But just think, a Psystar Open Computer might become a sought-after collector's item in a matter of months. Maybe buying one wasn't such a bad idea after all! [Yahoo!]

Well, here it is. The new MSI Wind running Kalyway 10.5.2 (modified Leopard install). I still have to make some small adjustments, like the resolution and the wireless network card, but I couldn't resist posting these images that I'm sure will get the interest of more than one person. Ethernet and Bluetooth work right out of the box, so I'm really expecting a lot from this small notebook. — Translated from Spanish

I like the idea of a $399 mini-notebook running Leopard at full capacity. [Insanely Mac Forum — In Spanish 2-Germans 0 — Gracias Perico!]

Here's the standard Vista desktop:

And here it is when it's been all Dockified:

Dell talks about customizing it in various ways by adding and deleting icons, changing colors and adding text:

There's no mention of whether you can move it to the bottom or sides, though. Wouldn't that be, uh, Mac friendly? All joking aside, I would like to say kudos to Dell for the cool execution. I, for one, can't wait to test it out.

[Dell]

AppleInsider chalks the size decreases up to wider use of vector graphics and a centralized localization scheme, so as to prevent redundant language installations. More likely, however, is that the exclusion of PowerPC support has allowed for some serious pruning, allowing Apple to shed years of IBM residue from each app.

Additional reports confirm, as previously reported, that ZFS will be include in Snow Leopard Server, and claim that new text processing features (like autocorrect and text insertion) will be implemented system-wide, and that a multitouch programming tools will be supplied to developers for inclusion into their 3rd party apps. It looks like Apple is committing to the strategy of optimizing and improving upon an existing product instead of pushing for conspicuous new features, which is bold, to say the least

UPDATE: Macrumors has an interesting post that could explain the reduced sizes. Apparently if you remove extra languages as well as .nib bundles (essentially interface layout instructions, used during the compiling process for the application), you can reach sizes close to those advertised in the original post. [AppleInsider]

If you're thinking it sounds too good to be true and that the site looks a little scuammy, you should know that it took a lot of time to craft this voodoo stick and required the developers to thwart "various problems, including sabotage." After six months of testing, it's due on June 23. Our advice? Let someone else be the guinea pig. Hey guinea pigs, if you buy this, let us know how it goes! [EFiX via Insanely Mac via Hack a Day]

1.

The way the processor industry is going is to add more and more cores, but nobody knows how to program those things. I mean, two, yeah; four, not really; eight, forget it.

Jobs claims that Apple's made a "breakthrough" in parallel-programming called Grand Central, which he alluded to in his keynote yesterday. He didn't, however, go into details about how it works and why it's going to revolutionize dividing up tasks into multiple processors in ways that other operating systems haven't yet.

What's also interesting is the ability to bring the GPU (your graphics card) into the processing role to help out your CPU. Apple's calling this newly proposed standard OpenCL (Open Compute Library).

2.

Basically it lets you use graphics processors to do computation. It’s way beyond what Nvidia or anyone else has, and it’s really simple.

It's vaguely similar to the way that Photoshop CS 4 will use your graphics card to help process image manipulation and help out in rendering 3D models as well.

Will there be more features like Time Machine? Not according to Jobs.
3.

“We’ve added over a thousand features to Mac OS X in the last five years,” he said Monday in an interview after his presentation. “We’re going to hit the pause button on new features.”

Seems to us that Snow Leopard won't be heavy on the features, but it will increase processing speeds for people who are heavy on the processing in their daily computing and have more than just a few cores—a place we're all heading to in the next few years. [NYT]

Yep, you heard right: Apple showed off the OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, due out in a year, to the attendees at WWDC, and let some details slip to the public, including:
• Optimization for multi-core processors
• GPU friendly (actually GPU utilization of highly parallel tasks generally done on a CPU)
• Supports "breakthrough" amounts of RAM—16TB to be precise
• New "modern" QuickTime X platform
• Safari with 53% faster JavaScript implementation
Yes, as we've heard, this is a lot less about cool user features and more about boots-on-the-ground stability—or in Apple SVP for Software Engineering's words, "perfecting the world's most advanced OS." There's no mention of continuing PowerPC support, but then again, there's no word about discontinuing it, either. Here's more from the horse's, I mean, predatory feline's mouth. Update: The official Snow Leopard site is live.

