Leopard rumor roundup

The Apple rumor mill has been circulating furiously lately with "leaks," speculation, and all manner unofficious information -- some wack and out of touch with reality, some quickly proved fake, some fun, and some even a little plausible. Unless someone gets all crazy on us and leaks Leopard long before it's due to debut at WWDC in August, all we've got now is a few of these rumors to go by. Oh, and feel free to leave some more of your favorite Leopard rumors in comments!

• Apple will take aim at Parallels and introduce an integrated virtualization system. Seems plausible, but being that Parallels is already out, that might induce some serious anti-trust issues.
  
• iChat will do VoIP and will be able to call landlines, ala Vonage, etc. Makes sense, though we'd be a little skeptical about how they'd integrate SkypeMacOut minutes into .Mac -- they'd have to come up with a new micropayment system for landline calling.
• Apple will develop a desktop mapping application; it will be similar in form and function to Google maps. Except unlike Google maps, an Apple map app would have little point.
• Finder to go solid metal, get tabbed interface. (Video here.)
• Apple will take a Wine-like approach, and run Windows apps natively. Some people just won't give this one up -- the reason they entered the BAPco was because of Boot Camp, m'kay?
• That silly iTunes BitTorrent deal: share your bandwidth with Apple so users downloading legitimate content from the iTMS get faster speeds. Your reward? Get some cash knocked off your iTMS purchases. Sounds wonderful, but it's a legal nightmare. You're going to provide value for an unaffiliated entity using your bandwidth? ISPs ain't gonna like that. And do you really think Apple's gonna convince the RIAA to take a cut in profit from iTunes for reduced prices on P2P sharing? Because Apple sure ain't gonna shave some more off that razor-thin margin of theirs, and Steve's already having a hard enough time keeping the cost at 99c per song.
• Leopard will track your belongings via GPS tags and the maps app above. Seriously? This is just getting silly.
  

[Thanks to everyone who sent their Apple rumors in]

[pbase @ Jul 1st 2006 4:33PM]

You've got a point about the ISP's. Using my bandwith for profit, with no cut for them? Good luck.

[Kurt @ Jul 1st 2006 4:34PM]

I wholey believe that a Wine-like implementation is not out of the question for Apple, seeing as how their agreements with Microsoft to patent-share make the base knowledge of XP and Win2000 available for implementing such a feature...

[Randy @ Jul 1st 2006 4:41PM]

How exactly would this violate antitrust? (Answer a: It wouldnt!)

[albertomichieli @ Jul 1st 2006 5:06PM]

Hopefully they ll implement some kind of tagging style ala flickr for files

[Mike @ Jul 1st 2006 5:19PM]

Apple is going to topple Windows once and for all. With the move to intel based processors, not only can you run windows apps on a mac (via bootcamp) but you the process of porting over software has become much easier.

Think about it... Why was Ipod so successful? People wanted an mp3 player, they saw the benefits, they just didn't have a choice yet that was "perfect". So Apple comes and, here comes the Ipod, it's sleek, it's sexy, and it holds more than 13 songs.

Windows is going down the hole, and it's on fire too, people need an operating system. Well, finally an option is coming along that is nearly perfect (in comparison to Windows).

Now all that needs to happen is the software. Apple made a great gamble when they moved to intel based... it brought them 10 steps closer to the belly of the beast. Do they get gobbled up, or emerge victorious??

[nVidiot @ Jul 1st 2006 5:34PM]

^^^^

Hmmm... I don't really get that logic.

If someone buys a Mac because of bootcamp, aren't they also buying a copy of Windows? You REALLY think people are going to switch to a Mac OS that easilly?

The only people I know that are very interested in that concept are people who are into music production and art. People that prefer PC's for daily use but would like a Mac because of all the hardware/software compatability issues that are nearly non-existant on the Mac HARDWARE platform.

Other than that in the PC world most people couldn't care less about BootCamp. There are those "tinkerers" out there (like myself) who typically wouldn't touch a Mac but are interested in an Intel based machine because of the dual-boot possibilities.

But once I put any serious thought into it I realize:

a) I generally don't like MacOS or it's interface
b) What point do I have to buying a MacOS machine? The only feasible reason is to test my web sites out in Safari, which I can allready do with my MacOSX VMWare image (that can't do much else but works fine for that).

It seems like the majority of the "hype" for bootcamp comes from Mac-heads... if more Mac-heads buy Bootcamp capable machine than typical PC-only types than in reality that is a win for Microsoft not Apple as it sells more copies of Winodws.

