14 DAY TRIAL // A Snow Leopard Build 10A402 was reportedly handed to developers last week, with various sources now pointing out to the many changes this seed brings. Among the major changes, MacRumors lists contextual Dock menus in List View, a tweaked-up Exposé, functional, third-party pref. panes, a smaller footprint on MacBook batteries, and more. Others even suggest there’s serious evidence of Multi-Touch features making their way into the UI.
Reported last week, a World of Apple post said that, “Apple has today issued a new update to Mac OS X Snow Leopard via the built-in Software Update application. The update which pushes Snow Leopard to build 10A402 weighs in at 1.31GB.” Early tests showed visible changes, such as tweaked Dock menus, the source added, which appeared “in a black HUD style,” as well as altered check boxes within applications, and magnifier knobs.
Later, MacRumors chimed in with additional details regarding Mac OS X 10.6 Build 10A402, signaling major changes / improvements with the OS. As listed by the Mac-focused site, the documented changes are available below, complete with imagery.
Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) Build 10A402
- Contextual Dock Menus in List View: Apple has modified the theme of contextual menus within the Dock when using list view. The menus now utilize what some users are calling a “heads-up display” theme of white text on a charcoal background.
- Finder Window Slider Button: The new-in-Snow Leopard Finder window slider button for adjusting icon sizes has now taken on a grey color, as opposed to the standard blue buttons found elsewhere.
Snow Leopard Build 10A402 Contextual Dock Menus and Finder Slider Button
Credits: MacRumors
- Exposé for Multiple Monitors Fixed: Exposé reportedly now functions correctly when using multiple monitors, with windows remaining on their respective monitors in Exposé rather than all being collected on the primary monitor.
- System Responsiveness and Speed: Many users are reporting greater system responsiveness and significant increases in speed. Startup and shutdown times appear to be significantly improved.
- Third-Party Preference Panes: Third-party System Preferences panes reportedly are now functional. - Battery Life for Notebooks: A number of users have reported their battery life indicators estimating significantly longer run times than under previous Snow Leopard builds. This has not, however, been confirmed in actual battery life tests yet.
- New QuickTime Version: QuickTime X has been upgraded to Build 10.0 (42). There is no word on any visible changes in the new build.
As noted above, others have found what they call pretty obvious proof that the latest Exposé features are bringing more and more touch capabilities to Snow Leopard. 9to5Mac suggests Apple is paving the way for Snow Leopard to land on some kind of touch-based device.
Snow Leopard is scheduled for a release in September, this year. Apple is also beta-testing the current Leopard version, with an incremental 10.5.8 update soon making its way into our Software Updaters.