Filed under: OS

It's time again for another Dear, Apple letter from the readers of TUAW. In our first series (part one, part two, part three) you told us what you want to see in the next iPhone OS. Now we need your help again to tell Apple what you want to see in the next version of Mac OS X.

Think the Finder needs a makeover? Does Mail need improvements? Address Book not cutting it for you? If you have ideas for the Dock, Finder, Dashboard, DVD Player, Exposé, Quick Look, Terminal, Image Capture, Preview, Spotlight, Spaces, Safari, Mail, iCal, Address Book, iChat, QuickTime X, Photo Booth, System Preferences, or Time Machine -- make yourself heard! Tell us what you would change in any of the featured apps in Mac OS X and we'll tell the world (and Apple) for you.

If you're dreaming of what Mac OS X 10.7 should be like, dream big. If you think Linux or Windows does something better and want the Mac OS to have it, tell us. Even if a mobile OS, like iPhone or Android, does something you think the Mac OS can benefit from, don't be afraid to say it.

Email your suggestions to me at tuawmacosx [at] me dot com by next Thursday, March 25th. Please note that only suggestions emailed to the address above will be included, but feel free to hash out your thoughts in the comments below. Also note that this series will not deal with iTunes, iWork or iLife (that's still coming up though). For the iPhone series I received thousands of emails; for the sake of my eyes (and sanity) bulleted lists are much appreciated. Don't be shy about sending in concept drawings or mock-ups either!

Here's one for the freak occurrence archives. A TUAW reader e-mailed us after running Software Update on his new 2.8GHz i7 iMac last night. Something odd popped up.

"I got a new 27-inch iMac earlier this week," he wrote. "Last night I checked for updates and it starts 'Downloading **PRERELEASE** Mac OS X Update...' I figured what the heck and let it go. Now my iMac is on 10.6.3 which as far as I know isn't available yet?! I am not a developer or anything so I am not sure why this happened."

Just in case you're thinking that Apple employee access was to blame, here are some basic facts: The reader bought the iMac online from the Apple Store and was never in a retail store with it. The reader who sent us these screen shots is not an Apple employee nor does he have access to Apple's RSA Secure ID or VPN. He performed his update at home and not at an Apple retail store.

This kind of update does not normally appear in the wild on Software Update. Prerelease, and specifically "**PRERELEASE**", updates refer to Apple-internal builds distributed to any Apple employee who has access to Apple's VPN. A **PRERELEASE** build is typically seeded to employees 24 to 48 hours before the build goes public via Software Update.

The pre-release weighs in at a whopping 1.19GB. The "About This Mac" screen shots he sent us (see below) note the build as 10D527 – a build that was reportedly released to developers today, only two days after the last build. Builds that come close together typically indicate a public release is imminent. It is not clear why this pre-release showed up on the TUAW reader's iMac.

After only two days since the last build was seeded, Apple has pushed another 10.6.3 version out to developers. The newest build is numbered 10D572 and focuses on Graphics Drivers, Quicktime, Images & Photos, Mail, and Security Certificates. In addition, the build also includes:

• Compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• Performance improvements for 64-bit Logic
• Changes to QuickTime X that increase reliability and improve compatibility and security
• Printing reliability and compatibility with third party printers
• Issues resolved that prevented files from copying to Windows shares
• Issues resolved with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server
• Issues resolved that prevented files with the "#" or "&" symbols in their names from opening in Rosetta
• Issues addressed that caused background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail when scrolling
• Issue resolved that caused machines using BTMM and the Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly

Like the previous build, there is a single known issue: Safari 4.0.5 will be re-offered by Software Update after upgrading to 10D572 from a previous seed.

