Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.1 Retail Family Pack (2009)

This boxed retail version of Mac OS X is version 10.5.1, also known as “Leopard.” This particular box is the Retail Family Pack, licensed for “up to five computers in one household.”

Leopard (Mac OS X v10.5) was marketed to contain over 300 enhancements from its predecessor, Mac OS X v.10.4, Tiger. The Leopard Finder included a redesigned Desktop and Dock, a semi-transparent menu bar, and the addition of Cover Flow, a visual file navigation method borrowed from iTunes. This release also introduced Time Machine automated backups, Spotlight searches across multiple Macs, the Photo Booth app, and the Front Row system that served as a simple multimedia interface.

The design on the outside of the box is printed with a high-gloss finish and foil-metallic accents for the outer space design elements—a somewhat perplexing concept given the name of the OS was “Leopard.” The back of the box highlighted five operating system features: Cover Flow in the Finder, Time Machine automatic backups, iChat video chat effects, stationery in Mail, and Spaces window organization.

The box contained an install DVD and a color-printed manual. The exterior of the box lists the following contents:

DVD containing Mac OS X; printed and electronic documentation. Requirements Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512MB of physical RAM; DVD drive for installation. • Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply. • Time Machine requires an additional hard drive, sold separately. • iChat requires a compatible camera. • Some features have additional requirements; see www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs. 826-8133-A

Sources: Apple (product box), Wikipedia, Ars Technica

Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.6 (2005)

The version of Mac OS X Tiger, Version 10.4.6, specifies that this version has over 200 new features and mentions “Spotlight search technology, Dashboard widgets, Safari RSS web news, iChat AV… [and] H.264 Quicktime [sic] video.”

Since this is not the initial release of Mac OS X Tiger, it is packaged in a designed software sleeve—not in a retail box.

Source: Wikipedia

Xsan 2 box (2008)

This Xsan 2 retail box from 2008 includes the software to set up Apple’s SAN (Storage Area Network) solution on a Mac with a G5 processor with an Apple Fibre Channel card running Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server 10.5 or later.

The box uses the tagline, “Share terabytes of storage. Zero bottlenecks.”

The four key technologies highlighted on the box include:

  • Simplified setup
  • MultiSAN
  • Full-throttle performance
  • Spotlight

The Xsan 2 setup guide is not for the faint of heart. It lists “Equipment You’ll Need” and specifies, “To set up a SAN using the instructions in this guide, you need:”

  • RAID storage devices for SAN storage
  • Two computers running Mac OS X Server v10.5 to act as SAN metadata controllers
  • One or more SAN client computers running Mac OS X v10.5 or Mac OS X Server v10.5
  • An Intel or PowerPC G5 processor and at least 2 GB of RAM in each SAN computer
  • An additional 2 GB per SAN volume in each metadata controller that hosts more
  • than one SAN volume
  • An Apple Fibre Channel PCI, PCI-X, or PCI-E card installed in each SAN computer
  • A Fibre Channel switch and cables for all storage devices and computers
  • An Ethernet switch and cables for the private SAN metadata network
  • A second Ethernet switch and cables for public intranet and Internet access
  • An equipment rack for your RAID storage systems and Xserve computers
  • A list of qualified RAID systems and Fibre Channel switches is available on the Xsan website at www.apple.com/xsan

Source: Apple