Safari 4 is available for Mac and Windows PCs and introduced as a beta in February of this year, Safari 4 features the Nitro engine which runs JavaScript up to 4.5 times faster than Safari 3. Safari 4 has some innovative features, such as Top Sites, Full History Search and Cover Flow, and support for modern web standards like HTML 5 and advanced CSS Effects. HTML 5 support for offline technologies and support for advanced CSS Effects enables an entirely new class of web applications that feature rich media, graphics and fonts. Other innovative features include Smart Address Fields for automatically completing web addresses from an easy to read list of suggestions; Search Fields, to fine tune searches with recommendations from Google Suggest or a list of recent searches; and Full Page Zoom, for a closer look at any website without degrading the quality of the site’s layout and text. In Mac OS X Snow Leopard, available later this year, Safari runs as a 64-bit application.

Apple unveiled a Developer Preview of Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard, the next major release of the server operating system. Snow Leopard Server is a full 64-bit UNIX server operating system based on open standards that is up to twice as fast as its predecessor. Snow Leopard Server includes innovative new features such as Podcast Producer 2, for automating the creation and publishing of podcasts, and Mobile Access Server with secure access to firewall-protected network services for iPhone and Mac. Snow Leopard Server is priced for $499 with unlimited client licenses and will ship in September 2009.

Apple also released Mac OS X Snow Leopard that will ship as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users in September 2009 for $29. According to Apple, users will notice a more responsive Finder; Mail that loads messages 85 percent faster and conducts searches up to 90 percent faster; Time Machine with up to 50 percent faster initial backup; a Dock with Exposé integration; a 64-bit version of Safari4 that boosts the performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine by up to 50 percent* and is resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins. Snow Leopard also includes an all new QuickTime X, with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video to YouTube, MobileMe or iTunes. Snow Leopard is half the size of the previous version and frees up to 6GB of drive space once installed. Apple’s Multi-Touch trackpad is now integrated with the VoiceOver screen reader so users can hear and navigate different parts of a window or the desktop by moving a single finger around the trackpad as if it were the screen. Snow Leopard also introduces built-in support for wireless bluetooth braille displays and the connection of multiple braille displays simultaneously to one Mac.



Pricing & Availability

Safari 4 is available for both Mac OS X and Windows as a free download at www.apple.com/safari . Safari 4 for Mac OS X requires Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7 or Mac OS X Tiger v10.4.11 and Security Update 2009-002, a minimum 256MB of memory and is designed to run on any Intel-based Mac or a Mac with a PowerPC G5, G4 or G3 processor and built-in FireWire. Safari 4 for Windows requires Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista, a minimum 256MB of memory and a system with at least a 500 MHz Intel Pentium processor.

Mac OS X Server version 10.6 Snow Leopard will be available in September 2009 through the Apple Store for a suggested retail price of $499 (US), and includes unlimited licenses for Mac, Windows and Linux clients. The Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Xserve system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller between June 8, 2009 and the end of the program on December 26, 2009, for a product plus shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 90 days of purchase or by December 26, 2009, or whichever comes first.

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard in September 2009 through the Apple Store. The Snow Leopard single user license will be available for a suggested retail price of $29 (US) and the Snow Leopard Family Pack, a single household, five-user license, will be available for a suggested price of $49 (US). For Tiger users with an Intel-based Mac, the Mac Box Set includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 and will be available for a suggested price of $169 (US) and a Family Pack is available for a suggested price of $229 (US).