Story by The Wall Street Journal
Snow Leopard OS scheduled for release in September.
Apple Inc.'s new operating system, dubbed Snow Leopard, is designed to mimic one of the big cat's prominent characteristics: speed.
Scheduled for release in September, Snow Leopard is expected to be the fastest operating system to date from the Cupertino, Calif., company.
Macintosh computers and used Apple laptops running Snow Leopard will shut down as much as 75% faster than those running Leopard, the current Macintosh operating system, according to Apple's Web site. Computers and used Apple laptops running the software also will wake from the low-power sleep mode twice as fast as those running Leopard. The system is as much as 55% faster at joining wireless networks.
Snow Leopard's sprint to stores and the Internet will come as Apple positions its well-regarded operating system for a challenge to Microsoft Corp., which is preparing the latest version of its ubiquitous Windows operating system. That program, Windows 7, is getting strong reviews, though questions remain as to how quickly it will be adopted. Many viewed its predecessor, Windows Vista, as a miss with businesses and consumers.
Windows 7 is to be launched Oct. 22. Hearing positive feedback from consumers, enterprises, reviewers and industry experts that confirms Windows 7 is on track to deliver what our customers have been asking for in a new operating system. Operating systems control the key functions of computers.
Apple's Snow Leopard has about 100 major come-hither features or refinements. The operating system will push the boundaries of what can be done with track pads, the part of a laptop's console used to control the on-screen cursor. With Snow Leopard, any Macintosh notebook computer or used Apple laptop with multitouch track pads will support three- and four-finger gestures, as they are known in the computer industry.
Gestures include swiping three fingers together either left or right to advance through a series of downloaded Web pages. Four fingers swept upward on the track pad clean a crowded desktop.
Snow Leopard isn't particularly pricey. It will cost $29 to upgrade a Mac to Snow Leopard from Leopard, and $49 for five computer upgrades within the same family. The software also will ship with every new Mac.
Because of the low price tag, Snow Leopard won't directly contribute much to Apple's top line. Apple is counting on Snow Leopard to entice people to buy more of its computers, especially its laptops.
Those machines have relatively large profit margins that have helped propel Apple's profit and stock price. The shares have risen 91% this year. The stock fell 1.1% to $162.83 on the Nasdaq Stock Market at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Snow Leopard puts Apple in pole position to capture market share for notebook computers and used Apple laptops.
