why do people wait for leopard to buy?

[bkvideography]

I don't get it. Do they not want to pay for the software upgrade? Do they think Blue-ray burners will show up in the computers? What is, if there is one - the main reason people don't want to buy a computer till Leopard comes out?

[suneohair]

Because they choose to, end of story.

[JFreak]

Because if you get Leopard for free you save 129 dollars, that's why. If you buy a computer now, you get Tiger, but if you wait few months, you get Leopard. It's really very simple mathematics.

[zap2]

to save 129 bucks
to possible save 79 bucks if a new iLife is coming out
to get the best hardware for there buck.





Doesn't seem like a big deal

[Roy Hobbs]

I don't get it. Do they not want to pay for the software upgrade? Do they think Blue-ray burners will show up in the computers? What is, if there is one - the main reason people don't want to buy a computer till Leopard comes out?

I never understood it either. If you need/want a new Mac then buy one. It's a measly $129 at most and a mere $79 for iLife. Not a big deal and not alot of $$.

I just don't get the reasoning to wait, unless it right around the corner. To me I would rather have my new Mac then wait 3 months just to save a few $$'s on software.

[velocityg4]

I never understood it either. If you need/want a new Mac then buy one. It's a measly $129 at most and a mere $79 for iLife. Not a big deal and not alot of $$.

I just don't get the reasoning to wait, unless it right around the corner. To me I would rather have my new Mac then wait 3 months just to save a few $$'s on software.

For both that comes to $208. Now say you are a college student making $350 a week with utilities rent and groceries to pay. Then you have been saving up for a new base Macbook for $999. Waiting three months for software seems reasonable as that $208 is over 20% of what the computer costs. That $208 is also a lot of money to that student.

Now if you are in the market for an Octo-core Mac Pro with the Quadro 4500, 16GB RAM, Blu-Ray Burner, HD DVD Burner, Dual 30" LCD's and Quad 1TB Hard Drives then spending $208 on Leopard and iLife three months later seems reasonable.

[yetanotherdave]

I never understood it either. If you need/want a new Mac then buy one. It's a measly $129 at most and a mere $79 for iLife. Not a big deal and not alot of $$.

I just don't get the reasoning to wait, unless it right around the corner. To me I would rather have my new Mac then wait 3 months just to save a few $$'s on software.

$208 is a lot of money to some people. Some people might not be able to spend $2000 now and an extra $200 in a few months to have the latest, when they can just spend $2000 in a few months time, possibly get a hardware update, and definitely get the latest software.
If I was buying now I'd wait. I bought my MB in April, just after the October announcement. That's coming from someone who already had a mac, so could afford to wait a bit (even though I was sharing it with my wife), but not forever.

[Dreadnought]

Now if you are in the market for an Octo-core Mac Pro with the Quadro 4500, 16GB RAM, Blu-Ray Burner, HD DVD Burner, Dual 30" LCD's and Quad 1TB Hard Drives then spending $208 on Leopard and iLife three months later seems reasonable.And if you are waiting for the next best thing, let's say upgraded Mac Pro's and they are probably introduced with Leopard...

[janey]

For both that comes to $208. Now say you are a college student making $350 a week with utilities rent and groceries to pay...
Yes, but if you're a college student in the US, iLife is $59, Leopard should be $69, and the MacBook would be $999. Not only would you be saving $100 with the MacBook with an edu discount, but you'd (currently) get a free iPod and the computer would come with iLife (which arguably is useless to a lot of people) and Tiger, and upgrading to Leopard would be $69, not the same as $208.

[BlueT]

janey, you're really missing the point. Why pay Apple money needlessly, when if you wait a couple months, you get everything for free?

Or more to the point, why pay a premium now, when you can eventually get it at a discount later? Especially if you have a limited budget and more than one hobby (there is life outside of Apple).

[janey]

janey, you're really missing the point. Why pay Apple money needlessly, when if you wait a couple months, you get everything for free?
My post had NOTHING to do about whether or not people should wait for Leopard. It had everything to do with fixing some mistakes made by a previous poster.

That being said, I get Leopard seeds and eventually will get Leopard through ADC. So the whole thing is moot to me. What someone else wants to do with their computer and an OS upgrade is not for me to care about.

In regards to paying Apple needlessly...keep in mind that some people don't have a couple months to wait for whatever reason, and if you're a student, the student iPod discount doesn't last a couple months, and waiting till October isn't necessarily feasible (what if you need it for college?).

[queshy]

Here's a question: I have an iMac and my family owns a macbook (both with Tiger). I'm looking for a macbook pro now. I plan on buying leopard anyways when it comes out for the mb and the iMac. So in that sense, it wouldn't be smart to "wait" for Leopard to buy the mbp, right? (unless of course I wanted ilife also, assuming it'll be released).

