The trading of beta, or test, copies of Mac OS X version 10.1 is running fast and furious on the Internet, with Mac enthusiasts willing to put up with five- or six-hour downloads--even over speedy broadband connections--to get the software.
Internet chat rooms are abuzz about the release, which offers performance improvements, DVD playback and recording, as well as refinements to Mac OS X 10's Aqua user interface.
"OS X users and developers all have the fever: It's the best thing out there, and we want the newest and the best--for bragging rights and for knowing we're out in front," Jeffrey Barbose, a San Francisco software developer and longtime Mac owner, said in an interview via email.
Apple is expected to release Mac OS X 10.1 in September. People with OS X will be able to buy the update for about US$20, according to Apple.
Typically, Apple releases OS test versions to a select group of developers and beta testers, who sign nondisclosure agreements. But enthusiasm for "Puma"--the code name for Mac OS X 10.1--has opened a floodgate of leaked betas.
"I am surprised at the leaks. If at this stage of the game, there are these kinds of leaks, imagine the impact on sales when (the software) is released," said Tim Deal, an analyst at Technology Business Research.
Apple spokesman Bill Evans declined to comment on the leaks.
Three beta versions
At least three versions, or builds, of the release are currently in wide circulation: 5D15, 5F7 and 5F24.
As anticipation grows for Mac OS X 10.1's release, so does the pressure on Apple to deliver the upgrade on time and with improvements in speed and stability. Apple released Mac OS X in late March and started shipping the OS on new computers two months later.
Mac OS X, the first major overhaul of Apple's operating system since its 1984 introduction, is based on BSD Unix, a popular variant of Unix. Although OS X offers many improvements--among them better memory management and ability to run multiple programs--some developers privately complained of stability problems when moving their applications to it.
Adobe Systems, for example, skipped last month's Macworld Expo in New York, with some speculation of a rift between the San Jose, California-based company and Apple over Mac OS X's stability. Adobe publicly pegged its absence on its need to cut costs. Microsoft, the largest maker of software for the Macintosh, currently is testing a Mac OS X version of Office, the beta of which can run only on Puma.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs previewed Puma at New York Macworld. Besides speedier performance and interface tweaks, Jobs promised OS X 10.1 will offer DVD playback, which was long delayed, and a new version of Apple's DVD authoring software.
"This is what they should have released in the first place," Deal said. "These are the kinds of features and performance Apple needed to deliver when they released Mac OS X."
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