When I installed Mac OS X Tiger on my computer near the end of April 2005, I thought to myself, it really can't get better than this. Spotlight has changed the way I use the computer, Dashboard brought forth all these little applications that I used to have to hunt and peck for, Calculator, sticky notes, and even local weather updates: all just an F12 key away.

Now, a year later, I am reading about the upcoming release of Mac OS X Leopard, I find myself already thinking about how I'll just barely be able to live without the new features included inside Apple's next major operating system update. I'm not even talking about the fact I'll be able to skin my mail with fancy new themes, or add animated backgrounds to my iChats with the team here at Radiant Core ( oh, I will ) - but these aren’t the things I am waiting so desperately for.

Alistair’s Key Awaited Feature List

Spaces: This basically turns your desktop into several individual Spaces or desktops, each of which can be customized for a specific task or type of work. As with the introduction of Exposé a few years ago, if this is utilized properly, it can seriously increase the productivity of anyone using the computer for more than just sending email. Designers, Developers and Digital artists of all stripes can organize their workspaces for tasks and whip through them to work on whichever project is the most pressing, or subsequently a chronic solitaire user can set up a overloaded work screen they can quickly switch too in under a second if the boss pops around a corner.

Time Machine: If you have ever felt the slow oncoming dread while you are looking for that file you need to present in 20 minutes which  you might have deleted in a frantic desktop cleanup, Time Machine has you covered. You can go back through saved states of your computer to find the last version of the missing file, make your meeting and receive your kudos. This will eliminate the overload of panic and generalized collapsing into a fetal position you currently go through after losing said file, enjoy!

iChat Theatre: Imagine running a keynote presentation to clients over the internet. Well now its completely possible, with much more. Wireframes and mockups now come with the best part of any internet delivery: you! Let’s face it, things in projects can change fast and sometimes you have to make a call on certain design elements without the client’s approval. Now, upon you showing off your digital mockups, you can also offer your explanation of any changed elements alongside your visual delivery. If you have found yourself in the past trying to type in one of these rather longwinded explanations, you’ll know, face to face is so much simpler for your clients.

Hurry Up and Wait

Apple hasn’t announced a date for the release of Leopard, but speculation on the internets (which Jay assures me is a massive interconnected series of tubes) is that we should all be buying a copy as soon as the end of March.