Jump to content

Mac OS X Snow Leopard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Axman6 (talk | contribs) at 07:44, 2 September 2009 (→64-bit addressing). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Mac OS X v10.6 "Snow Leopard"
File:OSXLeopard.png
Screenshot of Mac OS X v10.6 "Snow Leopard"
DeveloperApple Inc.
OS familyMac OS X
Source modelClosed source (with open source components)
Released to
manufacturing		August 28, 2009
Latest release10.6 (10A432)[1] / August 28, 2009[2]
Update methodApple Software Update
Platformsx86, x86-64
Kernel type32-bit or 64-bit Hybrid kernel
LicenseAPSL and Apple EULA
Official websiteapple.com/macosx/
Support status
Supported

Mac OS X version 10.6 "Snow Leopard" is the seventh major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced Snow Leopard at WWDC on June 8, 2008, and it was privately demonstrated to developers by Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Bertrand Serlet. A first public demonstration was given on WWDC 2009 by Serlet and Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing.[3]

This version of Mac OS X focuses on improving performance, efficiency and reducing its overall memory footprint compared to its predecessor Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard", rather than new end-user features. This is also the first Mac OS release since the introduction of System 7.1.2 that does not support the PowerPC architecture, as Apple now intends to focus on its current line of Intel-based products.[3]

Snow Leopard shipped on August 28, 2009.[4] It was sold for Intel-based Macintosh computers running Leopard at US$29 (£25/€29/￥3300) for the single-user license, or US$49 (£39/€49/￥5600) for up to five computers with the family pack. For a qualifying computer bought after June 8, 2009, the upgrade is priced at US$9.95 (£7.95/€8,95/￥980) (with proof of purchase). This upgrade method is only officially supported for users of Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard", although the company now concedes that this will also work for Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" users.[5] The officially supported upgrade path for Tiger users is the Mac Box Set, a single package which includes Snow Leopard as well as iLife '09 and iWork '09.

System requirements

Apple states the following basic Snow Leopard system requirements, although, for some specific applications such as QuickTime H.264 hardware acceleration support and OpenCL, a supported GPU is required (NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT or ATI Radeon 4850 and newer):[6]

  • Mac computer with an Intel processor (IA-32 "Yonah" processors such as Core Solo, Core Duo and some early Core 2 Duo processors with 32-bit EFI, will be limited to 32-bit; later x86-64 architecture processors will be able to operate in 64-bit mode)
  • 1 GB of RAM
  • 5 GB of free disk space
  • DVD drive (also accessible via Remote Disc) or external USB or FireWire hard disk drive for installation

Snow Leopard does not support PowerPC-based Macs (e.g., Power Macs, PowerBooks, iBooks, iMacs (G3-G5), all eMacs, and the G4 Mac mini or Power Mac G4 Cube).

Changes and improvements

Snow Leopard includes the following changes and improvements:

Refinements to the user interface

Without any major overhauls to the existing Leopard interface, Apple has re-written the Finder in 64-bit Cocoa to take advantage of other new process improvements in Snow Leopard. These include:

  • Stacks will allow viewing a subfolder without launching Finder. Stacks have also been modified to include scroll-bars for folders with many files.[7]
  • The default gamma has been changed from 1.8 to 2.2 to better serve the color needs of digital content producers and consumers.[8]
  • Contextual menus which come out of Dock icons now have more options and have a new look, with a semi-transparent charcoal background and white type.
  • Exposé can now display all windows for a single program by left clicking and holding its icon in the dock.
  • Windows can now be minimized directly onto their application's icon in the dock.[9]
  • Faster PDF and JPEG icon refreshes.
  • Artificial intelligence algorithms used for selecting of columned text in PDF documents.[10]
  • Faster startup, shutdown, installation, Time Machine backup and connection establishment.
  • Smaller OS footprint on disk, freeing 7 GB or more.[11]
    • Printer drivers are now downloaded/installed only as needed, rather than installing all drivers and wasting disk space. The default install only contains those drivers needed for existing printers and a small subset of popular printers.[12]
  • Prefixes for bytes are now used in strictly decimal meaning when describing disk space, such that an indicated file size of 1 MB corresponds to 1,000,000 bytes, as commonly used by hard disk manufacturers.[13]

Support for Microsoft Exchange

Mac OS X Snow Leopard includes out-of-the-box support for connecting to Microsoft Exchange 2007 servers for access through Mail, Address Book, and iCal. This has an advantage in simplicity, as customers wishing to utilise similar functionality in Microsoft Windows must also purchase Microsoft Office Outlook to connect to Exchange servers.

