Apple's Snow Leopard now due August 28

[Marc]

The same goes for reducing the OS size--I imagine dropping support for PowerPC (and therefore reducing binary size) would lead to quite a significant reduction already.

Actually, that was pretty much averaged out by adding in all the 64 bit code. The space reductions came from general tightening up, better use of compression, and the elimination of all superfluous printer drivers in favor and downloading and installing them on-the-fly when a different printer is connected.

And, apparently, calculating capacity differently

Apple is just doing to us now, what the hard disk makers have been doing for 25 years.

 

[tehfunz0rz]

And, apparently, calculating capacity differently

Apple is just doing to us now, what the hard disk makers have been doing for 25 years.

Yeah. It's a stupid implementation, but one that gets OS X another step closer to parity with widely-held industry standards (along with the switch to the 2.2 gamma space and support for Microsoft Exchange).

I will never, ever refer to 2^10 bits as a kibibit, no matter how much the standards and practices folks tell me to. It seems, on this one, the storage makers have won out.

EDIT: In an update to the previously-mentioned QuickTime X topic, it's important to distinguish the QuickTime API from the QuickTime media player front end. While the old 32-bit QT API has officially been discontinued after being continuously built on for 18 years, it has been replaced by QTKit, a robust 64-bit cocoa-native replacement first introduced in 2005.

But that's all behind the scenes.

What the user actually notices is the apparent "replacement" for the original QuickTime 7 front-end in the form of QuickTime X. But in fact, for now, this should perhaps be thought of as an additional application best suited for those times when all you want to do is play a media file. While QT 7 is now listed as an "optional install" under Snow Leopard (and is annoyingly placed in the Utilities folder by default), it maintains not only the original functionality of its user interface, but it appears that it may also enable QT 7 Pro features whether or not you ever purchased a Pro registration key.

For sure, the QuickTime X media player will eventually catch up to its predecessor in features and functionality, but for now the Apple designers have taken a typically pragmatic approach to the thorny issue of introducing an entirely new media player front-end for its QuickTime technology and chosen to release a feature sparse but rock-solid build. (Remember, the underlying QTKit has four years of testing behind it. QT X is new as of Snow Leopard.) Whether QT X will once again implement Pro keys once it's a full-on replacement for QT 7 remains to be seen, but don't hold your breath for anything in 10.6.x. Expect to see that come Mac OS X 10.7 at the earliest.

I highly recommend the full Ars Technica 10.6 review for those willing to delve into the nitty-gritty.

 

[RoJoHen]

One of these days I'm gonna figure out why my local Best Buy doesn't sell any Mac products....

 

[PhasersOnStun]

One of these days I'm gonna figure out why my local Best Buy doesn't sell any Mac products....

That is weird; my Best Buy has a Mini Mac Store in it. And it's literally across the street from a full Apple Store, too.

Go figure.