Bootcamp will help Apple sell some hardware AND help Microsoft sell some software.. but I don't see it having any major impact on Windows being the standard end-use OS for both business and personal users.

And with Microsoft gaining (either by quality or by force) in the Server market..... good luck Apple.

[Kevin K @ Jul 1st 2006 5:36PM]

Oh god, these updates are pathetic...

VISTA, the cure to OS X!

[Barry @ Jul 1st 2006 5:38PM]

I second Randy's comment: antitrust? Did I wake up in a parallel universe where Apple has a monopoly on the OS market?

[yonatron @ Jul 1st 2006 5:49PM]

Kevin K: "these updates" are speculation and alleged leaks. Apple may have something entirely different and better up their sleeves. And I haven't seen anything to indicate that Vista is that much better than the current Mac OS.

Ryan Block: Don't bother posting anything you get from macosrumors.com; they've been just plain Makin' Stuff Up for years. macrumors.com and macosxrumors.com, on the other hand, both occasionally get stuff right (the former mostly aggregating rumors from other sources).

[hawk @ Jul 1st 2006 6:45PM]

Vista, the cure to OS X! Does everything OS X did, after OS X already did it! Comes in 7 convenient versions! Graphical fluff won't even work on the minimum configuration so you don't even get that unless you fork over lots of money! (note that quartz vs quartz extreme is really the OS X version of all that aero stuff, and for the most part quartz extreme just made things faster, not any prettier)

Wait a minute...

I'm not trolling, i'm Just Saying(tm)

[Aza @ Jul 1st 2006 6:48PM]

They better do more than add tabbed browsing to the Finder. That thing is the single most crappest piece of software I've ever seen on a Mac....in fact on any computer. I moved from 12 years with PC's to the Mac, and daily, I cry over the Finder. What's with no "cut" file command? Hire me Apple, I'll fix the damned thing for you.

[bob @ Jul 1st 2006 6:55PM]

this thing is gonna be bigger than everyone is expecting, its gonna bowl us all over i bet, and if apple sorts out its graphics card support (as in everything out there as soon as it comes out) then they could have the 3d / compositing world drooling, linux / windows and mac all in one box - instead of a clumsy settup of everything, im liking it.

[Richard @ Jul 1st 2006 7:06PM]

People use Windows for the same reason they will continue to use Windows — someone else decided for them and they went along, from work to home. OS X.5 is not going to destroy apathy and inertia, so just forget it. Now Apple might gain a two-fold share of the marketplace. That would be sweet. And Windows would benefit because Cupertino would continue to innovate for them.

[Kevin K @ Jul 1st 2006 7:11PM]

heheheh you're kidding right? Although OS X did gain a few features before XP ever would or could, a new version of OS X is released every year...

Its changes are so incremental and basic it makes me wonder why I have a mac in the first place. They're hardware is great, but like, OS X blows chunks in compairson.

Every try setting up a network bridge in OS X? For gosh sakes, I don't even know how to choose things from the contextual menu items using my keyboard. Can I even do it? on windows, its called "Alt", and its a key on my keyboard.

[Donald @ Jul 1st 2006 7:12PM]

I understand the need to make the point that it's not going to happen clear, but why repeat the iTunes/Bittorrent thing?

[TLD @ Jul 1st 2006 7:13PM]

nVidiot,

I doubt BootCamp will help sell copies of Windows. Wouldn't most users switching from their Dells/HPs/Gateways/etc. already have a copy of XP lying around? Legality aside, it's not likely that they would feel a need to purchase another.

[mike @ Jul 1st 2006 7:24PM]

Hopefully they ll implement some kind of tagging style ala flickr for files


---

They already have it and no one uses it. Go to 'Get info' on any file.. see the Spotlight tags?

[Tom @ Jul 1st 2006 7:33PM]

Kevin K: unless I have misunderstood you (which is quite likely, as I can't understand why you would want to "to choose things from the contextual menu items using my keyboard") then the answer is simple: just use the arrow keys. And, umm, 'gosh' is generally preceded by 'golly'.

And more generally, seeing how much has changed between all the previous OS X iterations (ok, there was less .3 - .4) this list tells us only one thing, which is that Apple have become much better at keeping secrets. Frankly, no one is going to fork out for tabbed finder windows, and two apps they can get for free (PPC users, still the vast majority, won't be able to use the Windows stuff). Apple know that, so there must be a lot more to Leopard, ergo no one has any idea and they are clutching at straws. Apple has spent almost twice as long developing Leopard, so we should expect considerably more, not less (yes there are some pretty big things required, for example a unified OS appearance) unless there is an inverse relation between development time and innovation. Umm, how long has Vista been in development?

