Filed under: Software, Surveys and Polls, Apple, Apple History, Snow Leopard
Mac OS X Snow Leopard one step closer to release, now Golden Master
Mac OS X 10.6, AKA Snow Leopard, is one step closer to being released sometime in the next month. Multiple reports indicate that build 10A432 of the new OS has reached Golden Master status, which indicates that all testing has been completed to the satisfaction of the development team.As we've noted before, Snow Leopard won't introduce many new features. Instead, it's intended to reduce the size of the OS and run much faster on Intel hardware. Snow Leopard will be the first version of Mac OS X that cannot be run on PPC Macs. Amazon.com is already taking pre-orders for Snow Leopard at US$29 for a single-user license or just US$49 for the five-license Family Pack.
The next step is to release the OS to manufacturing, so that the requisite millions of copies can be burned into DVDs prior to the actual release date. When will that actually happen? My personal guess is September 25th, as the last two versions of Mac OS X were released on a Friday (October 26, 2007 for Leopard and April 29, 2005 for Tiger). Of course, Apple could release Snow Leopard on September 15th to rain on Microsoft's release of the Zune HD.
Take our reader poll and give us your best guess for when Snow Leopard will arrive.
[via MacRumors]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Brian said 4:17PM on 8-12-2009
Mmmmmmm..... no .... not seen 10A432 so I don't think so.
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JaceFace said 4:17PM on 8-12-2009
Burn you say? I certainly hope not.
How's that for a burn. Wha wha.
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mungler said 4:28PM on 8-12-2009
I thought there were reports saying that its NOT the gold master after all?
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WinXP said 4:34PM on 8-12-2009
I believe commercial DVD's are pressed not burned
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Andre said 4:38PM on 8-12-2009
September 1st. It's a Tuesday too.
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dagamer43 said 4:42PM on 8-12-2009
I wanna say September 8th, just so Jobs can say "One MORE thing": Snow Leopard is in stores TODAY!
Pusta said 4:45PM on 8-12-2009
Here is a question I cannot find an answer to: For those of us with Leopard that want to do a clean install, will there be a non-$29 version offered? I've heard you cannot do a clean install with the upgrade disc.
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GlennAC said 5:36PM on 8-12-2009
Hi Pusta. Actually, the new OS is not crippled in the way you might be assuming. It is in fact a fully functional installer and will allow you to perform a "clean" install using Disk Utility to wipe the drive prior to installation.
All the $29 version does is check to make sure you are currently running Leopard (fresh install) or Snow Leopard (refresh install) when the DVD is mounted on your Mac. Any other scenario requires the user to purchase the non-upgrade version, which apparently is only be offered as a Box Set with iLife `09 & iWork `09. As most users are running Leopard already, this is not an issue.
Some might balk at the $169 price of the Box Set. However, generally the only ones who would be purchasing this set are Tiger and Panther users. So you have to factor in the price of Leopard ($129) and the price of the Snow Leopard upgrade ($29). Looking at it from this perspective a Tiger/Panther user is getting both iLife `09 and iWork `09 for about $10. Sounds like a deal to me. Cheeers!
Maxwell Ash said 5:47PM on 8-12-2009
There won't be any panther users upgrading, it's intel only.
GlennAC said 2:26AM on 8-16-2009
You are correct Maxwell. Thanks for catching my typo. :)
jensq said 4:55PM on 8-12-2009
If the OS is ready for duplication now: August 28th, 2009.
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Peter said 5:06PM on 8-12-2009
Apple's "up to date" offer page for Snow Leopard http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/
says "Your completed order form must be postmarked or faxed within 90 days of the date of your purchase of a qualifying computer or Xserve (described in this offer) or by December 26, 2009, whichever is earlier."
You qualify if you bought a Mac on or after June 8.
Since the offer says "whichever is earlier" that means SL must be released by September 6, or else people who bought on June 8 would be ineligible.
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Frank Owen said 6:00PM on 8-12-2009
The deadlines on the up to date program have nothing to do with SL release date. It just says you have to SUBMIT your upgrade order within 90 days following purchase of your computer. It doesn't mean or even remotely imply that SL will be released within 90 days of June 8. How'd you get that?
grantcrockford said 8:53AM on 8-13-2009
up to date program would be excellent- if they extended the offer to UK folks.... not cool, not cool at all...
grantcrockford said 8:55AM on 8-13-2009
whoops- my bad
http://www.apple.com/uk/macosx/uptodate/
esporenthead said 5:06PM on 8-12-2009
It's only a matter of time until it's found on TPB or Mininova.
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ilkyone said 5:26PM on 8-12-2009
1st or 8th... more likely to be the 8th... they aren't sandbagging this, and Apple's been getting things out earlier than guesstimates lately.
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Eminemdrdre00 said 6:14PM on 8-12-2009
How would releasing an OS that isnt compatible with the Zune HD "rain on their parade" ???
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Tom Payne II said 7:13PM on 8-12-2009
stealing coverage from the Zune
Muddybulldog said 7:11PM on 8-12-2009
It'll rain on their parade because while the tech news sites will cover both, there's a chance that Zune HD might get 15 seconds on the national news broadcasts, unless of course the darling Apple happened to release something the same day.
Apple could release a toaster on the same day as the Zune and it would garner more publicity in the mainstream.
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