64-bit addressing

Mac OS X Snow Leopard and most Mac OS 10.6 built-in applications have been rebuilt to leverage the 64-bit addressing space (excluding iTunes, Front Row, Grapher and DVD Player applications),[14] since Apple has started shipping each Mac as a 64-bit system. Snow Leopard supports up to 16 terabytes of RAM. It has been shown that Snow Leopard, by default, loads with a 32-bit kernel despite running 64-bit applications. Stuart Harris, software product marketing manager at Apple Australia, said, "For the most part, everything that they experience on the Mac, from the 64-bit point of view, the applications, the operating system, is all going to be 64-bit, but that at this stage there were very few things, such as device drivers, that required 64-bit mode at the kernel level". Users wishing to use the 64-bit Kernel must hold down the numbers 6 & 4 while booting to get the 64-bit Kernel to load.[15] It been suspected that SSE4 is also a requirement to run the 64-bit kernel.[citation needed]

Grand Central Dispatch

Grand Central Dispatch utilizes multiple processor cores now in every new Macintosh for more efficient performance. Due to the technical difficulties involved in making multi-core-optimized applications, the majority of applications do not effectively utilize multiple processor cores. As a result, processing power often goes unused. Grand Central Dispatch includes APIs to help programmers efficiently use these cores for parallel programming.

Grand Central Dispatch shifts thread handling focus to itself rather than leaving it to specific applications to distribute jobs evenly across cores and clears up unused memory created by inactive or old threads to achieve maximum performance. Apple is also releasing APIs for Grand Central Dispatch for developers to use in their applications and also to analyze specific blocks of code running on Grand Central Dispatch.[16]

Implementation of a new C and Objective-C language feature named "Blocks" facilitates creation of code that will easily optimize to take advantage of Grand Central Dispatch.[17][18][19]

OpenCL

OpenCL (Open Computing Language) addresses the power of graphics processing units (GPUs) to leverage them in any application, and not just for graphics-intensive applications like 3D games. OpenCL automatically optimizes for the kind of graphics processor in the Mac, adjusting itself to the available processing power. OpenCL provides consistent numeric precision and accuracy, fixing a problem that has hampered GPU-based programming in the past.[20]

OpenCL is a C-based programming language with a structure that is already familiar to Mac OS X programmers, who can use Xcode developer tools to adapt their programs to work with OpenCL. Only the most process intensive parts of the application need to be written in OpenCL C without affecting the rest of the code. Apple has released OpenCL as an open standard that has been supported by AMD, Intel, and Nvidia.[21]

It serves a similar purpose to Nvidia's C for CUDA and Microsoft's future Direct3D 11 compute shaders.

It only works with the following Mac GPUs: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS, 8800 GT, 8600M GT, 9400M, 9600M GT, GT 120, GT 130, GTX 285, Quadro FX 4800, FX 5600 and ATI Radeon 4850, 4870.[6]

QuickTime X

QuickTime X, the next version of QuickTime player, builds on the media technologies in Mac OS X, such as Core Audio, Core Video, and Core Animation, to deliver enhanced playback, greater efficiency, and higher quality[citation needed]. Apple has redesigned the QuickTime user interface to resemble the current QuickTime full-screen view, where the entire window plays only the video and all controls including the title bar fade in and out as needed.

QuickTime X supports HTTP live streaming. Unlike other streaming technologies, HTTP live streaming uses HTTP as opposed to a more specialized protocol. Thus, QuickTime X streams audio and video using any web server instead of a special streaming server, and it works reliably with common firewall and wireless router settings[citation needed]. HTTP live streaming is designed for mobility and can dynamically adjust movie playback quality to match the available speed of wired or wireless networks[citation needed].

