Come on Mac users, huddle up. Once again, another product has slipped through Apple's tight grip, and this time it sure is plenty. We got hold of leaked screenshots of certain OS X Leopard features such as a jittery screensaver.

There are also some Bluetooth controls, a stepped-up media browser, parental controls, and a wad of terminal options. We're pretty impressed with the Retro screensaver already.

Perhaps this means that the Leopard is headed in the right direction. But is it just us or is the timeliness of this leak just had to happen before the launch of Vista's consumer edition on January 30? Even with all the hopes of Mac users everywhere, we guess it's okay to accept that Vista will cross the finish line first. Still, hopefully, 10.5 will be out soon enough.

You can click Full Article to take a peek at the screenies.

With all the speculation going about as to "What will Steve Jobs do next (in MacWorld 2007)?", it's a wonder the organizers don't move it from San Francisco to Las Vegas. Not only would it make a good pool for bookies, we could probably recoup some of our budget after blowing the iPhone naming bet.

Mac Rumors specializes in Mac rumors (well... doi), and with MacWorld 2007 just around the corner, they wanted to run up the final running pool of all the Apple-related rumors having to do with new product showcases that could potentially be announced or detailed in an event like MacWorld. All these rumors should sound so familiar to you guys by now, so we'll just provide a list format, a quick summary of Mac Rumor's thoughts, and then our own quick thoughts as well.

• What used to be the iPhone: possibly an announcement, but the more credible rumors suggest that there WON'T be a launch at MacWorld (Probably a new name, though, we think). Fair enough, we say. When it was first announced, same thing with the...

• iTV: more details expected. We think even a potential launch/availability date.

• Mac Pro: is there a potential eight-core Mac Pro coming out sometime in 2007? One rumor suggested one should have launched back in November, but this did not come to pass. Another report suggests a January release. Hey, we know there are quad-core chips quickly coming into the manufacturing stream, so there's nothing stopping Apple from making at least a quad Mac. Mac Rumor's thinking the same thing, citing the pending availability of a 2.0Ghz quad-core chip at US$ 690/chip.

• OS X Leopard: yet another demo preview of Leopard, but no exact dates for final release, let alone in MacWorld. Hey, they're just getting into the groove of Bug Month right now...

• New iPod models? If it's not the iPhone (oops, used to be), it's the full-screen Video iPod. Mac Rumor's latest resources say "early 2007" release. If that's true enough, we think MacWorld 2007 would be a perfect venue to show a demo of the device. And if it's not... well, how many iPods does it take to float an Apple?
  

Hmm... strange Mac Rumors hasn't mentioned the MacBook Thin. Then again, it would have been swamped by the used-to-be-iPhone alone, worse if an eight-core and iTV were included.

In its more than 20 years of existence, MacWorld Expo has always been held during the first weeks of January. Next year isn't any different to the previous conferences. One highlight of such activities are the keynote speeches, especially that of Steve Jobs. Probably the most celebrated of all Apple officials, Jobs words are sometimes as good as their company's stand on particular matters.

Again, next year shouldn't be any different as Steve Jobs would be present at the expo. The big question now is, what is he going to talk about? The last thing we heard from the guy was something about looking back and beyond the iPod...Or was it the CNBC interview? We can't remember anymore.

Anyway, some people are not willing to wait until January to find out. They would rather confer now and speculate on these matters. Nope, they are not spreading rumors. They. Are. Just. Talking. Since we don't want you guys waiting or getting left behind, here's their take on the matter:

• Steve will definitely talk about: OS X Leopard, iLife 07, and iTV
• Steve will probably talk about: MacPro revisions, revised cinema displays, MacMini revision, iPhone and full screen iPod
• Steve will possibly but not likely talk about: Apple Tablet and MacBook Sub Notebook

What do you think? Do you share the same opinions? Please feel free and share your own MacWorld opinions with us. Remember: we are just talking.

For those of you who are looking forward to the final release of the Mac OS X Leopard, we have a video right here of Leopard's Spaces feature working hand in hand with Expos?Hope you guys like it.

For the uninitiated, Spaces is a virtual desktop feature developed by Apple to enable users to set up virtual desktops (or "Spaces") suited to the user's particular needs without the need of creating a new account. For example, you can create a Space primarily assigned to office work and then switch to a different one with a focus on web surfing. Up to 16 spaces can be created, and applications can be bound to specific spaces.

Expos?meanwhile, allows users to quickly locate an open window, or to hide all windows and show the desktop without the need to click through many windows to find a specific target. Expos?ets users display all open windows as thumbnails, view windows of the current application or hide all windows to quickly locate a file on their desktops.

We think these features are both very useful and visually appealing, which is not something that you can say about a lot of things. This vid has only served to make us more excited about seeing Leopard's final release.

 

"Stop playing on the computer and come down for dinner! NOW!"

It's a frequent line screamed by a mother to her child every time a household war is waged. Mom wants to have attention, child wants World of Warcraft. Mom says "Stop it!", child screams "ORLY?". It's true that MMORPGs are addicting and it's been the cause of a lot of domestic squabbles.

Mothers of WoW-playing kids will be happy with the parental controls that the upcoming Mac OS X Leopard has to offer. Apple has revealed that parents can specify time restrictions when their kids can play games like WoW. This feature also has a remote control setup, which means parents can set the restrictions from anywhere.

Of course, while moms would sleep better at night knowing that their children finished their homework, the kids got it bad like whoa.

"W0rk, w0rk, w0rk! Mom is teh win!!!11"

As Apple gears up to reveal OS X Leopard (among other things) at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference, some people are beginning to wonder precisely which Mac models are going to 'make the Leopard cut'.

What's left discussions on this topic wide open at this point is the fact that no one knows for sure how Apple's going to do it. Will those that run the G3 or even the G4 processor be excluded from the list? Or are the good folks at Apple to decide based on the speed of the machines' processors?

eWeek's David Morgenstern thinks that if the decision is to be processor-based, it's unlikely that Apple will exclude all the G4 and G5 machines, at least not just yet. Apple still does sell computers that run on PowerPC processors; the company's transition to Intel isn't complete yet, which means that there isn't a large enough base for Intel machines for the company to go by. In addition, the last G4 machine, a 14-inch iBook G4, was discontinued just last May. If Apple does choose to go by processors, it's likely that it's the G3 machines that'll be denied a chance to 'get with the program' due to their age; the last G3 model sold was a variant of the iBook that was axed in 2003 (two OSs back).

But Morgenstern also thinks it's possible for Apple to base its decision on video RAM, or VRAM. Many older Macs lack VRAM, so, if Apple goes by a base level of installed video RAM, most (but not all) G3 models and many of the older G4 models, like the Cube, the older PowerBooks and the first few PowerMac G4s could be left by the wayside.

Any ideas? What do you folks think? Hopefully Apple will clear up this issue next month at the WDC.