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Published on November 13, 2007

Tony Li, product marketing director of Apple, said Mac OS X Leopard was the latest Mac OS version after it introduced the first Mac OS, Cheetah, in March 2001. Leopard comes with over 300 new features to improve productivity.

New features include Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; Finder, which lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between Spaces with the mouse or keyboard; and Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up all the data on a Mac with a one-click set up.

He said Leopard's new desktop includes the redesigned 3D Dock with Stacks, a new way to organise files for quick and easy access. Leopard automatically places Web, e-mail and other downloads in a downloads stack to maintain a clutter-free desktop.

It also comes with iChat features that easily allow users video conferencing on any computer, and even richer video chats in Leopard with iChat Theatre, which makes it easy to show photos, presentations, videos or files in a video conference. There is also screen sharing which lets users remotely view and operate another Mac.

Other features include Parental Controls, aiding parents in managing their children's online activities with automatic identification of unsuitable content before allowing website access, plus time limits and activity logs that can be accessed from any Mac on a home network. There is also Boot Camp, previously available only as a beta version, making it possible to run Windows on Intel-based Macs. The new Mac OS requires a minimum of 512MB of RAM and is designed to run on any Mac computer with an Intel and PowerPC G5 or G4 (867 Mhz or faster) processor.

He said Leopard is available now through authorised Apple resellers for a suggested retail price of Bt5,690 for a single-user licence and Family Pack worth Bt8,590 for a single residence or five-user licence.

Jirapan Boonnoon

 The Nation