14 DAY TRIAL // Announced at WWDC '08, Snow Leopard promises to support multi-core processors and GPU processing. Over the course of 2008 and 2009, Apple has seeded its developer community with numerous test builds of the software. Mac OS X 10.6 is now allegedly “more stable,” as developers have just gotten their hands on a new build – Mac OS X 10.6 10A261.
MacRumors is reporting that Macitynet.it has recently gained knowledge of the above-mentioned 10.6 build being handed to developers testing the software. As the translated report indicates, Mac OS X 10.6 Build 10A261 is the newest since December's 10A222 release (which was also leaked on torrent sites). According to Macity's sources, Mac OS X 10.6 Build 10A26 seems to contain very few to no noticeable changes. However, the build is reportedly more stable.
“The interface has not been revised and currently there are only small changes in System Preferences, have been resolved a few bugs in the Finder and little else,” goes a rough translation of the report. “According to the sources of Macity the impression is that this release is more reliable than those previously distributed.”
As our readers should already know, Apple has been (and probably still is) rumored to be uplifting Leopard's interface, dropping Aqua elements in favor of a new model – Marble. While the rumor doesn't seem very plausible, some suggest Apple is expected to unify the entire UI, doing away with elements using embossment. However, as the latest build shows (as well as those before it), Apple hasn't made any major changes, graphically speaking. Many believe there will mostly be tweaks of Aqua rather than a total overhaul. One report claims that the biggest revision may be a mere 'flattening' of the graphical model.
Snow Leopard is slated for release in the first half of 2009. Unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn't release beta builds of its OS to the public. The first public release of Snow Leopard will most likely be the official release of the new OS X version.