PlayStation Home update 1.05 is scheduled to be released on December 22. With this new update, users will be able to use the voice chat within their personal space and clubhouses to communicate and share with friends online.

By clicking on their PlayStation Home icon on the PlayStation Network column of XMB, users will be able to update PlayStation Home to 1.05. Users who are online with PlayStation Home will need to log-off and click on PlayStation Home icon.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Unlike most women in PlayStation Home, Abigail Murphy is a real female. [Playstation Blog via Gamepro]

During the day I work with images, videos and other largish files, many of which get deleted and need no local backup. I let this slide earlier, thinking Steve J's keep-it-simple strategy made sense. But now I yearn for a backup program that at least lets me set blackout times (say, my usual working hours) where I don't have to deal with manually shutting down an in-progress backup. Or worse, having to reboot everything because the slow-down didn't go away. Before I try this Lifehacker freeware Time Machine tip that Chen has graciously bestowed upon me, I have to ask, am I the only one who feels this way? Or...

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Giz: Can you override Time Machine to seriously delete stuff you never want to see again?
Apple: In the "starfield" view you have an option: "Delete all backup versions of this file." If you do that, you will never see it again. Also, you can select things you don't want to be picked up by Time Machine. You can affect the scope, and specify areas you don't want to cover.

Giz: Will I want to leave Time Machine running when I'm in the field, or will I have to turn it off to preserve battery life?
Apple: No, it is really low over head.

Giz: Will I be able to get as long battery life on MacBook Pro?
Apple: No specific measurement, but don't expect to see a huge difference.

Giz: Are Mail To Do and iCal To Do the same?
Apple: There is one list of To Dos that can be expressed in both iCal and Mail. To Dos are also synced to your mail server, so you can see them from multiple machines.

Giz: What do Mail To Dos look like when viewed from 3rd party mail apps or from an iPhone?
Apple: To Dos show up as normal mail in 3rd Party and non-Leopard mail programs, including iPhones and Blackberrys.

Giz: Are Widgets from Leopard going to be made to work across all Apple platforms (i.e. iPhone)?
Apple: Widgets will work in Dashboard and will continue to work in Dashboard.

Giz: What's new with the Dictionary tool?
Apple: There's a lot of pretty cool stuff. We've added Wikipedia support and a Japanese dictionary as well.

Giz: What are the system requirements?
Apple: Intel Processor, PPC G5, PPC G4, 867MHz or better; 512 MB of memory; DVD drive for installation.

Giz: Will Leopard come with iLife '08?
Apple: No. If you buy a new CPU with Leopard, you get the new verison of iLife. If you have an older system with Tiger, you have to buy both the iLife upgrade and Leopard upgrade.

Giz: Does iChat still have the Star Wars hologram effect? We've added a whole lot of different effects. I am not sure if the hologram one is in there. We included the most effective ones, the ones that work the best. I think [the hologram effect] is not in there.

Giz: What's the name of the next OS update cat?
We don't talk about future products.

Though they couldn't answer all of our questions, they did recommend visiting the updated Mac OS X page, particularly the section on 300+ New Features.

Apple to Ship Mac OS X Leopard on October 26

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today announced that Mac OS(R) X Leopard will go on sale Friday, October 26 at 6:00 p.m. at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders. Leopard is packed with more
than 300 new features and introduces a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac(R).

"Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is the best upgrade we've ever released," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "And everyone gets the 'Ultimate' version, packed with all the new innovative features, for just $129."

Leopard's new desktop includes the redesigned 3D Dock with Stacks, a new way to organize files for quick and easy access with just one click. Leopard automatically places web, email and other downloads in a Downloads stack to maintain a clutter-free desktop, and users can instantly fan the contents of this and other Stacks into an elegant arc right from the Dock. Users can also create their own Stacks for quick access to folders, documents or applications. Leopard's gorgeous new look extends to all applications, with every window on the desktop offering a consistent design theme and active windows outlined by deeper shadows that make them stand out.

The updated Finder includes Cover Flow(R) and a new sidebar with a dramatically simplified way to search for, browse and copy content from any PC or Mac on a local network. Content on any computer on a local network can now be searched using Spotlight(TM), browsed using Cover Flow or copied across the network with a simple drag and drop. .Mac members can use the new Back to My Mac feature to browse and access files on their remote Macs over the Internet.

Quick Look is the fastest and easiest way for users to look inside files without launching them or even having the application that created them. With Quick Look, users can instantly view full-screen, high-resolution files of virtually anything, even media files, from any view in the Finder.

Spaces gives users a powerful new way to organize their work by creating customized desktops which can contain only those applications or documents needed for each project, with the ability to quickly switch between Spaces with the mouse or keyboard.

Time Machine lets users easily back up all of the data on their Mac, find lost files and even restore all of the software on their Mac. With just a one-click setup, Time Machine automatically keeps an up-to-date copy of everything on the Mac.* In the event a file is lost, users can search back through time to find deleted files, applications, photos and other digital media and then instantly restore the file. If it's ever necessary, Leopard can also easily restore an entire system from the Time Machine data on an external drive.

