Leopard: an upgrade with spots on, and some bells and whistles

Stuart Corner
Friday, 26 October 2007 09:43

Business IT - Technology

You an easily toggle between spaces, or show all at once. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I imagine it would be easy to set defaults and then know exactly where to find each application and its open documents.

In Leopard, Apple has also significantly redesigned the Finder: it is now modelled on the iTunes user interface.

Other enhancements are designed to tie Apple's standard applications much closer together: a powerful deterrent to using third party substitutes. For example some really neat upgrades to Mail allow you to select text in a message and use it in another application.

Select: "can we have a meeting next Wednesday at 10.00 am?" and Address Book will create an appointment for you at that time. Select "255 Pitt St Sydney" (Apple's office) and you can display this location in Google Maps via Safari.

Mail also now has a 'to do' folder because, Apple says people often sent themselves emails as reminder of tasks to be done, and an inbuilt RSS reader.

Another new feature enables you to create collages of photos as standard html, using a set of predefined templates which you can then send via email. So for example you could quickly put together an attractive presentation of slides from a recent trip, or a family birthday.

Just for fun, you an now distort your face in photos and videos taken with the inbuilt camera in ways most strange, like those old fashioned fairground distorting mirrors. Although I would have to say that having an iChat with something that looks only half human  is amusing, but an experience I can easily live without.