Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Upgrade from Mac OS X Leopard with Snow Leopard, a simpler, more powerful, and more refined version of Mac OS X. It delivers a wide range of enhancements, next-generation technologies, out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange Server, and new accessibility features. It's the world's most advanced operating system, finely tuned from installation to shutdown.
Snow Leopard is an upgrade for Leopard users and requires a Mac with an Intel processor.
Upgrade your Mac experience.
With Snow Leopard, iLife ’09, and iWork ’09 all in one box, the Mac Box Set is the best way to upgrade your Mac experience, especially if you’re still using Mac OS X Tiger.
Overview
Better, faster, easier 
Snow Leopard enhances your entire Mac experience. In ways big and small, it gets faster, more reliable, and easier to use.
- Activate Exposé right from the Dock.
- Wake from sleep and shut down your Mac faster than before.
- Install it more quickly and get back 7GB of disk space.
- Enjoy dozens more refinements for everything from iChat to Preview and more.
Next-generation technologies 
New core technologies in Snow Leopard unleash the power of today’s advanced hardware and prepare Mac OS X for future innovation.
- 64-bit support, the next big step for the Mac. All key system applications are now 64-bit so they can take advantage of all the memory in your Mac.
- Grand Central Dispatch, a revolutionary new way for software to get the most from multicore processors.
- OpenCL, a new technology that unleashes the power of graphics processors to accelerate application performance.
QuickTime X
As the next generation of media players, it’s built on new core technologies and advances modern media and Internet standards.
- Watch your videos in a clean, uncluttered interface with the new QuickTime Player.
- Record audio or video using the built-in iSight camera and microphone in your Mac.
- Trim your media to the perfect length.
- Easily publish your media to MobileMe or YouTube.
Out-of-the-box
support for Microsoft Exchange
Mac OS X Snow Leopard delivers built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, something even Windows PCs don’t have.
- Use your Mac at home and at work and have all your messages, meetings, and contacts in one place.
- Easily set it up using the Autodiscovery feature in Exchange.
- Use Mail, iCal, and Address Book to access your work email, calendars, and the Global Address List alongside your personal accounts.
- Take advantage of powerful Mac OS X features such as Spotlight, Quick Look, data detectors, and more.
Safari 4
The latest version of Apple’s blazing-fast web browser delivers up to 50 percent faster JavaScript performance and is more resistant to crashes than ever.
- Use Top Sites to view your favorite websites at a glance, see which ones have been updated, and visit them in a click.
- Complete search queries as you type with built-in Google Suggest.
- Flip through full-page previews of your browsing history in Cover Flow the same way you flip through album art in iTunes.
Universal Access
Every Mac comes with built-in technologies designed to help people with disabilities experience it. Innovations in Snow Leopard advance accessibility even further.
- Control your Mac using gestures on your Multi-Touch trackpad. And when you drag your finger across the trackpad, VoiceOver speaks the items you touch so you know how they’re arranged on the screen.
- Snow Leopard includes support for over 40 braille display models, including Bluetooth models.
- New accessibility features make web browsing easier, faster, and more enjoyable.
Most Useful Reviews
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Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Two steps forward, one step back
Written by ML from Montreal
Sep 30, 2009
The speed increases are significant, and probably worthwhile in the long run, but applications - Apple and non-Apple Intel applications included - crash fairly regularly. All the non-Apple applications have crashed several times since I started using Snow Leopard a few days ago, and Apple applications such as Mail, iPhoto, and Safari have also crashed. While the speed increase, and some of the layout improvements, make it overall a good product, the number of bugs means it's probably worth waiting for some updates before buying it. …More
770 of 843 people found this useful
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Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Too many issues to bother with now
Written by AK from Kansas City
Oct 1, 2009
Luckily I had only had my computer for two months before I attempted this, because it was utter ____. I've lost a couple of things because I had to revert back to leopard, and Firefox was one of the main ones. My office 2008 is buggy now and I've tried to fix it, but I think its even past my help. My advice is to wait a few months, and back up your computer first if you do attempt it. Luckily I did. …More
549 of 643 people found this useful
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Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Playing nice with other software
Written by EH from Minster
Oct 1, 2009
Beware. If you are using Adobe Products such as CS4 or Nikon products such as Capture NX2. Snow leopard does NOT play real well. locks up (Beach ball of death) alot. Also Snow Leopard will cause your legit copy of Lightroom 2.5 to expire.
Other than that nice savings to the HD and noticeable speed increase. …More502 of 592 people found this useful
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Most Recent Reviews
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Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Not production ready
Written by CB from Frederick
Nov 20, 2009
We use a variety of macs in our office for work. iMacs, MacBook Pros, and Mac Pros.
ONE computer upgraded without problems. Another 4 needed to be completely reinstalled, 1 stopped working entirely and had to go to the apple store for troubleshooting.