Mail has been updated in Leopard and features more than 30 stationery designs and layouts that look great on a Windows PC or Mac so users can easily send stylish, personalized emails with beautiful graphics and photos. Notes and To Dos help users stay organized by acting just like emails that can be easily created, saved as drafts, synced across multiple Macs and stored in Smart Mailboxes. Data detectors automatically sense phone numbers, addresses and events so they can be added to Address Book or iCal(R) with just a few clicks, and users can keep up-to-date by getting the latest news and blog feeds delivered directly to the their mailboxes with a built-in RSS reader.

iChat(R), the easiest-to-use video conferencing application on any personal computer, offers even richer video chats in Leopard with iChat Theater, which makes it easy to show photos, presentations, videos or files in a video conference; screen sharing which lets users remotely view and operate another Mac; and Photo Booth(R) effects for fun distortions and video backdrops that can instantly make users appear to be anywhere they choose.

Other new features in Leopard include:

— improved Parental Controls, aiding parents in managing their kids' online activities with automatic identification of unsuitable content before allowing website access, plus time limits and activity logs that can be accessed from any Mac on a home network;
— the complete Boot Camp(R) release, previously available only as a beta, making it possible to run Windows natively on Intel-based Macs;**
— Web Clip, bringing anything that a user wants from a web page to Dashboard as a live widget;
— new Photo Booth features, helping users create animated iChat buddy icons or fun effects and backdrops with still or video images;
— an enhanced Dictionary with Wikipedia built in, allowing users to access up to date information on virtually any subject in a snap;
— a newly updated iCal with multi-user calendaring based on the new CalDAV standard; and
— an updated version of Front Row, making it even easier to play music or watch movies, TV shows and photos on a Mac using the ultra-simple Apple Remote.

Pricing & Availability

Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard will be available on October 26 at Apple's retail stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $129 (US) for a single user license, and online pre-orders can be made through Apple's online store (http://www.apple.com) starting today. The Mac OS X Leopard Family Pack is a single-household, five-user license that will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 (US). Volume and maintenance pricing is available from Apple. The standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after October 1, 2007 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Leopard requires a minimum of 512MB of RAM and is designed to run on any Macintosh(R) computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5 or G4 (867 Mhz or faster) processor. Full system requirements can be found at http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs.

Apple Announces Mac OS X Server Leopard

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today announced that Mac OS(R) X Server version 10.5 Leopard will go on sale on Friday, October 26, at the same time as Mac OS X Leopard. Leopard Server extends Apple's legendary ease of use, making it even easier to take advantage of the benefits of a server, and introduces Podcast Producer, the ideal way to automatically publish podcasts to iTunes(R) or the web. Leopard Server packs more than 250 new features including Wiki Server, allowing people to collaboratively create and modify their shared web sites with just a few
clicks; and iCal(R) Server, the world's first commercial CalDAV standard-based calendar server.

"Leopard Server is the best release of Mac OS X Server yet, bringing more great innovations, like Podcast Producer, Wiki Server and iCal Server," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

"With new setup features that have a server up and running within minutes and no client access licenses, Leopard Server is the ideal alternative to complicated and expensive server offerings for small and large businesses."

Leopard Server presents new features for effortless setup, management and monitoring of systems on the network. Server Assistant configures server applications, network settings such as IP addresses and DNS configurations and user accounts with just a few clicks. Server Preferences simplifies management of users, groups and key server applications, and a Server Status Dashboard widget remotely monitors activity and usage. Leopard Server also eliminates the need to manually set up Leopard clients by automatically configuring client applications, including file sharing, Mail, iChat(R), iCal, Address Book and VPN from user information stored on the server.

Podcast Producer is the easiest way for anyone to record content, automatically upload it to the server and convert it into a podcast optimized for playback on almost any device, including a High Definition TV, iPod(R), Apple TV(TM) or multimedia-enabled cell phone.

With Wiki Server, anyone can easily create and edit collaborative web pages, called wikis, with a few clicks of a mouse. Wiki Server has 20 Apple-designed web page themes and provides a complete revision history to make it easy to restore previous entries and merge or compare different versions. Wiki Server can automatically notify users whenever a change is made, keeping them up-to-date on the latest information, and users can tag keywords to find content quickly.

It's easy to share calendars, schedule meetings and coordinate events within a workgroup, school, small business or large corporation using iCal Server. iCal Server is the first open, standards-based calendar server that works with popular calendar programs which support the new CalDAV standard and does not require client access licenses, so businesses can add users freely as they expand at no additional cost.

Leopard Server is fully UNIX compliant and its core services, including Apache 2, MySQL 5, Postfix, Podcast Producer and QuickTime(R) Streaming Server, are 64-bit, allowing users to work with larger data sets and take full advantage of the performance and processing power of their 64-bit hardware. Since Leopard Server is fully 32-bit compatible, users can run 32-bit and 64-bit applications natively side-by-side.

