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Apple releases Mac OS Leopard into wild

Long awaited new operating system release 'evolutionary, not revolutionary' but seen as major sales opportunity to build on strong hardware sales.

By Miya Knights, 26 Oct 2007 at 17:06

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Apple's latest operating system (OS) release, known as Leopard, has garnered overall positive reviews following it going on sale today.

Last week, Apple named 26 October as the date for its Mac OS X 10.5, after delays in April caused by diverting development resources into this year's earlier release of the iPhone, led it to put its original release schedule back.

Wall Street Journal technology writer, Walt Mossberg called Leopard "evolutionary, not revolutionary". He added that, with its 300 new features, it builds on Apple's quality advantage over Windows. "In my view, Leopard is better and faster than Vista, with a set of new features that make Macs even easier to use," he said.

However, the new features are, in the main, enhancements to Apple's last OS release, Tiger and build on being the first OS launch for the company since it started using Intel chips in its systems.

Highlights include the Apple TV interface, which is now integrated into the OS having been an add-on for Tiger; a desktop organisation tool called 'Stacks' and a new workspaces tool called 'Spaces' that lets users cycle trough different desktops.

Other features include backup system, 'Time Machine' and Quick Look, which lets you view the contents of a document's icon at full size on the desktop, without having to open the program that created it, while the slick coverflow feature introduced in later iPod generations can now be applied to all searchable files. And Spotlight, the metadata search tool first introduced in Tiger has been revamped to produce more accurate, contextual search results.

One enthusiastic new user blogged on gadget site Gizmodo, saying: "Copying a file from one folder to another is the most impressive event I've ever seen. I was moved to tears when I changed wallpaper. Playing a media file was life altering. IT'S AN OS." While others have dubbed the new OS, 'Vista 2.0'.

Apple is hoping its recent success in the hardware market will drive Leopard sales. The company sold 2.2 million Macs last quarter compared to its previous most successful quarter, where it sold 400,000 units.