[fpn @ Jul 1st 2006 8:04PM]

An Apple map app might be very useful if it doesn't require a constant internet connection like Google Maps. There's no good GPS map software for the Mac, and quite a few car computer installs use the Mac Mini. Apple could put together something that's actually usable.

[thomas_h @ Jul 1st 2006 8:08PM]

this is so annoying, i've won a WWDC student scholarship and i cant afford to go :( :(

[romych @ Jul 1st 2006 8:32PM]

here is a wishful prediction. Mac Mail App will finally support IMAP IDLE and have better IMAP support via SSL.

[Dogpatch @ Jul 1st 2006 8:33PM]

Microsoft is finally going to admit its longtime dominance of the PC market was unfair to the Apple-ites of the world, and Bill will hand the keys to the OS kingdom over to Steve Jobs as he retires for good. A despondent Steve Ballmer will jump off the top of the Space Needle.

Then Google will eat everyone's lunch by proving once and for all that fat operating systems really do suck.

Can we stop with this OS-war nonsense now?

[Brian James @ Jul 1st 2006 8:48PM]

Silly mac heads that think Mac will kill Windows... shame on you! Didn't you know that Microsoft is already making jack-squat on home users? MICROSOFT MAKES IT'S MONEY SELLING TO BUSINESS! All the SERVER apps, the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of computers in addition to the one all these people have at home.

BUSINESSES aren't going to be switching to MAC. They have too much invested into IT and software.

[Beeblebrox @ Jul 1st 2006 9:03PM]

I always have to snicker quietly to myself when I read posts such as Kevin K's above about the alleged superiority of Windows over OS X. This is just MS fanboyism devoid of any real world support.

I worked for over 15 years in Higher Ed in a mixed OS environment (usually about 50% Mac OS, 40% Win, 10% other). The campus PC IT guys/gals would readily admit that they had job security because Windows sucked so badly. Viruses, worms, keyloggers, kludgy network configuration dialogs, endless reinstalls, constant OS sluggishness, hardware problems as far as the eye could see, etc. etc. etc. kept these people busy night and day. On the last university campus I worked at the PC techs outnumbered the Mac techs 10 to 1! This is because PC techs have to tech PCs while the end user can tech OS X.

Even the most technophobic faculty member could, via phone, be talked through connecting their Powerbook wirelessly. Forget it with the PC users. In fact, talking through a faculty member over the phone to get them to configure ANYTHING on their Win machine usually ended up causing worse problems.

In my shop if we wanted to work on a PC we had the faculty member bring it in. It was safer than having them mess around with the settings.

P.S. While the Finder in OS X leaves something to be desired, it is still light years ahead of Windows Explorer and I expect it to remain so.

[nVidiot @ Jul 1st 2006 9:33PM]

TLD: Haha.. yeah.. that's certainly part of the equation here.

My point is that a lot of people say that BootCamp will get Windows users to switch to OSX and I just don't see it... from the same perspective you could say that it would get Mac zealots to use Windows...

I don't see it making much of an impact at all really... and from my experience it's the Mac guys who are excited about it not the Windows guys..

The vast majority of people I know (granted I work in technology as a software developer) don't give half a crap about OSX or dual-booting it.

All the hype I hear about BootCamp are from either my 'nix buddies or my Mac buddies.... hence the jist of my post.

Seems like to me that logically BootCamp helps both Apple and MS out... Microsoft theoretically sells more software and Apple sells more hardware and possibly software.

If anything it positions Apple to more gracefully leave the OS market and stick to hardware where they've been quite succesful.

Everbody wants an iPod because of the design... TONS of people love the look/feel of the Apple products in the personal computing sector (their laptops come to mind) but would never go Apple because of their reliance on Windows.

Whether you think OSX is a superior OS or not the truth is Windows is a standard... and because so many people have so much experience with it it's one that would be very hard to move away from.

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jul 1st 2006 9:47PM]

1) I doubt this will be available, but if so, there is no anti-trust issue as Apple would surely have been developing this long before Parallels was available for OS X.

2) iChat VoIP already exists in one form (it's called audio chat(, as for calling a phone, this would be cool and could easily be handled with one's iTunes account. I know I have extra change in there. This may be more realistic than the other rumours when a Mac phone appears.