Pricing & Availability

Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard will be available on October 26 at Apple's retail stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for a 10-client edition and $999 (US) for an unlimited-client edition. An unlimited client license of Leopard Server is included with Apple's powerful Xserve(R) rack-mount server hardware at no extra charge. Online pre-orders can be made through the Apple Store(R) (http://www.apple.com) starting today and current subscribers to the Apple Maintenance Program will receive Leopard Server as part of their service agreement. Volume and maintenance pricing is available from Apple. The standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Xserve system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after October 1, 2007 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Leopard Server can run on any Macintosh(R) computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or G4 (867 Mhz or faster) processor, a minimum 1GB of RAM and at least 20GB of available disk space.

The smarter move: Put 128 dollars in a bank account now, and let it accrue $2 in interest. Bam! Two-dollar discount on Leopard when it ships. (No, I'm not a financial adviser.) –Brian Lam
Amazon OS X Page [via MacMerc]

If you can't recall all the public features, here's a refresher you can glance through before the big show on Monday. The secret features revealed there should be substantial, considering the OS's long delay to October.

Time Machine

Leopard's most radical concept is Time Machine, a way to back up your computer without actually going to the hassle of backing up your computer. The system journals every change on your disk, giving you access to older versions of your work. Want a file you just overwrote or deleted? Use Time Machine's browser to scroll back a few days, then pluck your data from oblivion. Of course, if your drive goes poo-poo, your Time Machine is useless. We're impressed, but we'd be more impressed if Time Machine could go forward in time to when our blog posts are already written, 10 hours from now.

Time Machine can backup, on the fly, to an external or network'd drive. Here's the official Apple video.

Mail

I personally use Mail, and I'm super excited over two tweaks that'll appeal to organizing freaks. The first is the Notes box. How often do you send yourself an emails as reminder notes? The new Mail has a dedicated box that formats Notes messages so they look like Post Its. The Other function is the ToDo list. Mail lets you highlight text in any app—even document files in Finder7mdash;and turn them into things on your ToDo list. Sweeeeeeet. Mail also does stationary now, in HTML. Just like Outlook Express did 5 years ago. The templates included range from photo album to ecards. They're nice. Here's a video.

iChat
It's fargin awesome. We're talking app screen-sharing over iChat video (so you can show off slideshows, or powerpoint, or even videos in Quicktime.) Then, there's iChat's backdrops. The backdrops can overwrite your messy room with a photo of a beach, or of Times Square. The coolest thing? iChat supports video backdrops—one example they had was of someone appearing to be riding a rollercoaster. Then, there's Screen Sharing, which I didn't hear Steve talk about during the keynote. I assume it's a VNC type of remote control. Apple's video here.

Spaces

All the new Macs support high res LCDs. But even the biggest LCDs get crowded after you open a spreadsheet, a mail program, and a browser. So that's where Spaces comes in. Spaces lays your application windows out across 4 virtual desktops that you can quickly switch between. You can zoom out to see all 4, then drag apps between each virtual desktop. BTW, this has been around for a long time in Linux machines. Gotta love how Apple accuses M$ft of copying, while they've copied third party apps like Konfabulator since Tiger.

Dashboard and Widgets

Dashboard, if you don't know, is a program that runs useful mini apps called Widgets: They can check the weather, check stock prices, rock some basic calculator action, and loads more. (Here's Apple's directory of Widgets.) What's new? A Widget creator that seems more suited for developers, and a way to turn any part of a webpage into a Widget. Eh.

Spotlight
Spotlight is OS X's search service that can find not only files, but images from iPhoto, email from Mail, and contacts from Address Book. You get the idea — you can search your system for whatever. What's new here is support for searching Mac's across the network, and support for additional search syntaxes. Meh.

iCal

The big new thing about iCal is group calendar support, using the CalDAV standard. Using a compatible WebDAV server, you can automatically schedule meetings during times when everyone is available, and automatically request meeting rooms. (So, we're one step closer to iCal being useful for workplace use.)

Parental Controls for Net-Access

Parents can limit internet access on machines by remote control. It wasn't announced at the Keynote, but Giz found this sidebar on the Leopard website.

Bundled Apps
Bootcamp, the software that helps Windows Machines run on Macintel machines, comes out of beta and will ship with Leopard. So will Front Row, Apple's media browser, and Photo booth.

Core Animation
Core Animation is a developer tool for scripting graphics. It's best explained by watching an example of a program.

64 Bit Support
Leopard is Apple's new operating system, due to hit the shelves in the spring of 2007. The OS has been written to fully support 64-bit apps and the Quad Xeon 64-bit chips in the new Mac Pro desktops. And at the same time run older 32-bit apps. All without emulation. – Brian Lam

[*this post was excerpted from a previous article on Leopard]
OS X Leopard [Apple]
WWDC 2006 Keynote Video</> [Apple]
WWDC 206 Keynote Transcription [Macrumors]

Also Macrumors.com is claiming that this will be linked to the rumored iPhone Call Ahead feature. Interesting.– Brian Lam

Leopard iChat Answering Machine [MacRumors]