Apple confirmed Tuesday that Mac OS X Leopard will go on sale Friday, October 26 at 6:00 p.m. at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that the company's online store is now accepting pre-orders for the software. Available for $129 (single user) and $199 (family pack), Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard is packed with over 300 new features, installs easily, and works with the software and accessories you already have. Additionally Mac OS X Leopard introduces a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac.

Other new features in Leopard include:

• improved Parental Controls, aiding parents in managing their kids' online activities with automatic identification of unsuitable content before allowing website access, plus time limits and activity logs that can be accessed from any Mac on a home network;
• the complete Boot Camp release, previously available only as a beta, making it possible to run Windows natively on Intel-based Macs;
• Web Clip, bringing anything that a user wants from a web page to Dashboard as a live widget;
• new Photo Booth features, helping users create animated iChat buddy icons or fun effects and backdrops with still or video images;
• an enhanced Dictionary with Wikipedia built in, allowing users to access up to date information on virtually any subject in a snap;
• a newly updated iCal with multi-user calendaring based on the new CalDAV standard; and
• an updated version of Front Row, making it even easier to play music or watch movies, TV shows and photos on a Mac using the ultra-simple Apple Remote.