Apple is holding another media event today, which for a change is focused on the Mac.  The event starts at 10AM Pacific time and according to the latest rumor (as I type this), Apple will again stream the event live.  What should we expect from Apple today?

• MacBook Air Update:  The MBA is long overdue for an update and some rumors event point to a MBA with a smaller screen to be added to the notebook lineup.
• iLife 11: The Apple Discussions forums leaked new forum categories for a number of iLife 11 applications.  Engadget has the story.
• OSX 10.7: Judging by the invitation the media received, it looks like the next cat in the OS X franchise is Lion.  The king of the jungle; is this the last version of OS X?

The above items are a near certainty.  Will Apple have anything else up their sleeve?  We’ll have to wait and see.  I usually visit Engadget for my Apple special event coverage.  Engadget is covering the event in liveblog fashion here.

If you’re like me and still running with the old cat, you’re in for a surprise the next time Software Update is run. Apple released 10.4.11 yesterday and it contains a number of updates and fixes. You can find the entire table of updates listed here; but most notably included is:

• Safari 3
• Improved syncing between iPhone and Yahoo! address books
• Improved reliability when mounting external USB hard drives
• Allows the use of the special keys on aluminum Apple Keyboards to control Aperture slideshows

Looks like Tiger will continue to get some love even though Leopard has shipped.

I decided to stop by the Apple Store on my way home from work Friday to try to get one of those free t-shirts I wrote about the other day. I was going to make it to the store about 6:15PM so I thought I would miss any line if there was one. I was completely wrong! I forgot my camera, but Lenox Mall looked like the mall in this TUAW photo gallery from Knoxville.

I estimated there was about 150 people waiting outside the Apple Store with a number of people already in the store. The scene looked a lot like the iPhone launch but with about half as many people. I couldn’t tell from where I was standing, but I think the Apple Store was only letting in a number of people at one time and as people left, they would let more in. The Apple Store had a cop posted outside the store with Apple fans lined up and down the mall hallways (like this). I decided not to stick around since I needed to be home by 7:00PM.

I was able to make it to the store today and there was no line outside, unlike the day after the iPhone launch. Other than a little sign at the front door (far left in this picture), you couldn’t tell anything was going on until you got inside the store. I jumped on a Macbook near the front door and played around on Leopard for about 15 minutes. I liked what I saw, but I’ll probably ask for it as a Christmas or Birthday present instead of buying it. I just got a new MBP around mid September so I don’t really want to go through the hassle again of setting everything up again. I’ll be ready by December though!

If you’re curious what the Leopard t-shirt looks like, you can see it here.

The newest cat to the OS X pack will lauch this Friday at 6:00PM. If you’re one of the first 500 guests to your local Apple Store, Apple will give you a “speical edition” Leopard T-shirt. Though the Apple Retail page is sparse with details, I’m hoping the systems they have setup will all run Leopard as well. I’d really like to test drive Leopard before buying it. I’m leaning towards waiting until 10.5.1 hits, but I’ve been sucked in by the Apple marketing machine before so there’s a chance I’ll walk away with Leopard.

[Via TUAW]

Apple has announced that OS X 10.5 Leopard will be available on October 26th, 2007. Pricing for Leopard is consistent with previous OS X upgrades. Leopard is priced at $129USD for a single user license and $199USD buys a family pack, good for 5 licenses in the same household (not for business or commercial use). You can pre-order Leopard now and get free shipping with an October 26th delivery date.

This being my first OS X upgrade, I’ll probably wait a few months before I buy Leopard. I’m very excited about some of the new features though. Of the new features, Quick Look, Finder, Stacks, and Spaces are the most appealing reason for upgrading.