Apple announces Leopard OS release date

Apple announced that it has set a new, firm release date for its next-generation operating system of October 26.

Apple pledges more than 300 new features have been added to the new platform, including improvements to Finder, iChat, e-mail, and “Spaces”. Another feature is called “Time Machine”, which allows users to warp back to a specific date and see a snapshot of their computer from that time. It will also let users restore files that existed that day but were since deleted.

Intel Exceeds Estimates With 43% Earnings Rise

Intel Corp announced that its quarterly profits rose 43%, driven by demand for personal computers in Europe and Asia.

Intel said that its net income in the three months rose to $1.86 billion, or $0.31 per share, from $1.30 billion, or $0.22 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Intel’s revenues climbed 15% to $10.1 billion during the third quarter, as compared to $8.74 billion in the same period a year ago.

The company’s results were aided by higher sales of its microprocessors for notebook computers in the emerging markets, such as China, and restructuring measures. Intel said that average selling prices (ASPs) were sequentially flat in the third quarter, which was better than expected.

MySpace and Skype Announce Partnership

MySpace and Skype announced a partnership to empower the MySpace community with voice communications. Terms of the deal not disclosed. Skype is a unit of eBay Inc while MySpace is a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., which in turn is a division of News Corp.

The announcement unveils MySpaceIM with Skype, a new product that integrates MySpace’s popular IM client with more than 25 million installed users with Skype’s free, high-quality voice-calling capability. Both products will be available to users starting in November.