It’s finally here! Can’t wait to try it out.

“The world’s most advanced operating system. Finely tuned. Mac OS X Snow Leopard is a simpler, more powerful, and more refined version of Mac OS X. It delivers a wide range of enhancements, next-generation technologies,out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange Server, and new accessibility features.”

I’ve been reading along with everyone else who follows Apple, about this suit against Psystar. A thought occurred to me.

What if Psystar won?

What would that do to Apple’s business strategy and the structure of the their margins? Right now, it seems that most of Apple’s margins (profit) come from their hardware sales. So, defending any threat to that income stream makes sense. But what changes would have to occur at Apple if they were no longer able to dictate who sells computers with their Operating System installed?

It seems to me that they would have to re-factor their focus from hardware (at least in regards to desktops, notebooks and servers) to software. They would have to become more like Microsoft (Oh no!). That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Don’t freak out….

My assertion would be that Apple would still want to keep control and here is how they could do it.

Even though at this point, Apple could not stop a hardware reseller from selling computers with their OS installed (except by stop selling retail copies, which I don’t see happening), they could refuse to provide support for copies not installed on their approved hardware.

In this strategy, I could envision Apple making deals with the major computer resellers, like Dell Computer, which has expressed an interest in shipping box’s with OSX installed, to be an authorized reseller of their OS on the resellers hardware.

Of course, being an authorized reseller would require certain concessions which would protect Apple’s margin to offset loss of hardware sales. They could also control what hardware goes into these box’s to insure the same kind of integrated experience that Mac Users have come to expect from a Macs.

The chances of Apple losing their suit is small, but what if? It sure is fun to think about.

Apple’s latest Operating System upgrade will be hitting the shelves soon. So, here is a rundown of some of the more visible changes to the OS.

Finder

The main interface for interacting with the OS is the ‘Finder’. In Snow Leopard, it has been completely rewritten using OSX frameworks, giving it access to 64-bit support and improved responsiveness through ‘Grand Central Dispatch’.

Expose’

The feature that allows you to see all windows or items related to an object (like a folder) has been integrated into the Dock.

Time Machine

According to Apple, they have improved their revolutionary backup technology to improve backup time by 50% and improves on the time it takes to do the initial backup.

Installation

Upgrading and installing the OS has been made to complete 45% faster than OSX Leopard. This means that you will be up and running faster. Apparently, some of that speed is found by reducing the footprint, since Apple says that you will regain 6GB of disk space when upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard.

QuickTime

QuickTime has been rewritten. Apple has also rewritten the QuickTime Media Player as well. If you have used the Media Player on the iPhone, you will feel comfortable with the new interface on the QuickTime Media Player.

iChat

This program has been improved for reliability. Resolution for Video chat has been increased to 640×480, while at the same time reducing the bandwidth requirements by 1/3.

There are, of course, more changes for this OS update, but that gives you an idea of what you will see with Snow Leopard.

*(Last Rumor has Snow Leopard shipping early on August 28^th, 2009)