“The system is faster, but a lot of it has to do with Apple cleaning up code and taking out a lot of legacy code that was there to support PowerPC stuff.”

“I don’t think in their day-to-day interaction with the system that people will say, ‘I am so glad this is 64-bit, it’s absolutely flying,’” explains Griffith. To the average Mac owner though, say experts, the differences may not seem quite so markedly significant. As examples, Apple claims this offers users a 20 percent speed boost when opening large PDF files, 30 percent gains when using QuickTime, and 50 percent faster response times when executing Javascript in Safari. For instance, all the built-in OS X applications, from Finder to iChat, now run 64-bit code, which should offer better performance. Since they are now standard equipment on many new Macs, Apple has focused much of the Snow Leopard development initiative on taking advantage of the untapped power within for a smoother desktop experience. Much of the purported performance gains come from more fully exploiting the power of 64-bit CPUs. The OS X already has a reputation for speed, but Apple intends to further that lead by making the OS even more nimble with Snow Leopard. We sat down with senior Macworld editor Rob Griffiths to better explain what’s in store, what could change for the worse, and whether or not most existing OS X users will want to upgrade. But with so many features that run more than just skin deep, Snow Leopard isn’t an easy beast to understand. While Apple has shied away from painting the new Mac operating system (OS) as a landmark release – even the name implies that it’s just a revision – Snow Leopard will bring with it a slew of upgrades that Apple fans have long awaited, and many that should pave a path to unlock even more performance as developers learn to fully take advantage of them. After a modest demonstration alongside a hopped-up iPhone and slightly revamped MacBook at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, the long-awaited update to OS X finally gets its time to shine on August 28. Share Snow Leopard will fully exploit 64-bit CPUs

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