Apple has announced the date when it's new version of OS X - Tiger, v10.4 - will go on sale. Friday, April 29, at 6pm is the magic time - $129 or £89, the price. As Neowin has previously reported, among the new features will be an updated Mail client and iCal app. Apple also says it will include the new version 7 of Quicktime, and native 64-bit application support. Preorders are now being accepted.
Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, said: "Mac OS X Tiger is the most innovative and secure desktop operating system ever created. Tiger's groundbreaking new features like Spotlight and Dashboard will change the way people use their computers, and drive our competitors nuts trying to copy them."
Spotlight is Apple's new search system, which it touts as being a "new, lightning-fast way for users to find virtually anything stored on their Mac". Dashboard, meanwhile, allows users to put widgets on their desktop for anything from the weather to tracking flights. Also new, an updated iChat, Automator - which can make repetitive tasks easier - and RSS reader support in the Safari browser.
In other news, the BBC reports that a group of US newspapers, along with the AP news agency, are to back bloggers being sued by Apple for leaking details of the new features. A court had ruled they should be forced to reveal the sources of the information - Dave Tomlin, assistant general counsel for AP, said the case had potential implications journalists of all kinds. "For us, this case is about whether the First Amendment protects journalists from being turned into informants for the government, the courts or anybody else who wants to use them that way," Mr Tomlin said.
View: Apple announcement | Apple Store | Tiger info
View: Neowin discussion