Apple Previews Mac OS X Snow Leopard to Developers

SAN FRANCISCO, June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today previewed Mac OS(R) X Snow Leopard, which builds on the incredible success of OS X Leopard and is the next major version of the world's most advanced operating system. Rather than focusing primarily on new features, Snow Leopard will enhance the performance of OS X, set a new standard for quality and lay the foundation for future OS X innovation. Snow Leopard is optimized for multi-core processors, taps into the vast computing power of graphic processing units (GPUs), enables breakthrough amounts of RAM and features a new, modern media platform with QuickTime(R) X. Snow Leopard includes
out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 and is scheduled to ship in about a year.

"We have delivered more than a thousand new features to OS X in just seven years and Snow Leopard lays the foundation for thousands more," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "In our continued effort to deliver the best user experience, we hit the pause button on new features to focus on perfecting the world's most advanced operating system."

Snow Leopard delivers unrivaled support for multi-core processors with a new technology code-named "Grand Central," making it easy for developers to create programs that take full advantage of the power of multi-core Macs. Snow Leopard further extends support for modern hardware with Open Computing Language (OpenCL), which lets any application tap into the vast gigaflops of GPU computing power previously available only to graphics applications. OpenCL is based on the C programming language and has been proposed as an open standard. Furthering OS X's lead in 64-bit technology, Snow Leopard raises the software limit on system memory up to a theoretical 16TB of RAM.

Using media technology pioneered in OS X iPhone(TM), Snow Leopard introduces QuickTime X, which optimizes support for modern audio and video formats resulting in extremely efficient media playback. Snow Leopard also includes Safari(R) with the fastest implementation of JavaScript ever, increasing performance by 53 percent, making Web 2.0 applications feel more responsive.*

For the first time, OS X includes native support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 in OS X applications Mail, iCal(R) and Address Book, making it even easier to integrate Macs into organizations of any size.

*Performance will vary based on system configuration, network connection and other factors. Benchmark based on the SunSpider JavaScript Performance test on an iMac(R) 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system running Mac OS X Snow Leopard, with 2GB of RAM.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its
award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Contrary to rumors that Apple would drop PowerPC architecture support with its newest OS, a tipster and possible Apple insider was able to get his hands on the most recent build of the yet-to-be released 10.6, and found some evidence that Cupertino might be keeping the chip alive.

The tipster, who asked to stay anonymous lest he incur the wrath of Jobs, found a WWDC seed release labeled 10.6. After poking around a bit, here's what he got:

• Work has definitely been done on PPC-native drivers, which means that PPC is unlikely to be dropped.
• A number of drivers didn't load on a Core 2 Duo MacBook, because it was using a 64-bit kernel and the drivers were only 32. The kernel was not only 64-bit though.
• "uname -a" reports: Darwin localhost 10.0.0d1 Darwin Kernel Version 10.0.0d1: Thu May XX XX:XX:XX XDT 2008; root:xnu-1286~1/RELEASE_I386 i386
• Googling that kernel reveals that there might actually be SnowLeopard releases out in the wild already, processing Rosetta@Home protein folding clients.

If the tipoff is true, then it looks like Apple's not quite ready to let go and hand over chip building to a third party. Perhaps we'll have to wait for a few more builds before we get to a completely Intel-only Mac OS X.

[Flickr via The Crunch - Thanks Mark and Mark's brother!]