As a general rule, the closer build release dates come to one another, the sooner the build will be released to the general public. 10.6.3 seems like it could very well be the biggest update to Snow Leopard since its launch last August. If the improvements are significant, it's very likely that Apple will soon press 10.6.3 discs to be sold in retail stores, much like they did with Mac OS X 10.5.3.

iPhoneinCanada is reporting that Apple has seeded a new build of Mac OS X 10.6.3. The build, numbered 10D571, weighs in around 700MB and focuses on Graphics Drivers, iChat, QuickTime, Fonts. The build also fixes:

• Compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• Performance improvements for 64-bit Logic
• Changes to QuickTime X that increase reliability and improve compatibility and security
• Printing reliability and compatibility with third party printers
• Issues resolved that prevented files from copying to Windows shares
• Issues resolved with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server
• Issues resolved that prevented files with the "#" or "&" symbols in their names from opening in Rosetta
• Issues addressed that caused background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail when scrolling
• Issue resolved that caused machines using BTMM and the Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly

There is one known issue in this build: Safari 4.0.5 will be re-offered by Software Update after upgrading to 10D571 from a previous seed. It has been over five months since Snow Leopard has been updated. 10.6 was released on August 28, 2009 followed less than two weeks later by 10.6.1. On November 9, 2009, Apple released 10.6.2.

Developers have found further evidence of multitasking support for 3rd party iPhone apps in the latest beta (3.2 beta 4) of the iPhone SDK, and suggest that it will become a reality this summer.

9to5 Mac reports on a new line found deep within the latest iPhone SDK. Specifically, SpringBoard.js has a reference to a "multitasking dialog box" that did not appear in version 3.1.3 of the SDK; it seems that it's new to version 3.2. Of course, there's no assurance that this refers to 3rd party support for multitasking, but it is new.

Additionally, Appleinsider's souces with "proven track records" state that Apple has developed "a full-on solution" for 3rd-party multitasking which will be a part of iPhone OS 4.0. No specifics were given on how it will be pulled off or how it will address the two main concerns: battery life and security.

Let's assume that Apple's plan addresses the security issue, but battery life still presents a problem, one that was supposedly addressed by Push Notifications. Apple's remote notification service allows applications to offload polling processes to web servers. By keeping the update algorithms working off the device, the iPhone's battery is spared. Certainly the iPhone itself must take on the task of keeping all of those apps up and running.

It should also be noted that iPhone OS does not use a paged memory model. That means, multi-tasking applications must compete for the same memory space, making it more likely that apps will receive memory warnings and even crash when they use too much memory. That's not an issue in the one-app-at-a-time space, but a real problem with multitasking

Of course, the iPhone OS is already fully capable of multitasking. In order for non-Apple apps to participate, Apple must lift the current restrictions within the OS. That's something the company won't do until the iPhone engineers have devised the best and safest method. As for iPhone OS 4.0, Appleinsider notes that it's got "a ways to go." Hopefully we'll have an answer in July.

Today, the Khronos Group announced the launch of OpenGL 4.0, the cross-platform 3D & graphics API. OpenGL was most recently at version 3.2. Updated specifications are available at the opengl.org site. Game and 3D developers are presumably salivating.

Mac OS X includes OpenGL, and the iPhone runs an embedded version of OpenGL called OpenGL ES. The mobile ES version remains in its 2.0 release and is expected to move to OpenGL ES 2.1 in the near future.

The updated OpenGL release includes enhanced shaders, better texture support, and 64-bit double-precision floating point operations, amongh other features. It offers support for backwards compatibility with existing OpenGL code."AMD sees the release of OpenGL 4.0 as another major accomplishment for the OpenGL ARB," said Ben Bar-Haim, vice president of design engineering at AMD, in a press release statement.

An OpenGL 3.3 specification has been released simultaneously with the 4.0 spec, "to enable as much OpenGL 4.0 functionality as possible on previous generation GPU hardware".

It couldn't happen, they said. It wouldn't work, they warned. But gmjhowe over at Instructables did it anyway: he converted his old 1984 Macintosh into a machine that could run Snow Leopard. And he laid out some pretty good instructions on how to do so yourself. His two rules are as thus: don't hurt the old Mac in any way -- besides its value as a collector's item, the thing still looks great. And don't skimp on costs -- you could probably do it a little cheaper than he did, but why would you? This is a one-of-a-kind project, and he went all out.

