Computersight -

Snow Leopard. Even the name seems to underpromising — it’s the first “big cat” OS X codename to reference the previous version of the OS 10.5, and the list of big-ticket new features is seemingly pretty short for a version-number leep. Maybe that’s why Apple’s taged the 10.6 upgrade disc at just $29 — appearances and expectations really matter, and there’s simply not enough glitz on this kit to warrant the usual $129.

But beneath the customary OS X fit and finish there’s a lot of new plumbing done. The entire OS is now 64-bit, meaning apps can use massive amounts of RAM and other tasks will be faster. The Finder has been entirely re-created in Cocoa, which Mac fans have been waiting for since 10.0. There’s a new version of QuickTime, which affects media playback on almost all levels of the system. And on top of all that, there’s now Exchange feature in Mail, iCal, and Address Book, making OS X finally play nice with corporate networks out of the box.

So you won’t notice much new when you first restart into 10.6 — apart from some minor visual effects here and there there’s just not that much that is big. But in a way that means the pressure is on even more: Apple took the unusual and somewhat daring step of slowing feature creep in a major OS to focus on speed, reliability, and stability, and if Snow Leopard doesn’t deliver on those areas, it’s not worth $30 bux… it’s not worth at all.