Apple has taken the superior capabilities of its next generation Airport Base Station into consideration for its next OS release: OS 10.5 Leopard. Leopard will include a new software program called Time Machine designed to automatically back up your data to the USB storage device you hook up to your Airport. Once again Apple steps up to match its innovative hard ware with innovative software included - no extra purchase necessary. The wireless capability of storing to a USB device is the first step on the road to a total home computing and home storage network. Once again Apple leads the charge in innovative technology easy enough for anyone to use.

So what does Time Machine do for the home network user? It makes it easy for anyone to create automatic backups over a home wireless network. Used in tandem with the innovative new 802.11.n wireless network standard (currently in draft) it means you can network up to ten computers wirelessly and three via ethernet port simultaneously, in addition to Apple's USB network storage capability to be included in the next base station model. Apple has shipped every computer in the last few months with an 802.11.n capable wireless card. Once the new technology is released all you will have to do is install a $1.99 software patch to network at lightening speed in your own home and take advantage of Time Machine to keep your data secure.

What else can Time Machine do for you? It can restore anything you've ever deleted on your computer. This is a fantastic feature for anyone who has ever accidentally deleted an entire folder or file - it means no more lost memories or work. It is incredibly easy to use, like all things made by Apple, so any regular home user will be able to learn the program and restore lost data. This is a huge improvement on having to learn third party software products made for the purpose, like Norton, that don't work with the same ease as Apple's products. This brings the average computer user on par with computer professionals and makes their data more secure and their network run more smoothly.

When can we expect to see OS 10.5 Leopard and its components like Time Machine? In late Spring of 2007 - sooner than you think. What else does Leopard have to offer besides Time Machine? Integrated Mail 3, improved debugging with XCode, BootCamp preinstalled, better iChat, Spotlight network search software, more Dashboard widgets, Spaces multi-view application and much more. You can get a sneak peak of Apple's next great operating system, Leopard, here. Try a sneak peak of Time Machine here.