having to mess with the screen resolution?

October 17 2007 at 8:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
James

@36

Welcome to the English language.

October 17 2007 at 6:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dan

Ahem, whilst is standard english on our side of the pond. If we can cope with americanisms like trash, you guys can cope with the odd whilst!

October 17 2007 at 4:54 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
msr

Don't use the word "whilst." The only time I ever hear it used is by morons in forums. It sounds horrible.

October 17 2007 at 12:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
krasi

It still sucks that Front Row requires an mac with an IR sensor. I really am sick of hacking front row to make it work on my computer. I remember Apple saying back at Macworld that everyone would get the full package inluding Front Row, Photbooth, and Boot Camp. I know you can't use Boot Camp on a PowerPC system or use Photobooth without a camera, but Front Row should work with any Mac.

October 16 2007 at 9:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jeff Waddell

Any one notice that Time Machine no longer includes support for encrypted backups or a "show only changed files" option? Both of these were clearly visible on Apple's Leopard preview page yesterday. These two features are really needed if Apple wants Time Machine to be a true backup option.

October 16 2007 at 8:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jacques Lema

That gem is hidden in the "Unix" section :

"AutoFS" -Automatically mount and dismount network filesystems on separate threads to improve responsiveness and reliability.

I hope this means I won't have to kill the Finder (or wait several minutes) each time some network volume (SMB) becomes unavailable.

October 16 2007 at 4:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mark

Time Machine is the one that worries me. It is simply not a backup system. People are going to be very disappointed with the limitations of TM.

Mark
http://www.metphoto.net/wp/index.php

October 16 2007 at 3:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tuaw

I'm not sure about Spaces. I've read and re-read the page, but I'm still not clear about whether separate application *windows* can be in separate spaces. Obviously separate applications can, but what if I'm using an app for three different projects in three different spaces?

October 16 2007 at 2:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bocom

Yay! OpenGL 2.1! Now that's cutting edge. :D

I guess that GoW and UT3 will be Leopard recommended though. ;)

October 16 2007 at 2:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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