QuickTime X uses Mac OS X technologies such as Cocoa, Grand Central Dispatch, and 64-bit computing to deliver higher performance and enables QuickTime Player to launch up to 2.8x faster than QuickTime 7. QuickTime X also takes advantage of ColorSync to provide high-quality color reproduction.[21]

CUPS

CUPS (the printing system used in many Unix-like operating systems) has been updated to version 1.4 which provides improved driver, networking, and Kerberos support along with many performance improvements. CUPS 1.4 is also the first implementation of the Internet Printing Protocol version 2.1.[22]

Development history

The next version of Mac OS X Server will include all of these features and other server-related features. Apple previously stated that Server would include ZFS write support,[unreliable source?][23] but mention of this feature has since disappeared from Apple's website and it now seems unlikely that it will be included.[24]

Build 10A286, issued 6 March 2009, includes "a completely redesigned QuickTime Player" which is most likely built upon QuickTime X. The new Cocoa-based Finder is also included. There are a few visual tweaks as well.[25] ZFS has also been updated to version 11. Previous builds contained the same ZFS version 8 implementation that can be found at http://zfs.macosforge.org/

A previous build, 10A354, was seeded to developers on Friday, 8 May 2009. On Monday, 11 May 2009, Apple issued a code freeze on Snow Leopard's APIs.[26] Apple's current web site concerning OS X 10.6 is notably lacking any mention of ZFS, coinciding with Apple's June 2009 WWDC conference, leading to questions about whether Apple has delayed or canceled the feature.[27]

Build 10A380, was released to developers after a public keynote preview on Monday, 8 June 2009 at Apple's WWDC conference. A new build (10A394) was pushed via Software Update on June 26, bringing speed improvements, bug fixes, and the addition of the advertised Dock Exposé feature.

Build 10A411 was released to developers on July 17, 2009.

Build 10A421 was released to developers on July 24, 2009.

Build 10A432 Workstation and Build 10A433 Server was released to developers on August 12, 2009. As opposed to the previous three builds, 10A432 was released as a DVD disc image rather than made available to download via Software Update for users running previous builds. Additionally its End-User License Agreement does not mention that it is a developers' preview. This build was rumored[28] to be the gold master build before Snow Leopard hits the retail shelf. Later it was confirmed to be the gold master build.[1]

Reception

Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard was well received by critics. Apple had stated in the advertising of Snow Leopard from its first demo at the WWDC 2009 that Snow Leopard features no new visual improvements but instead focusses on redesigning the core applications of Mac OS X to enable them to perform at their best using Apple's new APIs.

The price of Snow Leopard has dropped from the $129 Apple charged for previous versions of Mac OS X to $29. This could be largely due to the fact that most users would not see any noticeable change in the look and feel of the system. [29] However, most reviews commented on the large improvement in speed of the native Mac OS X applications Finder, iCal, Mail etc. [29]

Other unexpected improvements were the release of a new version of Boot Camp, version 3.0, 10-20 GB of space regain compared to the advertised 7 GB, a cleaner, popup software update process and screen and video recording in the new Quicktime Player. [30]

Overall, reviews stated that they were pleased with the improvements given the low price of the upgrade. CNET editors gave it 4 stars out of 5, stating "Intel Mac users will like Snow Leopard's smartly designed interface enhancements, and its Exchange support is a must-have (especially with Outlook for Mac on the way). With a ton of technological improvements, Snow Leopard is worth the $29 upgrade fee." [31]

The single-user upgrade and Family Pack units of Snow Leopard ranked 1 and 2 respectively on Amazon.com's software bestseller charts when Apple announced it would release it within the week. [32]