If we had to guess one way or the other, this no-feature upgrade doesn't seem to be something Apple would do. They gave away 10.1 to 10.0 owners because 10.0 was lousy and needed a bugfix badly, but 10.5 Leopard works just fine. They probably wouldn't waste their goodwill on their point upgrades being $129-worthy by doing something like this. But you can't really tell what's going to happen at WWDC, really, and if there's a time to do OS news, it's at the dev conf. [Ars Technica]

According to the report, Apple's upcoming OS will focus solely on "stability and security." Also, it will be a landmark OS as Apple will not be making it PowerPC compatible—so it'd be the first OS X to not work with the platform. The new OS is supposedly slated for a Jan 2009 release.

It'll be interesting to see the reaction at Macworld if OS 10.6 is announced. Die hard fanboys may mourn the new limitations of their Power PCs. And our eyes may still be too blinded by the glitz and glamor of Leopard to appreciate good old "stability and security." What do you think? [TUAW] [Image]

Jesus Diaz: Tell me more about Lux. This is a framework that anybody can use, right? Under any platform?
Christian Moore: Well, yeah, is an open source framework I've been working on for experimenting with user interfaces. It's more a general framework than targeting one main deployment platform. That video is actually all AS3 running in Flash 9 over Mac OS X, but you can integrate it with any development system and platform.

JD: Why Flash?
CM: Because it's fast to prototype in. However, the software is broken into several segments. One C++ application that tracks hands that talks to Flash... WPF... or another C++ app... and basically everything you can imagine. You can enable multitouch in any environment, like Cocoa.

JD: So anyone can grab the framework and make native multitouch apps right in Mac OS X or Windows or Linux.
CM: Yeah. We have an Xcode-developed app for photo and paint coming, as well as a tracking application. But using Flash for this demo was the fastest way for us at the moment.

JD: How many people did this?
CM: I did the core system, but four people from the NUI Group contributed demos.

JD: What machine is running the demo in the video? Looks amazingly fast.
CM: Just a MacBook.

JD: And for the multitouch screen?
CM: I use a ~box from naturalui. It's ghetto tech, I know, but I developed the majority of Lux on a cardboard box. And it works great.

JD: Indeed, it looks like it works perfectly right. How does this compare to frameworks like UITouch, in the iPhone?
CM: Apple's UITouch its very, very well designed. It runs at the core level, while ours is more a free environment to develop on top... to learn about multitouch and share code.

[Lux and NUI Group]

Apple Executives to Showcase Mac OS X Leopard and OS X iPhone Development Platforms at WWDC 2008 Keynote

CUPERTINO, California—May 13, 2008—Apple® today announced that a team of Apple executives, led by CEO Steve Jobs, will kick off the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 9, 2008 at San Francisco's Moscone West. This year's WWDC will showcase two revolutionary development platforms, the ground-breaking innovations of OS X Leopard® and OS X iPhone™, the world's most advanced mobile operating system.

The five-day WWDC event, which runs from June 9 to June 13, will feature the first ever iPhone track for mobile developers with in-depth sessions and hands-on labs to fully explore the capabilities of the OS X iPhone 2.0 software, including the iPhone SDK and the App Store, a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to iPhone and iPod® touch users.

The iPhone track will also enable mobile developers to work side by side with Apple engineers to create amazing applications that leverage iPhone's revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface, animation technology, rich set of APIs, including programming interfaces for Core OS, Core Services, Media and Cocoa® Touch technologies, built-in three axis accelerometer and geographical location technology to deliver truly innovative mobile applications.

This year's Mac® track will give newcomers and seasoned veterans alike the technical foundation and techniques needed to develop world-class OS X Leopard applications with sessions that discuss every level of the system, including interface design and implementation, application frameworks, security, localization and networking.

WWDC 2008 will offer over 150 information-rich sessions and labs where Apple engineers will go in-depth on the innovative technologies that power OS X iPhone and OS X Leopard. Developers can bring code to the labs and work one-to-one with Apple engineers, applying development methods and best-practices gained from sessions to enhance their applications.

