Computersight -

Snow Leopard may seem to be a minor update for Mac OS X, but it does bring tons of small improvements, tweaks and subtle touches to the popular operating system from the house of Apple. Some of these improvements may very well change the way people look at Mac OS X forever. Here are the top 5 tweaks that Snow Leopard promises to deliver:

• Support for Microsoft Exchange: Businesses which make use of Microsoft Exchange Server for managing their e-mails now can switch to Macs without a second thought. Snow Leopard will support Exchange right out of the box, allowing the user to schedule meetings, send/receive e-mails, and view contact list, calendar and tasks. Ironically, no version of Microsoft Windows has out of the box support for the Exchange.
• Finder with file previews: The Finder service for Mac OS X now shows previews right inside the Finder window. If a multi page document shows up in the result, for instance, it is now possible to view the entire document through the preview mode. Also, it is actually possible to view an entire movie right inside the preview window, which is quite a revolutionary feature on its own.
• Smart Eject for discs: Mac OS X always had minor problems with ejection of optical discs or mounted disk images. Not any more! If the user attempts to eject a disc that is being used by an application, a window will come up telling the user the name of the application. The user can then exit the application and unmount/remove the disc.
• Streamlined Services menu: The services menu, which pops into existence when a user right clicks on a file, has been cleaned up, leaving only those applications which are relevant to the file. Previously, this would be quite a cluttered menu, with a bunch of irrelevant applications also stuffed into it.
• Improved security: Snow Leopard now includes a malware checking tool that will try to scan files that are being opened for signs of malware infections. The system is pretty basic with only a handful of definitions in the list, but will be updated later. It may not be as powerful as third party spyware removal tools, but it will provide the first line of defense against malware nonetheless.

These, coupled with loads of other tweaks and upgrades, not to mention a measly price tag of just $29 make Snow Leopard a must have update for Mac users.