VoIP features expected in Apple's Leopard
Software engineers at Apple Computer have been toiling away on a new set of features that will allow users of its next-generation Mac OS X operating system to place phone calls over their Internet connection, AppleInsider has learned.
The move will pit the Apple-branded video conferencing and instant message software against existing VoIP solutions from the likes of Skype, Google and Microsoft.
Skype, which began as a small software startup in 2003, is largely accredited with popularizing free Internet telephony through its self-titled software application. The Luxembourg-based company was recently acquired by eBay. It boasts a userbase of over 100 million and offers its software in 27 different languages.
Recently other industry heavyweights have looked to get in on the VoIP craze. Just this month, Microsoft added VoIP features to Windows Live Messenger, which will be available to users of its forthcoming Vista operating system. Meanwhile, Google wedged its foot in the door last year with public beta release of Google Talk, a similar software-based service.
If reports pan out, VoIP functionality won't be the only feature of Apple's Leopard to rival similar offerings from both Google and Microsoft. Earlier this month, sources reported that Apple also appears ripe to introduce a geographic mapping solution with Leopard, similar to Microsoft's Virtual Earth and Google's Maps.
The Apple software, which is simply dubbed "Maps," is also rumored to employ GPS functionally. In the future, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company may leverage the technology to help track stolen Macs or iPods, people familiar with the software have said.
A team of Apple executives is scheduled to formally unveil Leopard during the second week of August at the company's annual World Wide Developers Conference. Although Apple has so far referred to the operating system as "Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard," there's a strong possibility that name will change, sources have said.
89 Comments
Software engineers at Apple Computer have been toiling away on a new set of features that will allow users of its next-generation Mac OS X operating system to place phone calls over their Internet connection, AppleInsider has learned.
People familiar with recent builds of the software say voice over IP (VoIP) Internet dialing is just one of several new features in iChat 4.0, which Apple is expected to bundle with the operating system overhaul, code-named Leopard.
The move will pit the Apple-branded video conferencing and instant message software against existing VoIP solutions from the likes of Skype, Google and Microsoft.
So it sounds like we're talking about an end-to-end service, rather than just a third party service client in iChat, right? As in Apple VOIP service? Maybe it will be part of .Mac.
This is music to my ears. I was hoping Apple wouldn't miss the VOIP train.
iChat AV is a natural for VOIP( I know I know VoIP for the purists)
The Apple software, which is simply dubbed "Maps," is also rumored to employ GPS functionally. In the future, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company may leverage the technology to help track stolen Macs or iPods, people familiar with the software have said.
Hm, remember in January that Garmin, out of the blue, announced support for OS X?
This reminded me about that when I read the above section.
Don't change the name, I like it!
So, in order to track the mac, I'm guessing they may include an optional built in GPS sometime? Anything less than optional and people will cry privacy rights.
Can't wait for Leopard...er, OSX Vista Killer. wait a minute, what am I saying? That operating system was released 5 years ago!
The whole "Maps" business sounds kind of strange - why waste resources on this when there are plenty of other companies already doing similar apps.
But when you think about some of these features in light of a possible Apple UMPC, they make perfect sense: GPS-Navigation, VOIP, etc. . Bring on the iPhone/iTablet/UMPC/MobileMe.
I´ll have two, please