14 DAY TRIAL // A Tumblr/Twitter user going by the screen name of pedro10 has received a retail copy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard in advance, Spanish site Applesfera reports. Mac OS X version 10.6 (Snow Leopard) isn’t officially shipping until Friday, August 28, 2009.
MacRumors translated the text to report that, after installing Apple’s next-gen operating system, pedro10 discovered (and reported) that the retail disc contained Build 10A432, the very build that was rumored to have been made as Golden Master. As some should know, a Gold / Golden Master edition of a piece of software like Snow Leopard eventually gets printed onto retail discs and distributed to the public.
The Mac-focused site also notes that other reports suggest a different reality – that Apple issued a new Snow Leopard build to printing factories. However, these reports not only haven’t been confirmed, but they also seem unfounded.
User pedro10 also felt it would be appropriate to provide proof of the Snow Leopard copy in question, and thus posted a few shots of the retail packaging and disc, complete with written documentation. However, no such evidence of the actual “Build 10A432” listing was provided.
Earlier this week, the Japanese version of Engadget posted pictures reportedly provided by an anonymous Mac mini buyer in Japan, who claimed to have received an install DVD of Snow Leopard with the purchase. The images showed not the retail copy of Mac OS X 10.6, but the Install / Restore disc (colored grey) that shipped with Apple hardware.
Apple has announced a $29 upgrade price from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, and a five-license Snow Leopard family pack priced at $49. Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard costs $499. Buyers of a “qualifying” Mac or Xserve (systems that meet Snow Leopard requirements) before the operating system’s public release can upgrade to Snow Leopard for as little as $9.95, through Apple's “Up to Date” program.
