Apple News: Mac OS X Leopard, Safari for Windows, iPhone Apps
Steve Jobs made several announcements at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference today in San Francisco, including the latest on Apple's long awaited Leopard OS, the new Safari for Windows web browser, and a new way for developers to write apps for the iPhone.
Apple unveiled a "near final" version of Mac OS X Leopard which after several delays, is scheduled to ship in October. Leopard will have a suggested retail price of $129 (US)
Leopard introduces over 300 new features, including a new Desktop and Dock with Stacks, an intuitive new way to organize files; an updated Finder featuring Cover Flow and a new way to easily browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to rapidly preview most files without opening an application; Time Machine, a new way to easily and automatically back up and restore lost files or a complete Mac®; Spaces, a powerful new feature to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and enhanced iChat and Mail applications, which easily allow users to communicate even more creatively.
Apple offers Windows users a chance to browse the Web with Apple's new Safari 3. Apple says Safari 3 is the world’s fastest and easiest-to-use web browser for Windows PCs and Macs, and that Safari is the fastest browser running on Windows, based on the industry standard iBench tests. You'll have to see for yourself if Safari 3 can render web pages up to twice as fast as IE 7 and up to 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2, as Apple claims.
Safari 3 features easy-to-manage bookmarks, effortless browsing with easy-to-organize tabs and a built-in RSS reader to quickly scan the latest news and information. Safari 3 public beta is available today as a free download at www.apple.com/safari.
Apple also announced that the iPhone will indeed run applications created with Web 2.0 Internet standards when it begins shipping on June 29.
Developers can create Web 2.0 applications which look and behave just like the applications built into iPhone, and which can seamlessly access iPhone’s services, including making a phone call, sending an email and displaying a location in Google Maps. Third-party applications created using Web 2.0 standards can extend iPhone’s capabilities without compromising its reliability or security.
