Sam OliverMac OS X 10.6 build 10A261 is believed to be just the third external beta distribution of Snow Leopard since the next-gen operating system was first previewed at last June's Worldwide Developers Conference.
As of press time, however, the software was not available to the Mac maker's general developer community and was instead provided to a subset of testers sometimes privy to pre-release Apple software ahead of the broader developer population.
In addition to asking developers to focus their testing efforts on evaluating the stability of non-Apple software running on the system, the Cupertino-based company is also seeking feedback on a new set of included printer drivers and the latest implementation of Microsoft Exchange support.
Compared to earlier builds 10A190 and 10A222, it's reported that there are few noticeable changes to the software outside of some minor adjustments to the Mac OS X System Preferences pane and bug fixes to the new Cocoa-based Finder.
Apple has said that it plans to release Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (topic page RSS feed) within a year's time of last year's June developers conference, meaning it could show up any time between early spring and the fall.
In the meantime, readers interested in learning about some of the real-world benefits of upcoming Snow Leopard technologies may want to check out AppleInsider's ongoing Road to Snow Leopard series.
Mike Wuerthele
Malcolm Owen
Andrew O'Hara
Mike Wuerthele and Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
45 Comments
Apple this week has tapped a handful of choice developers to test third party application support against a new build of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in a sign the software is nearing a stage of refinement and optimization.
Mac OS X 10.6 build 10A261 is believed to be just the third external beta distribution of Snow Leopard since the next-gen operating system was first previewed at last June's Worldwide Developers Conference.
As of press time, however, the software was not available to the Mac maker's general developer community and was instead provided to a subset of testers sometimes privy to pre-release Apple software ahead of the broader developer population.
In addition to asking developers to focus their testing efforts on evaluating the stability of non-Apple software running on the system, the Cupertino-based company is also seeking feedback on a new set of included printer drivers and the latest implementation of Microsoft Exchange support.
Compared to earlier builds 10A190 and 10A222, it's reported that there are few noticeable changes to the software outside of some minor adjustments to the Mac OS X System Preferences pane and bug fixes to the new Cocoa-based Finder.
Apple has said that it plans to release Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (topic page RSS feed) within a year's time of last year's June developers conference, meaning it could show up any time between early spring and the fall.
In the meantime, readers interested in learning about some of the real-world benefits of upcoming Snow Leopard technologies may want to check out AppleInsider's ongoing Road to Snow Leopard series.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
Apple's pissing a lot of ADC select developers off. I agree with them. What's the point of paying $500 annually for early seeds to get your apps ready when Apple doesn't deliver. I've read at least one prominent developer wonder aloud if he would renew his ADC subscription based on the fact that WWDC attendees were getting seeds that Select members did not and that he shouldn't be punished for not laying out $1500 for WWDC.
Apple could learn a bit of diplomacy in dealing with their developers who have made OS X what it is today by leveraging Apple technology with enthusiasm.
Apple's pissing a lot of ADC select developers off. I agree with them. What's the point of paying $500 annually for early seeds to get your apps ready when Apple doesn't deliver. I've read at least one prominent developer wonder aloud if he would renew his ADC subscription based on the fact that WWDC attendees were getting seeds that Select members did not and that he shouldn't be punished for not laying out $1500 for WWDC.
Apple could learn a bit of diplomacy in dealing with their developers who have made OS X what it is today by leveraging Apple technology with enthusiasm.
Great post. Totally agree.
Apple's pissing a lot of ADC select developers off. I agree with them. What's the point of paying $500 annually for early seeds to get your apps ready when Apple doesn't deliver. I've read at least one prominent developer wonder aloud if he would renew his ADC subscription based on the fact that WWDC attendees were getting seeds that Select members did not and that he shouldn't be punished for not laying out $1500 for WWDC.
Apple could learn a bit of diplomacy in dealing with their developers who have made OS X what it is today by leveraging Apple technology with enthusiasm.
Well, I don't want to go into detail, but the developers who I believe received this build aren't necessarily WWDC attendees but developers of a program similar to ADC for partners and large software developers.
I haven't heard anyone complain (yet) that they didn't get OS drop in time to get their apps ready for that OS's release. I understand they're disappointed they don't have the latest toys to play with, but if they feel lack of the OS is really going to impact the quality of their software release then definitely take it up with Apple's developer relations.
Apple will post the build to Select members (the $500 membership) when it decides it needs to. I believe there will be plenty of time for them to check their apps for compatibility. I don't think the fact that Premier developers ($1500 membership, or was it $3000?) or major developers (Adobe?, Microsoft?) get beta builds first is a reason to complain. We all want more info, but let's not blame Apple for our impatience!