Apple wonks ready soil for seeds of new OS

The occasion is Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference, and the menu includes the new version of OSX, new iMacs, new Cinema displays, a revision to the .Mac web services platform and a new partnership with Google, if you believe the rumours.

Leopard will be order of the day, with Jobs promising to reveal some of the 'secret' features that will wow audiences installing the new OS in October. One of those features was scooped by Sun's Jonathan Schwartz last week, as he let slip that OSX's new default file system would be ZFS, but there are plenty more features to come, including a more central role for Core Animation and some interface tweaks.

New iMacs might be around, or will come soon after, or perhaps soon after that, according to rumour sites. The new models will come in a brushed aluminium housing similar to the firm's Cinema displays, allegedly, but this seems odd given the painstaking efforts Apple makes to distinguish its consumer and pro lines.

The last bit of speculation seems more interesting. Apple and Google are getting closer than ever, with an increasingly aligned audience (read: trendy kids and web developers) and a few shared friends (Schmidt and Gore). With the iPhone deal in the bag, there are suggestions flying around that the much maligned .Mac service - web-based email and some crummy bookmark uploading - might turn into an Apple-branded version of Google Apps. Which would be interesting to sell to the people that pay $99 a year for .Mac only to discover the service becomes a sleeker-looking version of free Google software.

El Jobso is on at 6PM London time, so watch out for news wibbling then. µ