Other activities at Apple's WWDC 2008 include:

* presentation sessions led by engineers that provide an in-depth look at OS X iPhone, OS X Leopard and innovative tools and technologies such as the iPhone SDK, Cocoa Touch, Interface Builder, Xcode® and more;
* practical hands-on sessions where attendees can learn Apple's own coding strategies and techniques;
* technology labs where attendees can work one-to-one with Apple engineers; and
* special events, including the Welcome Reception, Apple Design Awards, Lunchtime Speakers and Stump the Experts.

Visit Apple's WWDC website for registration and complete session details at http://developer.apple.com/wwdc.

Tech Journalists and Reviewers Use Macs: Sure, Microsoft may not think it's profitable to develop software for a platform where users are unlikely to purchase their products, but what about drawing interest from the media? If you look around any tech media event, you're going to see more people using Macs than PCs. And sure, most, if not all, of us have both platforms running. But for those of us who use OS X as our primary OS, how many are using Zune past the initial review stage? It's more of a hassle to go back and forth between machines just to use devices, especially when it comes to the storage of media files. I think the media would be more interested in the nuances of Zune if it fit in with their daily lives.

Zune 2.0 Is a Quality Product: Pound for Pound, I'd say the Zune80 is a better product than the iPod Classic. It has a better UI, more features (hardware and software), a better platform and control mechanism for gaming, and a decent enough design. While many companies in the past have put out good MP3 players, none have hands-down outclassed the iPod. The Zune80 might be the first to challenge the supremacy of the iPod. Why not have faith that Mac users will see that?

Devices And Platforms Should Never Be Exclusive: The iPod never really took off until it began supporting Windows with it's 2G iteration. Of course, Apple had more to gain from opening up to a much, much larger Windows user base, but it never hurts to make a product more widely available to the public.

How Costly Can Mac Support Be?: Even if the number of potential Mac users who would buy Zune products is minuscule, how expensive can it be to code an app? There have been far smaller companies who have supported both platforms, and Microsoft has other Mac apps, so what gives?

All The Cool Kids Are Doing It: The iPod didn't become the de facto standard for MP3 players because of its technical prowess alone. The great white earbud craze of 2004 probably started because a handful of popular kids liked the design of the iPod a year or two earlier, which in turn made them technological tastemakers. All the kids who want to be popular generally follow along. I think it goes without saying that it's currently considered "cool" to own a Mac. Microsoft is never going to get Zunes in the hands of this group if they can't get their music on it.

It's entirely possible adding Mac support won't have a huge impact, but with open source technology and DRM-free media growing more popular by the day, giving people the freedom of platform is always good for the image.

Currently the video resolution is pinned at 800 x 480 and there're difficulties with wwan, but work is continuing to overcome this.

Is this the smallest Mac in the world? Very probably, and pretty amusing given that OQO was founded by some ex-Apple employees. [OQOTalk]

We absolutely do not support customers attempting to install the Leopard operating system on our Open Computer themselves. This is due to a difficult process that we go through to get Leopard to function on our computers. We encourage you to purchase an open computer, and select the option to have Leopard Pre-installed. Currently, (shipping the computer back to us) is the only option available. If the HDD dies, you can ship it to us for $50 plus shipping, so we can replace it for you.

If we look at the only viable way to install a Leopard on a vanilla OS X machine right now, which is using a hacked version of the OS, this decision makes sense. Psystar can't very well distribute hacked versions of Leopard with every computer. The most they can do is give out copies of the real Leopard, which is uninstallable as-is. But that's not what they said before.

Back when we first heard about them, they claimed this:

The highly extensible OpenMac is a configuration of PC hardware capable of running unmodified OS X Leopard kernels. If you purchase Leopard with your OpenMac we will not only include the actual Leopard retail package with genuine installation disc, but we also include a Psystar restore disc for your OpenMac and we will preinstall Leopard for free so you can begin to use your computer right out of the box.

