Apple's 'Leopard' Near 'Final Candidate' Stage

Apple's Mac OS X Leopard, which has circulated to select developers, is nearing completion, according to an analyst report.

Shaw Wu of American Technology Research says that developer builds of the Leopard operating system indicates that Apple is on track to ship the next generation of its operating system in the spring release time frame. This runs from March 20^th through June 20^th.

Analysts, however, are concerned that Apple has yet to publicize the promised "secret features" of Leopard. Apple is expected to highlight Mac OS X Leopard at ths year's annual developer conference in June.

"We believe these concerns are over done and believe that Mac OS X Leopard will ship on time in the "Spring" time frame, or Apple's June quarter," the Wu wrote in a research note to clients.

Apple has denied any rumored delays for Mac OS X Leopard.

The analyst specifically told clients that Leopard development was wrapping up and should hit the "final candidate" stage of development soon.

"Our sources indicate that Apple's latest beta build has made noticeable improvements in stability and functionality from previous builds and that Apple is likely one or two upcoming builds away from reaching 'final candidate' stage to be released for manufacturing."

"The one concern we are picking up from the Apple developer community is that most are still in the dark in terms of upcoming "secret" features for Mac OS X Leopard," Wu wrote in his note. "At some point, we believe Apple needs to 'publish' or enable these so-far undocumented features for wider beta testing."

Wu thinks that it could be virtualization technology. It would allow multiple operating systems to run concurrently alongside Mac OS X Leopard. Such technology would give Macs a strong sales boost.

"Many are hoping, including us, that it is virtual machine technology similar to that offered by Parallels, Inc. that allows seamless operation of Mac OS and Windows simultaneously. If so, we believe this would serve as a major catalyst for Mac sales," Wu continued.

Shares of Apple Inc. climbed modestly in Monday's trading, despite the rumors that Leopard may be delayed.