by CIO Staff

Mac OS X Leopard Leaks Online

News
Aug 14, 20062 mins
AppleTechnology Industry

In a traditional pattern for Apple, copies of the current build of Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard” have begun to leak onto the Internet.

Right now, a build of the OS is circulating on file-sharing networks, including BitTorrent.

The software—which claims to be a copy of the beta software distributed to developers at last week’s WWDC event—began to emerge over the weekend.

Apple offered a 10-point public peek at its new OS at last week’s developers conference, and copies of the software were given to attendees at the show so they could begin tweaking their software offerings for the new OS.

The company is likely to take a very dim view at the leaks. A similar incident last year saw Mac OS X 10.4 released without authority online. Apple tracked down and litigated against the developers responsible for the leak.

Developers attending WWDC have signed strict and enforceable legal agreements not to distribute Leopard through file-sharing networks.

Early reports from people claiming to use the software say that certain parts of it “feel” incomplete. Apple last week told the public that it intended to keep some features secret as Mac OS X heads for its showdown with Microsoft’s new Vista OS early next year.

Meanwhile, a Windows-focused website last week described some additional features that will debut with the new OS.

-Macworld staff, Macworld.co.uk

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