What happened here? Are they still going to include a restore disc? If so, that might run afoul of Apple and/or the guys who came up with the hacking method in the first place. If you're going to have to mail your hard drive in every time there's a problem, this might be too much trouble for the money you save. [Macfixit]

The Guardian also finds it weird that Apple hasn't responded at all. Does Apple know that they're a fake company? Is Apple planning something behind the scenes? Either way, this whole situation smells worse than Benny Goldman in the tub.

Do we have any Giz readers around there? Shoot me an email if you are. Thanks guys! Got your emails. [Guardian]

I'm runnin a stock Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 with 4GB of RAM. I counted 108 apps total and gave up bored after I had running anything from Photoshop, Visual studio 2008, Office professional 2007, Safari, and Media Center all the way down to that rescource hog, Minesweeper.

This fascinates me at oh-so-many levels:

• How the heck do you have 100 graphics applications installed in your computer in the first place?
• Why do people still care about this kind of things?
• What do you people really care about when it comes to the performance of your computer?
• How comes we haven't had any Linux user telling us he's running 250,000 apps simultaneously on six different monitors.
• How many applications can the Beamz run?
• And finally, how many graphical apps can you run in your computer without it burning down in flames?

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. Please write your opinions and personal benchmarks in the comments.

CNET's blurb about Vista being one of tech's "biggest blunders" is actually from an op-ed that Microsoft should dump the OS entirely, while the PC Mag snippet is the title of a column from January that proffers ways for Microsoft to start-over.

It's not a mind-blowing factual error to say the quotes are from reviews, or even that disingenuous—attack ads usually involve a roll in the mud—but it's worth pointing out there's a difference between a position and an actual review. Not to say that the spots aren't amusing—John Hodgman is a riot. Oh, and we're certain its debut the same week as Vista SP1's is a total coinky-dink. [TechEBlog]

• Airport connection reliability and stability (we've noticed some problems personally, and so have you)

• Back to my Mac for third-party routers
• Dashboard widget performance improvement
• Stacks fix! List view, Folder view, and updated background for Grid Vid View
• Menubar transparency disabling
• Less translucent menus
• Several iCal recurring meetings supports, bug fixes overall
• iChat Bugfixes
• iSync support added for Samsung D600E and D900i phones
• Finder bugfixes
• Mail bugfixes
• AFP network volume hanging fixed
• RAW support improved
• Preview bugfixes
• Time Machine bugfixes (some external drives not being recognized)

Plus lots of various other fixes (we tried to cover only the hot ones here). We'll have a full list shortly.

More info here [Apple]

There's also a Leopard Graphics Update 1.0 that comes after you install the 10.5.2 update, which according to Ars, it's just a set of updated graphics card drivers.

Microsoft's relaxed their ruling, which was previously justified by saying that virtualization wasn't mature enough for consumer adoption, which allowed them to clamp down on only the supposedly more pro or business SKUs of Vista. Combine this with the news of 64-bit Vista support yesterday and this is a good week for people who want to run Windows on Macs. [Ars Technica]

After a few seconds of internet browsing, the browser hangs up and you get a problem loading page/lost connection message (both Firefox and Safari). The problem is, Airport is still connected to the network. If you click the airport icon at the top of the screen, airport status changes from "Airport Scanning" to "Airport on," then the internet works again. Only to go back into scan mode a few seconds later and repeat the cycle. There are MULTIPLE discussions on Apple's support forums, but no solutions.

A sample discussion thread can be found here. We wouldn't point this out if we haven't experienced it ourselves—both at home and at the luxurious hobo-stained Imperial Palace we stayed at during CES. Have you noticed this? We'd notice that one machine using Leopard would drop out while another one on Tiger sitting two feet away would stay up. You? Throw up a comment.