3) Apple Mapping software? This makes no sense whatsoever.

4) Whether the video is fale or not (I suspect is was done with some crafty Photshop and Flash), a new Finder will surely be available for Leopard.

5) DarWine would be great, but I doubt it's a reality.

6) This would help with HD content, but the technical difficulties are many. If achievable, Apple would surely give a little back if they can save twice as much money on bandwidth usage and distribute content even faster.

7) This one is too dumb to even conceive.

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jul 1st 2006 10:09PM]

nVidiot, Bootcamp and Parallels does help Windows out, but in the short run only. In the long run, MS will marketshare.

The ones who are really hurtby this are the OEMs as they obviously aren't getting to ship as many of their machines.

Apple benefits a little int he short run and int he long run. If personal consumers and businesses wanting a machine that is safer and more stable than Windows may choose Mac now knowing they can use Windows as a backup or for whatever legacy apps they still have.

This really does take a lot of the initial fear out of transitioning to a new OS.

[cinder @ Jul 1st 2006 10:16PM]

"If anything it positions Apple to more gracefully leave the OS market and stick to hardware where they've been quite succesful."

They aren't leaving the OS market. It amazes me how many people see Apple as a hardware company or a computer company.

APPLE IS A MULTIMEDIA COMPANY !!!!!!

They make various hardware and software and have online data storage and sell multimedia content.

Remove your blinders people!
Here is another example you should be aware of: Google is an advertising company, not a search engine company.

PS: Big Oil, needs to stop looking at themsleves as Oil companies and as energy companies, then perhaps they would stop worrying about their future and start thinking about it productively.

[Jeffrey M Foster @ Jul 1st 2006 10:39PM]

Apple should start building GPS receivers into all laptops.

...like the iSight.

that'd be sick.

GPS companies hardly have any support for Mac at all, so Apple should do it. that'd be great.

[Expresso @ Jul 1st 2006 11:43PM]

Pff tom or whoever said use the "Arrow Keys" are u freaking nuts... Thats not real computing, we're talking a sofware app here, not a meager toy and nothing more than the latest novelty.
I kinda agree say they want to get into a menu item that is even the slightest bit burried.
OS X (8): Right, Right, Right, Up Up Up, Right, Down (ur now at find)
Same situation on Windows (with the same layout)(4):
Alt + E, F, F

But honestly, steve never disapoints with surprises, but I think he should have a lot up his sleeve

[AC @ Jul 2nd 2006 12:18AM]

Jeffrey:

There would be lots of legal issues invovled with a gps unit in a mac.

ie. they can basically track you whereever you are, which would be good (in case you lose your comp) and bad (gets in the wrong hands)

[Chris Perardi @ Jul 2nd 2006 1:07AM]

How about garbage collection for Cocoa? A resolution-independent, vector-based UI? Finally enabling Quartz 2D Extreme?

[Mike Danko @ Jul 2nd 2006 1:45AM]

Bootcamp? Marketshare? I think that people make too much of it. It's only reason for existance is so when I as a mac user try and get a friend who's PC I end up doing way too much support for to switch, and he says "But I Can't Blah on a Mac" I can tell him to get one, because he can.

[hohum @ Jul 2nd 2006 4:47AM]

Expresso, it's not that many keystrokes to get to 'find' on OSX, you can get there mostly the same way as Windows.. shft+ctrl+F2 to get up to the menubar, then 'e' will bring you to 'edit,' space or down arrow will pop open 'edit,' and 'f' will bring you down to 'find.' Not as quick as Windows, but not 8 keystrokes either. Shft+ctrl+F2 is a lot more awkward to whack than 'alt,' to get up to the menu, maybe that'll get rethought at some point..

[Scott Pauls @ Jul 2nd 2006 9:42AM]

i see a lot of people saying that Windows is going in the whole, I hate windows also, i am all time mac lover, always have been and always will be, but i will stick up for microsoft this time around, as much as i dont want to, I am an IT Admin, for A small company located in Lancaster, WI never could i implement a Mac Server, I have used and tested Mac Servers very well, but there is a lot of things i cant do with OS X Server that I can with Server 2003, Like Windows Update Services, Group Policy Management, Software Management, and the real kicker, Authentication, With OS X Server, it takes a minimum of 30seconds for it to authenticate. You cant expect an end user to wait 30 sec. just to start to login. Another thing is all our FInancial software, and our data software for processing things, that is essential to uses, is Windows only. Again, I dont like Windows either, but look at it this way, OS X will take over the home evironment, and WIndows will always be the corporate environment. You might have to think about this but OS X relies on windows to survive, and windows relies on OSX to survive. Now here is another thought, if apple would make their server line Intel, I wouldl purchase the hardware and run server 2003 on it, maybe vista.