However, some users have also discovered that Snow Leopard breaks compatibility with versions of some applications, including Parallels Desktop 3.0, versions of Aperture before 2.1.1, and versions of Keynote before 2.0.2, among other software.[33] Apple has also published an official list of applications with compatibility issues with Snow Leopard. Phoronix also reported a regression in performance in OpenGL applications.[34] Phoronix also ran tests of Snow Leopard against Ubuntu 9.04 and 9.10 using the Phoronix Test Suite, both Ubuntu versions outperformed Snow Leopard in most of the 26 tests. Ubuntu 9.10 alone outperformed Snow Leopard in twelve of these 26 tests, while Snow Leopard only beat the Ubuntu distributions in 6 tests.[35]

Version history

Version Build Release date Note Major Changes
10.6.0 10A432[1] 28 August 2009 Available on first-released retail DVD

References

  1. ^ a b c "Snow Leopard: compatibility notes, more updates". Macnn.com. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  2. ^ http://store.apple.com/us/product/MAC_OS_X_SNGL?mco=NzgxMDc3NA
  3. ^ a b "Apple Previews Mac OS X Snow Leopard to Developers" (Press release). Apple Inc. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  4. ^ "Apple to Ship Mac OS X Snow Leopard on August 28" (Press release). Apple Inc. 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  5. ^ Walter S. Mossberg (2009-08-26). "Apple Changes Leopard's Spots". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  6. ^ a b Apple, Inc. "Mac OS X Snow Leopard- Technical Specs". Apple, Inc. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  7. ^ Marsal, Katie (2009-03-05). "Apple prepping new Snow Leopard, iWeb, ARD updates". Bits. AppleInsider. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  8. ^ "MacOS X 10.6 Refinements". Apple.com. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  9. ^ "New in Snow Leopard: Minimize windows to App icon and Expose". Vnoel.wordpress.com. 2009-06-27. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  10. ^ "MacOS X 10.6 Refinements". Apple.com. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  11. ^ "Mac OS X Snow Leopard - Refining the user experience". Apple. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  12. ^ "Mac OS X Snow Leopard - Refining the user experience". Apple. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  13. ^ "News - Snow Leopard: 1 GB = 1000 MB". macprime.ch. 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  14. ^ "Mac OS X - New technologies in Snow Leopard". Apple. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  15. ^ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10320314-37.html?tag=rtcol;pop
  16. ^ Markoff, John (2008-06-10). "Apple in Parallel: Turning the PC World Upside Down?". Bits. New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  17. ^ Lattner, Chris (2008-08-27). ""Blocks" in Clang (aka closures)".
  18. ^ Quatermain, Alan (2008-09-01), Comment on Article: Cocoa for Scientists (Part XXVII): Getting Closure with Objective-C, MacResearch
  19. ^ Grand Central Dispatch A better way to do multicore. (PDF), Apple Inc, 2009
  20. ^ OpenCL Taking the graphics processor beyond graphics. (PDF), Apple Inc, 2009
  21. ^ a b "Mac OS X Snow Leopard". Apple.com. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  22. ^ Sweet, Michael (2009-01-09). "IPP/2.1 support now in CUPS 1.4svn!". Bits. PWG. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  23. ^ Harris, Robin. "Apple announces ZFS on Snow Leopard". Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  24. ^ "Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard". Apple.com. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  25. ^ "New Snow Leopard Build Packs New QuickTime, Cocoa Finder". Retrieved 3/6/09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  26. ^ "Analyst's View: What to Expect in Apple's Snow Leopard". Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  27. ^ "ZFS support falls off of Snow Leopard Server's feature list?". Retrieved 6/9/09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  28. ^ "'Mac OS X Snow Leopard Build 10A432 Designated 'Golden Master'?''11 August 2009'". Macrumors.com. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  29. ^ a b Review From Engadget.com
  30. ^ Review From TestMac.com
  31. ^ Snow Leopard Review and Rating from CNET
  32. ^ Snow Leopard Pre-Order sales
  33. ^ Applications unsupported by Snow Leopard: The Unofficial List
  34. ^ Mac OS X 10.6 Brings Serious Performance Gains
  35. ^ Can Ubuntu 9.10 Outperform Mac OS X 10.6?


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mac_OS_X_Snow_Leopard&oldid=311429736"