Apple schedules OS update release

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is due for release on 28 August

Apple has confirmed that its new operating system, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, will be released on 28 August.

Snow Leopard is one of Apple's biggest operating system updates since the firm moved from the "Classic" OS in 2001.

Apple said the new operating system (OS) is almost half the size of previous versions, freeing up to 7GB of drive space once installed.

Snow Leopard is currently the number two best seller on Amazon.com and will retail at £25 in the UK ($29 in US).

The release had been slated for September but the firm announced the revised release date on Monday.

The new version updates on the old 10.5.8 Leopard OS and Apple say that its "support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications".

"Snow Leopard builds on our most successful operating system ever and we're happy to get it to users earlier than expected," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering.

Apple's main thrust has been on improving the OS performance, rather than creating new features for the user.

The OS will also come with built-in support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 that Apple says will allow users to employ Snow Leopard's mail, contacts, and calendar applications while accessing Windows-based network services.

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