Apple to ship Mac OS X Tiger software on April 29

Apple Computer said that the latest major update of its Mac OS X operating system, code-named Tiger, would be available on April 29.

Apple Computer Inc said on Tuesday that the latest major update of its Mac OS X operating system, code-named Tiger, would be available on April 29.

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The Cupertino, California-based maker of Macintosh computers and iPod digital music players has long said that Tiger would be shipped by the first half of the year.

The updated operating system - which serves as the nerve centre controlling the functions of all the features of the computer - is expected to fuel interest in Apple's computers, already energised by products including the Mac Mini and the iPod digital music player. However, some consumers may delay a decision to buy until the new software is released.

Tiger, which will sell for about $129, includes new features such as Spotlight, Apple's advanced desktop search function that scours the computer's hard disk drive to find documents, e-mail, pictures and music, similar to the way Google searches the Internet.

The operating system also has Dashboard, which is a collection of Internet-enabled programmes to give users instant information on airline flights, movie times, weather, stock prices and other information.

Microsoft Corp's next major version of its operating systems, code-named Longhorn, has been delayed a number of times and is now expected in 2006. Microsoft's Windows operating systems dominates the global market.

Apple said it would sell a "family pack" version of the software, for $199 that serves up to five computers in a single residence.