According to numerous reports on the Internet, Apple has internally seeded a build of Leopard which may be a Golden Master candidate. In addition, a mistake on Apple's online store Mac OS X Tiger page hints at a release on October 26.

The latest build of Leopard, numbered "9A581" was seeded a few days ago to Apple internal developers only. If no major issue is discovered on this Golden Master candidate build, it will be ready for duplication.

On Friday, on Apple's online store, visitors could notice that Mac OS X Tiger's estimated shipping date was pushed to October 26, hinting at the possibility that Apple releases Leopard this day.

Both pieces of information, which were reported by MacRumors (among others), confirm an earlier MacScoop report (see also follow-up) which provided detailed development roadmap until release for Apple's next generation operating system.

Meanwhile, Mac OS X Leopard is already available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $129 or $149 for the Family Pack.