Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Available for Pre-Order

Snow Leopard, a new version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system, is available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, which is expected to hit the market in September, makes Mac computers “faster, more reliable, and easier to use,” according to Apple.

The new OS brings a more responsive Finder, new look and features of Exposé and Stacks, quicker backups with Time Machine, faster system’s wake ups and shut downs, faster joining to wireless networks, a faster and more reliable installation process, as well as a smaller footprint.

Among other improvements, Apple highlights new versions of Safari, QuickTime and iChat applications, a simplified and streamlined Services feature, easier PDF text selection, automatic updates for printer drivers, automatic time zone setup, a more reliable ejecting of discs and external drives, and more efficient file sharing.

Installation of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard requires a Mac computer with an Intel processor, 1GB of RAM, 5GB of free disk space, and a DVD drive.

The operating system can be pre-ordered for $29.

If you’ve purchased a qualifying Mac computer or Xserve server on or after 08/06/2009 that does not include Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, you can upgrade to Snow Leopard for $9.95, Apple says.

UPDATE: Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard is available now.