According to TUAW, the Unofficial Apple Weblog, Apple is slowly gearing up to possibly start seeding its next operating system, 10.5.6 to developers. TUAW claims that unlike the current 10.5 release, 10.6 will focus solely on security and stability.

One interesting issue for us up here in Maine is that with the 10.6 release, Apple is rumored to be developing specifically for their newer Intel based Macs and no longer the older Power PC versions. Why is this interesting? Well, as part of Maine’s Learning and Technology Initiative, we’ve got over 40,000 of those older Power PC macs throughout the state. Although they’re not equipped to run Apple’s current 10.5 operating system, I’ve liked the fact that, with a RAM upgrade, they could run it just fine. Is this the end of the road for all those MLTI iBooks? TUAW’s other concern which I also share is that there still exist many applications written for the older Power PC systems and as developers will obviously be focusing on the newer architecture and operating system, it’s unlikely we’ll see much further development on these Power PC based applications. Obviously, I know that as newer technologies are introduced, older ones get phased out, but I really really like the Power PCs and hate to see them going by the wayside. :(
TUAW’s post can be found here: http://www.tuaw.com/2008/06/03/rumor-mac-os-x-10-6-to-debut-at-wwdc-08/

Steve