14 DAY TRIAL // Leopard development seems to be in overdrive as Apple is trying to get all the last minute polish it can into the latest version of Mac OS X. The latest pre-release build started making its way towards developers over the course of this weekend and it includes a number of interface improvements as well as a big list of recommended testing suggestions.
Screenshots of Mac OS X Leopard build 9A527 show many visual tweaks. These range from a reduced transparency of the menubar to a new startup movie and desktop. Apple seems to be going for a galactic theme with this version of the OS, which is in tune with that of the Time Machine backup software, one of the most well known Leopard features. Other interface improvements that can be deduced from leaked photos include a more refined toolbar in Preview as well as new preference pane icons for Appearance, Desktop & Screen Saver, Sharing and Parental Controls.
Apple is asking developers who install this latest build to test it thoroughly. New features such as .Mac syncing of Dashboard widgets, Dock items and preferences have been highlighted alongside other common and long-established functions as printing and Spotlight Mail searches, for evaluation by testers. Apple seems to have set up a very quick system for gathering feedback from testers and rolling out the necessary updates. The company has also informed developers of a dozen known issues with the current Leopard build, which will be isolated and resolved in the following weeks, but encourages the reporting of any other quirks that will be discovered. Apple is obviously pushing Leopard development into full speed, in order to get everything it can do in the remaining weeks. Of course, with the October release date, these weeks are numbered, but it is quite possible that Apple will do what it did with the iPhone and release it in the very last days of October.