Today at the Worldwide Developer Conference,
Apple unveiled a Developer Preview of Mac OS X
Server Snow Leopard. It's a full 64-bit UNIX
server operating system based on open standards
that is up to twice as fast as its predecessor,
according to Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice
president of Software Engineering.
Snow Leopard Server includes new features such as
Podcast Producer 2, for automating the creation
and publishing of podcasts, and Mobile Access
Server with secure access to firewall-protected
network services for the iPhone and Mac. Snow
Leopard Server costs US$499 with unlimited client
licenses and will ship in September.
"Snow Leopard Server is our best and fastest
server operating system ever, and unlimited
client licenses make it an incredible value for
any size business," said Serlet. "With easy to
use new features like Podcast Producer 2 and
Mobile Access Server, anyone can set up and
manage its powerful services with just a few
clicks."
Snow Leopard Server is a full 64-bit operating
system designed to take advantage of multi-core
processors and address massive amounts of memory,
while remaining fully compatible with 32-bit
applications. Up to twice as fast as its
predecessor, Snow Leopard Server handles the most
demanding server operations including web and
application hosting, file sharing and mail, said
Serlet.
Podcast Producer 2 includes the new Podcast
Composer application, which automates the entire
production process of podcast creation. With just
a few clicks, Podcast Composer creates a workflow
to add titles, transitions and effects, save to a
desired format and share to wikis, blogs, iTunes,
iTunes U, Final Cut Server or the new Podcast
Library.
The new Mobile Access Server is a way for iPhone
and Mac users to access secured network services,
including corporate web sites, online business
applications, email, calendars and contacts.
Without requiring additional software, Mobile
Access Server provides encryption and
authentication between the user's iPhone or Mac
and a private network.
Additional new features in Snow Leopard Server include:
° Wiki Server 2, which improves its online
collaboration with the ability to view wiki
content on iPhone and preview attachments with
Quick Look on any modern browser;
° The new Address Book Server, based on the
CardDAV open standard, which provides a central
location for users to store and access personal
contacts across multiple Macs and synchronized
iPhones;
° iCal Server 2, based on the CalDAV open
standard, which includes web-based calendar
access and the ability to view meeting
invitations and details on iPhone using iPhone OS
3.0;
° A new Mail Server engine that supports push
email so users receive immediate access to new
messages;
° QuickTime X HTTP Live Streaming, which allows
dynamic adjustment of movie playback quality to
suit the available network speed;
° NetRestore, a new feature in System Image
Utility, that allows custom image restore over a
network; and
° iPhone Configuration Utility, which simplifies
the setup of multiple iPhones with configuration
information, security policies, mail settings and
certificates needed to connect to and communicate
with enterprise systems.
Mac OS X Server version 10.6 Snow Leopard will be
available in September through the Apple Store
(http://www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and
Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail
price of $499), and includes unlimited licenses
for Mac, Windows and Linux clients. The Mac OS X
Snow Leopard Server Up-To-Date upgrade package is
available to all customers who purchased a
qualifying new Xserve system from Apple or an
Apple Authorized Reseller between June 8, 2009
and the end of the program on Dec. 26 for a
product plus shipping and handling fee of $9.95.
Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade
within 90 days of purchase or by Dec. 26, 2009,
or whichever comes first. For more information
visit http://www.apple.com/Mac OS X/uptodate.
Snow Leopard Server can run on any Mac computer
with an Intel processor, a minimum 2GB of RAM and
at least 10GB of available disk space.
