So there’s one year to wait till Apple releases its next operating system, Mac OS X 10.6, also known as Snow Leopard. Although it was claimed that the new version would more or less be a more effective, faster and stabler update, nothing as big as the switch from 10.4 to 10.5, it seems we can still expect a number of significant improvements. RoughlyDrafted Magazine lists ten new features that we should find, come July 2009, in the shiny new Mac OS. Here is a quick round up of them:
- Use of the Low Level Virtual Machine (LLVM) architecture project should ensure faster and more effective code.
- The integration of version 1.4 of the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) will guarantee better and safer printing performances.
- Read and write support for Sun’s 128 bit ZFS file system should replace the Mac native HFS+.
- Apple’s Push Notification Service (PNS) will keep your iPhone and iPod always connected to receive updates of events any time.
- Integration between mobile devices and desktop products, most probably via Bonjour.
- Even better than widgets, Snow Leopard could include self contained web apps.
- Integration of the best new Microsoft application features, like Fast User Switching, which came in Panther.
- Presence of Data Detectors anywhere there is text on your Apple computer.
- A new framework for Multi Touch trackpad gestures. Expect to put your fingers on the screen even more.
- Last but not least, Snow Leopard should bring with it much smaller applications. Just take a look at the graph below to get an idea.
