Free CodeWeavers Software: Today Only

Hurry! There's only a limited time that you can still download CodeWeavers' CrossOver, an application that will let you run Windows applications on Mac OS X. I've been playing around with it for about an hour, and it hasn't accepted any of the applications I tried to install that weren't on the supported software list.

Internet Explorer 6 and Windows Media Player 9 are among the list of supported software that I did manage to get installed, however I've deleted them because I have no use for them, and to add to the fact, they're highly outdated.

You can still get the download until the end of the day today. The free giveaway was inspired by the Great American Lame Duck challenge, so get it while you can here.

Apple Releases OS 10.5.4

This morning, Apple released the latest revision of OS X (Mac OS 10.5.4). The update addresses stability, compatibility, and security according to Apple's website. Alongside this update was Security Update 2008-004 for OS 10.4.11-10.5.3. It is most likely included in 10.5.4 because it is not listed as an update for that version of OS X. So far I haven't noticed the changes, but it was a pretty quick download/install process. The whole thing was over before I could have breakfast and get ready for the day.

No PowerPC Support in Snow Leopard

LogicielMac has posted a screenshot of the system requirements for Snow Leopard, the upcoming release of OS X that was seeded to developers earlier this week. These requirements are listed:

• An Intel Processor
• An Internal, external, or shared DVD drive
• At least 512 MB of ram
• Display connected to an Apple-supplied video card
• 9GB of disk space, or 12GB for developer tools

For those who haven't read the previous post about Snow Leopard, it's the next major release of Mac OS X (10.6). It was announced at WWDC, and a preview was given by Bertrand Serlet. It will not include new features, but will bring many performance and security fixes.

Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard to focus on Performance and Quality

After Steve Jobs' keynote to kick off WWDC, Bertrand Serlet gave a preview of OS 10.6 "Snow Leopard to the attendees of WWDC 08. Apple plans to focus on performance rather than new features in the new release.

“We have delivered more than a thousand new features to OS X in just
seven years and Snow Leopard lays the foundation for thousands more,”
said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software
Engineering. “In our continued effort to deliver the best user
experience, we hit the pause button on new features to focus on
perfecting the world’s most advanced operating system.”

The new OS includes the introduction of Open Computing Language (OpenCL). This new technology extends the computing power of the GPU to any app written with OpenCL commands. Snow Leopard will also bring the software limit for RAM to a whopping 16 TB (theoretically).

I'd love to see some performance boosts, but this sounds more like a service pack than a new release of the OS. So far on the Snow Leopard page, it looks just like Leopard on screen, but that could still change as it says it will be released in about a year's time. We'll be sure to keep you updated here at iBlog.

EDIT: Apple has posted a Snow Leopard page on their website.

Mac OS 10.6?

I'm guessing that Steve Jobs will make an announcement of Mac OS 10.6 at WWDC. There are rumors of it being called "Snow Leopard" which I think sounds too much like the current version, "Leopard". There are also rumors that it will drop PowerPC support, and Intel-only. Arstechnica reports that 10.6 will be "Cocoa Only" but that still remains quite vague. References to 10.6 were recently found in the iPhone SDK installer, so it's probably on it's way.

It's Alive!

Gizmodo has an exclusive video of the Psystar computer in action, using Mac OS X, or Osx86. So, accordingly, this is real. Looks like it runs pretty good!

[Via Gizmodo]

Free Software: NetNewsWire

NetNewsWire is a free RSS/Atom Reader that easily brings the news from your favorite sites right onto your Mac. The interface isn't as cluttered as other apps, such as Shrook, and is easy to navigate. It also has some great features, such as being able to use a desktop blogging app to respond to a post, change the way an article is displayed to you, and easy organization of your feeds. Definitely give it a try. Download it at Newsgator's website