Because of that, his instructions get a little technical (he actually replaced the innards rather than just trying to fit a Mac mini in there or something similarly easy). So this isn't a very good project for a first-timer for sure. But if you've got a little DIY experience, or just want to see what it looks like to take apart an old Mac and refill it with modern PC parts (he went Hackintosh on the OS), you should definitely check out his writeup. I wouldn't use the computer as a workstation any more -- because, come on now, who can really do any serious computing on a 9-inch screen? -- but as a music server or just a conversation piece, it's great.

There's one more player in the ongoing the Apple/HTC lawsuit announced the other day. It's Google, which yesterday admitted that it wasn't a party to the lawsuit, but that it would "stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it."

Lots of analysts and pundits have pegged the lawsuit as a direct shot across the bow from Apple at the Android OS (and the breakdown of patent claims that our colleagues at Engadget did seems to confirm that, with both old-school and wide-reaching patents matched up with brand new narrow UI claims), and it looks like Google will be coming to the rescue for its OS, if it has to.

What form that rescue might take, we don't know -- it's possible that Google could provide money, advice, or even lawyers to HTC if it feels that any part of its operating system might be threatened legally. But of course, that all depends on where the case goes -- we're still a long way away from the point where these companies would have to go before a judge and make their case. It certainly seems like Apple is in this one for the long haul, but if it all comes down to a check, Google may end up signing it as well.

Research released today indicates that in North America, Apple's Mac OS X is gaining traction, while the Windows share of the OS market is shrinking ever so slightly. That's the report from Quantcast, a company that measures and analyzes web traffic. They say that the market share for Mac OS X is up 7% from December to January. Microsoft held steady for the last 3 months of 2009 with the release of Windows 7, but started a slow decline again in January.

According to Quantcast, Apple has a 10.9% North American share as of January, while Windows has 86.8%. An interesting note is that the largest group of users is on Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6, while Windows XP dominates on the Microsoft side. Apple's relative share in North America is up 29.4 % in a year, while Windows share is down 3.8%.

These figures measure web consumption, so if you're not web connected your OS choice doesn't count. Quantcast measures ad supported sites, so huge traffic sites like Google, Facebook, Yahoo and others don't supply statistics.

One of the big topics of discussion yesterday in our TUAW back channel was this post from the New York Times Bits blog. In "Why can't PCs work more like iPhones," Bilton pointed out that the iPhone has given Apple a chance to build a new OS from the ground up.

This is a familiar viewpoint to us here on TUAW. Last year, I asked whether the future of the Mac OS would turn out to be the iPhone. In my write-up, I pointed out that the iPhone OS was built from scratch to work with Objective C 2.0 with its properties and other modern language features. Its API, far from being cobbled together, showed ever increasing design maturity without the weight of heavy backwards compatibility concerns. I concluded that Apple might take a lesson from the iPhone OS and consider offering a ground up redesign for Mac OS X, at least in terms of core OS principles.

In his post, Bilton considers how Mac OS X might integrate iPhone OS features into its user experience, suggesting a possible Front Row-like overlay layer, running an iPhone OS interface. The goal would be to craft iPhone-style GUI simplicity onto the desktop experience, so that users could move seamlessly between their mobile and desktop worlds.

But as much as we believe that Apple is heading cautiously in the direction that Bilton suggests, the TUAW consensus is that a desktop OS needs far more structure and, at the same time, flexibility than what the iPhone OS offers.

Let's face it: unless you're just casually surfing the Internet or playing a game, chances are pretty good that your hands are on the keyboard most of the time when you're at the computer. Sure, the mouse is only a few inches away, but wouldn't it just be easier if you didn't have to keep going back and forth from the mouse to the keyboard?

Enter the world of keyboard shortcuts. A keyboard shortcut is exactly what the name implies: a way of using the keys on your keyboard to quickly perform tasks that typically would require multiple steps using a mouse. Before we dive in to the magic keystrokes, let's take a quick look at how shortcuts work on the Mac.

