Apple Computer showed off its Leopard operating system, due out next spring, to the cheers of software developers gathered for a major conference here on Monday.
With its trademark theatrical flair, the maker of Macintosh computers and iPod music players demonstrated new Leopard features that included playful "iChat" video-conferencing and a "time machine" that ressurects lost data.
"With our entire digital lives on the computer, Time Machine is none too soon," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in an opening speech to a packed auditorium. "We think iChat for Leopard is going to be a grand slam."
Apple gave a preview version of Leopard software to developers at the conference so they could begin crafting applications to complement the operating system, Jobs said.
"We are working very hard on this and think we will get it out next spring," Jobs said, disappointing some in the crowd who had hoped for an earlier release date.
More than 4,200 software developers from 48 countries have registered for the week-long Apple conference, according to the company.
Microsoft, whose software powers 90 percent of the world's computers, plans to release its own new operating system, Vista, in January.
