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Mac OS X Snow Leopard one step closer to release, now Golden Master

by Steven Sande Aug 12th 2009 at 4:00PM

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]
What day will Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard reach stores?
Zune HD Killer - September 15, 20092238 (43.2%)
Thursday, September 17, 2009300 (5.8%)
Friday, September 18, 2009687 (13.3%)
Thursday, September 24, 2009285 (5.5%)
Friday, September 25, 2009852 (16.4%)
Last possible day - September 30, 2009821 (15.8%)



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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...
 

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GlennAC

You are correct Maxwell. Thanks for catching my typo. :)

August 16 2009 at 2:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
perrin

I agree with the Aug 28th day.

August 12 2009 at 8:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brien

John Gruber points to August 28th as the likely release date.

August 12 2009 at 8:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
muddybulldog

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.

August 12 2009 at 7:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to muddybulldog's comment
z-man

Apple could release a toaster on the same day we land on Mars and the toaster would get more coverage. I mean, seriously, the iToaster would be the greatest achievement of the century. Nothing will top the iToaster!!!!

August 12 2009 at 9:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mike

the homeless guy in the park gets more coverage than the zune. was that a serious comment?

August 12 2009 at 10:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Eminemdrdre00

How would releasing an OS that isnt compatible with the Zune HD "rain on their parade" ???

August 12 2009 at 6:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Eminemdrdre00's comment
ctp2nd

stealing coverage from the Zune

August 12 2009 at 7:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Max

There won't be any panther users upgrading, it's intel only.

August 12 2009 at 5:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
GlennAC

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!

August 12 2009 at 5:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ilkyone

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.

August 12 2009 at 5:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
esposimi

It's only a matter of time until it's found on TPB or Mininova.

August 12 2009 at 5:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Peter

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.

August 12 2009 at 5:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Peter's comment
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