The latest version of Mac OS X - Snow Leopard (snow leopard) 2009: installation, settings, comparisons

The latest version of the Mac OS is considered the most perfect operating system in the world. It was on it that Apple finally completed its transition to 64-bit technology. The main differences of this OS are high speed of installation and operation. This version requires less free space on the hard disk. And, surprisingly, the cost of Snow Leopard is much lower than previous brethren.

Mutually beneficial cooperation

At some point, rivals had to stop competing. And it happened exactly at the release of Snow Leopard. Apple and Microsoft realized that they can perfectly complement each other, and began to cooperate. Recently, this situation has become a trend, and in the future will not seem something out of the ordinary. Companies whose activities are connected with information technologies began to unite and produce joint products, gaining good profits, expanding the range of products and conquering new markets.

The release of the package, which combines MS Office and Mac OS, did not surprise anyone. The latest version of the operating system from Apple supports Microsoft Exchange. And the developers have provided the maximum of their interaction, so that now no need to install any additional applications.

Release History

The first operating system of this series from Apple came out in 2001 and was called Cheetah. Over the next eight years, the world saw five more versions. All of them are symbolically called the breeds of wild cats - cheetah, puma, jaguar, panther, leopard and snow leopard.

The first five years since the release of the first version of Apple represented the Mac OS every year. Versions by years were replaced by a new "wild cat". There was a race of functionality. Every Apple product has become more advanced. The company focused on the image, loudly announcing its releases.

For the first time Mac OS X Tiger came out with a delay. The developers launched the version a year and a half after the previous one. Version Mac OS 4 X Tiger 10.5 changed the fourth only after two and a half years.

The last "Snow Leopard" replaced "Leopard" in 2009. But its fundamental difference is that if before the presentation of the operating system was an explosion of possibilities and technologies, this time it went quite calmly. In previous packages, developers have focused on upgrading the interface and expanding functionality. This product shows that Apple has worked more errors, improved what was available. But, despite the lack of hype, Snow Leopard fully justified itself as the most advanced OS.

Consumer's view

Not all Apple Macintosh users rated the new operating system. Many people ask themselves what has changed after all. To say that the company made a leap forward, of course, is impossible. However, the developers made such changes, which at first glance are not available for a full evaluation by ordinary users, but in the process of work, the latter should feel some improvements. Apple optimized the following points:

1. Reduce the speed of installation. It can not be said that this is vitally important for the user, since the operating system is not reinstalled very often.
2. Reducing the weight by seven gigabytes. The latest version of Mac OS leaves more free space on the hard drive.
3. Increase the on and off speed.
4. Fast download, instant search for the nearest Wi-Fi.
5. Automatic software update for printers.
6. Increase video stream resolution in iChat.
7. Implementation of Expose technology. It provided improved navigation between the open windows.
8. Update QuickTime X.
9. The application of Finder technology in the file manager of Mac OS X. It influenced the support of multithreading.

Not all the lucky owners of the Makbook were waiting for the release of the new product. So, not in the best position were the owners of technology, working on PowerPC processors, because now the operating systems from Apple do not support this generation. Literally for one year, in 2005-2006, the company moved from the CPU to Intel. And now the new operating system can not be installed on the old Mac. Thus, the company decided to encourage its customers to buy new laptops from Apple.

An addition from Microsoft is the integration of Exchange Server. This means that now various applications (mail, calendar, notepad, etc.) are part of the complex structure of many companies that have mail activity associated with Microsoft products. Previously, for such an association, it was necessary to purchase the Microsoft Office for Mac package. As part of this product was an analog Outlook - the application Entourage. From now on, the necessary add-ons can work together with Exchange Server (starting with the 2007 version).

Specifications

The latest version of Mac OS differs just by its modifications of the filling. The main technical achievements made by the developers in the "Snowy Bars" include:

• Full support for 64-bit computing;
• Grand Central Dispatch - a system that provides multi-threading;
• OpenCL is a function by which a graphics processor can convert intensive computations;
• QuickTime X - fully integrated under the Macintosh Operating System X multimedia system.

64-bit computing

According to the developers themselves, this achievement is the most significant in this version. The first hints on this category appeared in version 10.4. At the moment, not all extensions are rewritten and give the possibility to load the kernel in 64-bit mode. This, for example, is the software by which the drivers of some devices are implemented.

Apple left 32-bit, but made it more flexible and compatible. Users can work with both 32-bit programs and 64-bit programs. And all thanks to the operating system Snow Leopard. Most applications on the Macbook work on 64-bit and can access sixteen billion gigabytes of memory.

The development allows to provide a high level of productivity. But the latter is available only in the case when the laptop has a good memory and 64-bit mode.

Grand Central Dispatch

As mentioned above, the latest version of Mac OS is distinguished by its relative simplicity and modesty of innovation. Developers of Apple came to the conclusion that the main work should be aimed at performance, power consumption and heat dissipation. Applications should be multifunctional - work on different cores and in unusual conditions. But for this it is necessary to implement the multithreading function. This is what was done in the latest version of the operating system. Life has been eased for application developers, since the Grand Central Dispatch system now handles the flow distribution work. Thanks to her applications have become more productive.

OpenCL

In order to Apple Macintosh had the ability to perform serious computational operations, the Open Computing Language function was conceived. Additional power was given to the computer's power, which had previously been wasted. These are specialized graphics coprocessors. To do this, specialists (using the OpenCL language) modified some fragments of their applications. This technology has already recognized and NVIDIA, and ATI, and Intel.

QuickTime X

Technology was introduced in the nineties. The main purpose is to support and process multimedia files. In the latest version of the operating system QuickTime has been improved - there was an updated interface and support for modern codes.

Improved features provide the user with new features. All the technologies of Apple are aimed at increasing the comfort when working with the brand's technology.

Installing the new version of the OS

To update the Mac OS version, you must hold down the Alt key when installing the system from the boot disk. Then choose the boot option from the disk and the installation language. In the "Installer" running, you have to select the HDD and click the "Continue" button. The program will offer to mark objects for installation, among which:

• The actual operating system itself;
• Support for printers (if you select an option, the system will automatically download the necessary drivers after the installation, if the printer is connected later);
• Additional fonts;
• Language packs (removing the tick from this option, you can save at least 1.62 GB of disk space);
• X11 (it's better to leave the object selected);
• Rosetta (allows you to run applications developed for PowerPC on the Intel platform);
• Quick Time 7.

When the installation is complete, the computer prompts you to restart. After rebooting, you have to choose the country of residence, keyboard layout, set up a network connection, enter registration data and so on. This completes the installation of Snow Leopard.