A variety of things work slower. iTunes performance on iPods dropped across the board and the iPods needed to be reformatted to get any performance back. Adobe CS4 products are very, very unstable under Snow Leopard (Illustrator in particular). Photoshop crashes if I have it open for 5 or so minutes.
Changes in font support on the mac wreaked havoc in Illustrator, Word, InDesign, and Flash CS4.
Apple Mail had become almost unusable. The steps we had to take to troubleshoot machines were ridiculously complex. Clearing font caches, repairing permissions while booted in firewire target mode, you name it. An average user would have given up and bought a $300 PC from Best Buy.
A horrendous upgrade if you have any graphic design, video, or development work to do. If you upgrade, set aside a few days to fix all the stuff that goes wrong.
Do not simply upgrade. Do a fresh install and save yourself days of trouble. Or, just don't upgrade until this system becomes stable again. …More20 of 26 people found this useful
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Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Don't bother with the other 1-2 star reviews
Written by RT from Brooklyn
Nov 19, 2009
I've had no problem using adobe cs 4 on 10.6, no problems with Microsoft office 2008 etc. I did notice issues with iChat and other apps not working... but i noticed if you manually turned off 64 bit for specific applications by right clicking the app and clicking get info you can set the app to 32 bit. =). 10.6 is very fancy and is a worth while upgrade. If you feel paranoid about this 30 dollar upgrade i suggest you use Time Machine to back up your stuff onto an external or a partition. ENJOY! …More
11 of 19 people found this useful
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Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Great
Written by DG from newton
Nov 18, 2009
upgrading to snow leopard was the best decision ive ever made. My computer is faster then ever and i love the new quick time. i use final cut a lot and it worked great on my 17in macbook pro, now its so much faster then before from final cut to Microsoft word …More
13 of 13 people found this useful
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Questions & Answers
Most Interesting
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My Mac is still with the Mac OS X Tiger, can I upgrade to the snow?
- Asked by FI
- Sep 30, 2009
Best Answer
As I said before - your processor - i.e. the age of your Mac is key to this. If you have an Intel processor (the newer Macs) - then yes you can install an upgrade to Snow Leopard 10.6, if not then no, you are stuck with Tiger 10.4.
Look on the Apple Store site for hardware requirements of Snow Leopard 10.6.
Apple stores do not sell older operating systems - such as Leopard 10.5 - you will have to get Leopard 10.5 if you want it from Ebay or somewhere similar. …More- Answered by JW from BEXLEYHEATH
- Oct 1, 2009
- 63 of 78 people found this useful
- 2 more answers
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My Imac is Mac OSX Version 10.5.8 Would I benefit by upgrading to Snow Leopard, or have I already got it.
- Asked by CW
- Sep 30, 2009
Best Answer
You have the most up-to-date release of Leopard, but not Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard is version 10.6 - you only have 10.5.8.
And to answer your second question, no, MS Word is not included with Snow Leopard - you have to buy it separately. It's about $150 US.
Hope this helped!
Daniel James …More- Answered by DD from Ohaupo
- Sep 30, 2009
- 26 of 30 people found this useful
- 10 more answers
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Lots of bad reviews. Should I wait to upgrade?
- Asked by AM from Hoffman Estates
- Oct 11, 2009
Best Answer
In my opinion, research the programs you are going to use most frequently and see if there is any mention about them being upgraded for snow leopard, many applications have been upgraded already, and more are on their way. It's entirely possible that most, if not all of the applications you use have already been upgraded and are ready to use. If not, wait a little while, or find a replacement product from a company that responds faster.
At the very least, the apps that have been upgraded already tell you a bit about the efficiency of the company you received the software from, and tells you if you can rely on them for speedy updates or not, which is often one of the most important parts of any software company.
And with that said, many applications that worked for 10.5 (Leopard) will work fine on 10.6 (Snow Leopard) such as Firefox, VLC, and various messenger apps, so also look up if the application doesn't need to be upgraded at all, perhaps it works as it is.
Hope this helps. =) …More- Answered by DS
- Oct 11, 2009
- 18 of 22 people found this useful
- 6 more answers
Most Recent
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My MacBook Pro is running Mac OS X 10.4.11 with an Intel processor. Do I have to get the box set or can I just get Snow Leopard by itself?
- Asked by JN from Bayonne
- Nov 21, 2009
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how do i know if i have leopard or snow leopard?
- Asked by SH from Huddersfield
- Nov 20, 2009
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Will I have to reinstall my software after my upgrade from Tiger?
- Asked by CB from Albuquerque
- Nov 20, 2009
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Will I lose QuickTime Pro after upgrading to Snow Leopard?
- Asked by GS from MACOMB TOWNSHIP
- Nov 19, 2009
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I have a mac G4 OS X version 10.2.3 (I think that's the version I have) What would be the best option for me to upgrade?
- Asked by NC from Edmundston
- Nov 19, 2009