[Nate Kapp @ Jul 2nd 2006 11:30AM]

I heard that Leopard will cure cancer and play volleyball down on the beach with little orphan children from Somalia every Tuesday.

I also heard that it may be able to destroy the giant meteor that's heading for earth in 2010, but they may leave that out for the next OSX incarnation and another $130 upgrade.

[tkmp @ Jul 2nd 2006 1:47PM]

we all know deep down that our OS has its own problems and there is something that the "other OS" hasthat ours doesn't mac hardware isn't good, windows has a buggy experience, linux supports almost nothing,so all you windows, mac, linux, using/bashing morons out there shut up and dualboot like a man (or woman)

[Halopend @ Jul 2nd 2006 4:55PM]

Well, I remember on talks of spotlight with an apple developer, he mentioned that one idea apple had looked at was to build GPS trackers into their laptops. All files would automatically have a location tag associated with it so that for example certain files would automatically be associated as workplace files since they were created at work. A round-the-world traveller could type a location in spotlight and all files created at that location would appear. Crazy? Yes, but if you consider the advantages to having a GPS built in it's not necessarily a bad thing. Heck just the advantages for theft protection would warrant it but with a map program as rumoured you got your own navigational device for the car.

[OnlyPoet @ Jul 2nd 2006 7:43PM]

Expresso, hohum: Or, and this is a long shot... for Find in OS X, you could just type ctrl (in the same locationas 'alt') + F... that's one key stroke, and no need to navigate anything. One key stroke, no extra buttons. I don't see how Windows makes this easier.

The Finder needs work, I agree. Always have agreed to this one. the barely adequate changes from .3 to .4 were good for a temporary fix, but not good enough for a good OS. -OP

[Expresso @ Jul 2nd 2006 7:57PM]

oh god, OBVIOUSLY YOU COULD JUST PRESS THE TWO BUTTONS. IT WAS A MERE HYPOTHETICAL SENARIO INVOLVING A SLIGHTLY BURRIED MENU ITEM...

And in response to hohum, its not SHIFT + CRTL + F2 on my powerbook, its the EVER SO CONVENIENT:

Shift + Crtl + Fn + F2 just to get to the menu. WOW, way to to goooo apple! And yes, merely pressing the alt key is much simpler.

OS X is a seriously lacking OS from any "Technical" point of view...

[Tim M @ Jul 3rd 2006 2:11AM]

I installed vista on a macbook and a) it runs fine even without the video card and b) there is NOTHING new about it... come on winderz has been workin on vista for 5 freking years and it has just a few features thats mac have had for years! Plus with MS office for mac (which is what 99% of people use) there really are no comp issues when switching to mac... plus you will be a cooler person because you wont have a lame a s s PC...

[chicmome @ Jul 3rd 2006 3:07PM]

I sure hope Apple puts out something to counter Parallels Desktop. Has anybody used it yet? Can't run Vista, can't run OpenSolaris. Plus it looks like a freakin' Delphi app. ugh!

[Todd Sieling @ Jul 4th 2006 10:22PM]

Re. a micropayment system in .mac

They already process .99 sales and others for photobooks and so on through my .mac ID, so they might already be there for billing landline calls in a VOIP chat.

[Christopher @ Jul 5th 2006 1:26PM]

"You've got a point about the ISP's. Using my bandwith for profit, with no cut for them? Good luck." -pbase

They get paid for bandwidth already. Their "cut" is the monthly payment that the subscriber pays for said bandwidth.

And as to RIAA having to take reduced profits for Apple to implement this scheme because Apple doesn't have room in its margins, that's bunk. Apple has thin margins, yes, but remember that those margins are *after* they pay for their bandwidth. This scheme would just spread out their bandwidth cost across the credits to the peers. Apple would get more bandwidth to serve their stuff and folks get a kickback that makes them more invested in the system. An interesting idea, and one that shouldn't be outright dismissed.

[Gus @ Dec 21st 2006 2:18AM]

Wait, wait, wait. So, on the new Finder look; I'm not so sure. I know that was the pre-release. Still, it seems like there were a few things missing. Time Machine, XCODE? If it was a developer, I think that the person would have put XCode on their dock. Anyway, just putting it out there.