Apple Introduces Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard!

Apple today unveiled a Developer Preview of Mac OS® X Server Snow Leopard™, the next major release of the world’s easiest to use server operating system. Snow Leopard Server is a full 64-bit UNIX server operating system based on open standards that is up to twice as fast as its predecessor.* Snow Leopard Server includes innovative new features such as Podcast Producer 2, for automating the creation and publishing of podcasts, and Mobile Access Server with secure access to firewall-protected network services for iPhone™ and Mac®. Snow Leopard Server is priced more affordably than ever with unlimited client licenses and will ship in September 2009.

“Snow Leopard Server is our best and fastest server operating system ever, and unlimited client licenses make it an incredible value for any size business,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “With easy to use new features like Podcast Producer 2 and Mobile Access Server, anyone can set up and manage its powerful services with just a few clicks.”

Snow Leopard Server is a full 64-bit operating system designed to take advantage of multi-core processors and address massive amounts of memory, while remaining fully compatible with 32-bit applications. Up to twice as fast as its predecessor, Snow Leopard Server easily handles the most demanding server operations including web and application hosting, file sharing and mail.

Podcast Producer 2 includes the new Podcast Composer application, which automates the entire production process, making it easy to create podcasts with a customized, consistent look and feel. With just a few clicks, Podcast Composer creates a workflow to add titles, transitions and effects, save to a desired format and share to wikis, blogs, iTunes®, iTunes U, Final Cut® Server or the new Podcast Library.

The new Mobile Access Server is a convenient, easy way for iPhone and Mac users to access secured network services, including corporate websites, online business applications, email, calendars and contacts. Without requiring additional software, Mobile Access Server provides strong encryption and authentication between the user’s iPhone or Mac and a private network.

Additional new features in Snow Leopard Server include:

Wiki Server 2, which improves its online collaboration with the ability to view wiki content on iPhone and preview attachments with Quick Look on any modern browser

the new Address Book Server, based on the CardDAV open standard, which provides a central location for users to store and access personal contacts across multiple Macs and synchronized iPhones

iCal® Server 2, based on the CalDAV open standard, which includes web-based calendar access and the ability to view meeting invitations and details on iPhone using iPhone OS 3.0 a new Mail Server engine that supports push email so users receive immediate access to new messages

QuickTime® X HTTP Live Streaming, which allows dynamic adjustment of movie playback quality to suit the available network speed

NetRestore, a new feature in System Image Utility, that allows easy custom image restore over a network

iPhone Configuration Utility, which simplifies the setup of multiple iPhones with configuration information, security policies, mail settings and certificates needed to connect to and communicate with enterprise systems.

*Performance claim based on testing conducted by Apple in May 2009

Apple Unveils Mac OS X Snow Leopard!

Apple® today unveiled Mac OS® X Snow Leopard™, an even more powerful and refined version of the world’s most advanced operating system and the foundation for future Mac® innovation. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies, out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange and new accessibility features. Snow Leopard will ship as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users in September 2009.

“We’ve built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before.”

To create Snow Leopard, Apple engineers focused on perfecting the world’s most advanced operating system, refining 90 percent of the more than 1,000 projects in Mac OS X. Users will notice a more responsive Finder™; Mail that loads messages 85 percent faster and conducts searches up to 90 percent faster;* Time Machine® with up to 50 percent faster initial backup;* a Dock with Exposé integration; a 64-bit version of Safari® 4 that boosts the performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine by up to 50 percent** and is resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins. Snow Leopard also includes an all new QuickTime® X, with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video to YouTube, MobileMe™ or iTunes®. Snow Leopard is half the size of the previous version and frees up to 6GB of drive space once installed.

For the first time, system applications including Finder, Mail, iCal®, iChat® and Safari are 64-bit and Snow Leopard’s support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance, and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications. Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) provides a revolutionary new way for software to take advantage of multicore processors. GCD is integrated throughout Snow Leopard, from new system-wide APIs to high-level frameworks and programming language extensions, improving responsiveness across the system. OpenCL, a C-based open standard, allows developers to tap the incredible power of the graphics processing unit for tasks that go beyond graphics.

Snow Leopard builds support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 right into Mac OS X Mail, Address Book and iCal so you can use these applications to send and receive email, create and respond to meeting invitations, and search and manage your contacts with global address lists. Exchange information works seamlessly within Snow Leopard so users can take advantage of OS X only features such as fast Spotlight™ searches and Quick Look previews. Snow Leopard is the only desktop operating system with out of the box support for Exchange 2007 and businesses of any size will find it easier to integrate Macs into their organization.

Every Mac includes innovative features and technologies for users with special needs, and Snow Leopard adds groundbreaking new features that make the Mac experience even more accessible to those with a vision impairment. Apple’s Multi-Touch™ trackpad is now integrated with the VoiceOver screen reader so users can hear and navigate different parts of a window or the desktop by moving a single finger around the trackpad as if it were the screen. Snow Leopard also introduces built-in support for wireless bluetooth braille displays and the connection of multiple braille displays simultaneously to one Mac.