Adjusting the volume on your Mac via the keyboard is pretty easy: there are 3 buttons, one for Volume Down, one for Volume Up, and one for Mute.

When you adjust the volume, a sound is played to help you determine when it is loud enough or quiet enough. Most times I find this helpful, but sometimes I want to adjust the volume without hearing the noise. To temporarily disable the "volume change" sound, hold down the shift key while you adjust the volume. You will see the visual indicator on-screen, but no sound will come out.

For example, on my iMac keyboard, I can increase the volume by pressing fn+f12, but if I press fn+ shift+ f12 it will increase the volume without making any sound. Very handy especially if you are in a meeting or working in a library, etc.

(Thanks to TUAW reader @webgalpat for that tip!)

But what If you never want to hear the sound when you adjust the volume? Go to "System Preferences.app" and then click on the "Sound" preference pane, and UNcheck the box next to "Play feedback when volume is changed" (That tip and others were covered in our recent 5 Tips for Switchers article.).

Now let's combine those two tips: what if you have changed the preference so that the sound is not normally played when you adjust the volume but you decide that just this once you want to hear the sound level changes? In that case, just hold down shift while adjusting the volume and it will make the noise.

Bonus tip: you can use the keyboard to adjust the volume of your Mac, or mute/unmute it, even when the screensaver is on -- without entering your password or disabling the screensaver.

As the resident Mac expert for my family and friends, I often find myself fielding questions from the recent switchers in my life. A lot of those questions come in the form of "how do I <insert random Windows task here>?" Apparently Apple's support folk have also encountered this phenomenon as Apple has created a knowledge base article to tackle many of these questions.

The article, entitled "Switch 101: On Windows I used to..." is part of Apple's Switch 101 series which is directly aimed at getting recent switchers comfortable with using OS X. It covers such tasks as finding and opening files, quitting applications, and using shortcut key modifiers (such as , the Command key).

I have shown this article to many recent switchers both in my family and otherwise; it has always proved to be a valuable resource to those that are new the Mac platform. Another great resource for recent switchers is TUAW's own Mac 101 series. Do you have any other tips for recent switchers? Post them in the comments and share the wealth of your experiential knowledge.

Apple appears to have plans for the iPhone OS beyond the iPhone, and iPad. A report in Computerworld notes a new Apple job posting for an Engineering Manager that can bring the iPhone OS to new platforms.

The Core Platform team within Apple's Core OS organization is looking for a talented and inspired manager to lead a team focused on bring-up of iPhone OS on new platforms. The team is responsible for low level platform architecture, firmware, core drivers and bring-up of new hardware platforms. The team consists of talented engineers with experience in hardware, firmware, IOKit drivers, security and platform architecture.

What could those new products be? Maybe a thinner, friskier Apple TV. Maybe smaller and lighter versions of laptops that get into netbook territory. And it is a pretty good bet that the next iPhone will be using the Apple designed A4 chip that is at the heart of the iPad. Apple could also be thinking about creating products or technologies for other products that are not Apple branded. The sky is the limit here.

With a considerable investment in the new A4 chip, it would be foolish of Apple to not be looking for other opportunities. Let your minds run wild.

Apple seeded another build of OS X 10.6.3 today. This latest build number is 10D558. This is just nine days after Apple seeded build 10D552. iPhoneinCanada is reporting that the current build focuses on Apple Filing Protocol, AirPort, Graphics Drivers, and QuickTime, as well as the following:

• Performance improvements for 64-bit Logic
• Addresses compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• Includes changes to QuickTime X that increase reliability and enhance security
• Improves printing reliability and compatibility with 3rd party printers
• Addresses issues that cause background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail
• Issues that caused machines using BTMM and Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly
• Issues with recurring events in iCal when connected to Exchange servers

This is the fifth build of 10.6.3 Apple has released since January. While no time frame for release is ever given, generally the closer in time the builds come to one another, the better likelihood that a release is imminent.