Snow Leopard forums open

Apple has opened official developer threads for the discussion of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, ending a formerly restrictive policy, reports say. Though still only accessible by people with Developer Connection Select or Premier accounts, the threads provide a common place to discuss technical issues related to Snow Leopard, without worrying about leaking information to the public. The Developer Forums are currently described as in beta form but should see the participation of Apple engineers.

The company previously prohibited collaborative discussion outside an immediate development team, even when talking with other people bound to Apple's non-disclosure agreement. The policy mirrored the one for the iPhone, which -- until it was liberalized several months ago -- put a chill not only on developer discussion but the teaching of classes and the publication of SDK guide books. Some plans had been kept in limbo since the launch of the iPhone 3G, based on expectations of loosened restrictions.

by MacNN Staff