Core Image: Ultrafast, pixel accurate.

Core Image is a GPU-accelerated image-processing framework that creates many of the spectacular graphics effects in Snow Leopard and many popular applications. Using a precise, color-managed floating-point pipeline, Core Image offers over a hundred built-in filter effects such as image sharpening, color adjustments, and high-quality transitions. Developers can extend Core Image by adding their own custom filters using Image Units.

Core Animation: Stunning, dynamic animations.

The stunning cascading windows of Time Machine and the smooth animation of the reflective three-dimensional Dock are made possible by the Core Animation technology in Mac OS X. Core Animation opens up the combined power of Mac OS X graphics technologies by simultaneously compositing layers of text, graphics, and video using powerful keyframe animation techniques. Taking advantage of the capabilities of the GPU and multicore CPUs, Core Animation dynamically renders these layers together, complete with transparency and Core Image filter effects. Core Animation also allows developers to enhance their applications with amazing animated user experiences and rich visualizations without needing to know expert graphics and animation techniques.

Core Audio: Command performance.

Core Audio is the high-resolution, low-latency foundation for audio in Mac OS X. It integrates a range of audio functionality directly into the operating system in ways never before possible, enabling unprecedented performance and ease of use in your virtual studio. Built to handle multiple channels of high-bit-rate, floating-point digital audio, Core Audio is ready for anything — from playing back simple stereo music to powering professional audio recording and mastering solutions. Core Audio includes integrated MIDI services and supports a wide variety of FireWire and USB audio and MIDI devices. The Audio Units plug-in architecture lets developers extend the capabilities of Core Audio by adding their own audio processing routines and special effects.

Quartz Extreme: Responsive window compositing.

When you move, resize, or scroll a window in Mac OS X, you’re witnessing the power of Quartz Extreme. Harnessing the performance of the graphics processor in your Mac, Quartz Extreme delivers responsive, accelerated window compositing with full support for transparency. Every time a window moves, scrolls, or resizes, Quartz Extreme efficiently directs the GPU to update the display. The GPU focuses on what it does best — graphics — and frees the CPU for other tasks.