06/11/2008, 4:25pm, EDT
Wednesday, June 11th
Snow Leopard specs revealed, Intel only
Apple on Monday confirmed that 10.6 Snow Leopard would be the next major incarnation of Mac OS X, with little details revealed, but individuals who obtained a developer's preview of the OS noted that it requires an Intel processor, confirming earlier suspicions. LogicielMac reveals that while still over a year away from store shelves, its current incarnation states that it requires 9GB of disk space – 12GB for developer tools – 512MB of RAM, and an internal, external, or shared DVD drive.
The system requirements listed in the Read Me also notes that it requires a built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card, which could call into question whether the preview or final release will function on clones, such as computers from Psystar.
Banners touting "OS X Leopard" – notably without the Mac prefix – were seen in Moscone West before WWDC. Apple, a company famous for its consistency in brand identities, did not clarify whether the omission was intentional. When combined with Apple's silence on clone manufacturer Psystar, it raises questions as to Apple's long-term OS strategy, potentially indicating it could open up its platform to other companies/
Filed under: industry, software, developer, Apple
Other story tags: Mac OS X, Snow Leopard
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Dev Release Only!
Yeah, yeah, for a DEVELOPER RELEASE 1 year ahead of shipment...
Bye bye PPC
Well Apple have been shipping Intel processor Macs for over 2 years. And by the time 10.6 hits the stores it will be more like 3.5 years.
Natural selection at its best.
Not so bad
I'll have yet another reason to upgrade to a Mac Pro...
Developer Preview
I agree Marook, I think..
"To install the Snow Leopard Developer Preview"
So the current incarnation of the Developer preview requires an Intel Mac...so what? That doesn't mean the release will, or that a Dev preview won't be available in a few months or something.
Thanks for contributing to the rumor wheel, MacNN. Next time choose your title better, like "Snow Leopard Developer Specs: Intel Only!"
Video card
Not sure but perhaps the real reason for a Apple supplied video card is because of the development they're doing that involves utilizing the video card for regular processing. Since this is only a beta perhaps it is just less complex to write for fewer video cards in order to get the beta out the door.
Please don't open
I know many people think that open g it up to other systems would be a good thing. I don't think it will. Yet another set of issue for apple to deal with. Crappy god knows what is in there peecee's. Personally I think apple will shoot themselves in the foot. I would rather see cheaper macs, and I have never really minded the price since I get what I pay for.
No nail in the coffin yet
Well, the funny thing is that a lot of applications on the Snow Leopard Preview DVD are indeed Universal - not Intel only!. I heard that the main problem is that the current snapshot of the kernel does not boot on PPC, and instead dies with a kernel panic. So, yes, it may be that the final release of snow leopard will not run on PPC, but it is not official yet, and no steps in that direction have been taken, either.