Apple shows Leopard's spots

by admin August 7, 2006 at 3:19 pm

SAN FRANCISCO–Apple Computer on Monday introduced the Mac Pro, the company’s first Intel-based professional desktop, and also gave developers a preview of Leopard, the next version of Mac OS X.

CEO Steve Jobs showed off the shiny metal desktop, which will start shipping immediately, as he kicked off the Worldwide Developers Conference here.

The Mac Pro offers a similar casing to the Power Mac G5 that preceded it, but it replaces the older PowerPC processors with two dual-core Intel Xeon chips, as well as space for two optical disc drives and up to four hard drives. The standard $2,499 configuration includes 1GB of memory, an Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics card, a 250GB hard drive and a SuperDrive that can burn CDs and DVDs.
“Today, the Power Mac is going to fade into history,” said Jobs, wearing his trademark black mock turtleneck and blue jeans. At several points, Jobs handed off keynote duties to several lieutenants, including Senior Vice President Philip Schiller, who showed off the Mac Pro.

Apple didn’t offer a full look at Leopard but instead showed off a top-10 list of new features the operating system is set to sport upon debuting next spring. Among the features Jobs showed off are a Time Machine option that automatically backs up a Mac. Other features include enhanced videoconferencing options, improved Mail and the inclusion of the Front Row media software and PhotoBooth picture-taking programs that previously have been available on only new Macs.

Full article: ZDNet