[siurpeeman]

janey, you're really missing the point. Why pay Apple money needlessly, when if you wait a couple months, you get everything for free?

a lot of people wait months and months to buy a computer so they can save, what, $130 on an operating system? i'd rather buy the computer now. having a computer and using for the months in between it is certainly worth the $130 in so-called savings. it isn't like a tiger-based mac with ilife 06 is outdated. i don't need my time machine now, or my core animation or spaces. tiger suits me fine, and a savings in $130 isn't worth it to wait nearly a year for a new computer.

[LethalWolfe]

There will always be something to wait for so people should just buy what they need when they need it. I mean, near the end of '06 people waited to see what was announced at MacWorld SF 2007, then there was speculation about what would happen at NAB, then WWDC, then waiting to see if Mac Pros dropped in price after the intel CPU price cuts, then wait for Leopard, oh but now MWSF 2008 is coming...


Lethal

[CalBoy]

Here's a question: I have an iMac and my family owns a macbook (both with Tiger). I'm looking for a macbook pro now. I plan on buying leopard anyways when it comes out for the mb and the iMac. So in that sense, it wouldn't be smart to "wait" for Leopard to buy the mbp, right? (unless of course I wanted ilife also, assuming it'll be released).

In your case, the family pack works out to be better, so yes, buy the mbp now.

[queshy]

In your case, the family pack works out to be better, so yes, buy the mbp now.

Thanks. I'm assuming the family pack has 3 liscences? How much will that cost (Canada)?

I really don't mind paying Apple for this software ugprade. If it's 129$ for the single liscence version that's very, very reasonable. THey have one version, all inclusive, and it seems to be like an incredible OS update.

[CalBoy]

janey, you're really missing the point. Why pay Apple money needlessly, when if you wait a couple months, you get everything for free?

Or more to the point, why pay a premium now, when you can eventually get it at a discount later? Especially if you have a limited budget and more than one hobby (there is life outside of Apple).

No, you're missing the point. janey was trying to show how for students, the current free iPod and printer (together $300) are worth more than the $120 (or whatever) for Leopard and iLife (some students might not even want a new iLife, so that saves them another $50).

A college student ought to buy now and get a free iPod and printer (which is very much a needed thing for college).

Thanks. I'm assuming the family pack has 3 liscences? How much will that cost (Canada)?

I really don't mind paying Apple for this software ugprade. If it's 129$ for the single liscence version that's very, very reasonable. THey have one version, all inclusive, and it seems to be like an incredible OS update.

I think it's $200(US) for 5 licenses. In Canada that'll be $250 (just looked it up).

[janey]

No, you're missing the point....A college student ought to buy now and get a free iPod and printer (which is very much a needed thing for college).
Bingo.

Well, the printer thing isn't edu only afaik.

So, really, depending on your needs, and that most students probably need a laptop before October if they're getting one for school, waiting for Leopard is not always the best thing to do.

[CalBoy]

Bingo.

Well, the printer thing isn't edu only afaik.

So, really, depending on your needs, and that most students probably need a laptop before October if they're getting one for school, waiting for Leopard is not always the best thing to do.

Yeah, the printer is for everyone, but I don't think it's around during the Fall right? Doesn't it start up again during the Spring or something?

Bottom line, if you're a college student (or soon to be) just buy now.

[janey]

Yeah, the printer is for everyone, but I don't think it's around during the Fall right? Doesn't it start up again during the Spring or something

I remember getting the same $100 off any printer thing back in like 2002, somewhere in 2003, 2004...now... I pretty much remember Apple doing that all the time. Same with the $69 .mac.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=3C893A36&node=home/specialdeals/big_deals

[CalBoy]

I remember getting the same $100 off any printer thing back in like 2002, somewhere in 2003, 2004...now... I pretty much remember Apple doing that all the time. Same with the $69 .mac.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=3C893A36&node=home/specialdeals/big_deals

Hmm...so the free printer is around all year long huh? Sounds good. It'll be even easier to convert my Dad then:D

[aquajet]

If you were to wait until Leopard is released to purchase a new Mac, you might have to deal with a compatibility issue that can accompany a major OS update. At least if you purchase a Mac now with Tiger, you'll know what you're getting into. Just a reason not to wait...

This time around, I'll likely wait a few months before I upgrade my machine to Leopard.

[Tumeg101]

so we save $130, and so we get iLife '07 free also,

[queshy]

No, you're missing the point. janey was trying to show how for students, the current free iPod and printer (together $300) are worth more than the $120 (or whatever) for Leopard and iLife (some students might not even want a new iLife, so that saves them another $50).

A college student ought to buy now and get a free iPod and printer (which is very much a needed thing for college).



I think it's $200(US) for 5 licenses. In Canada that'll be $250 (just looked it up).

ok, that's a bit more expensive than I thought, lol. thanks anyway (I'm still gonna buy it though) :)

[BlueT]

There was a factor thrown into the argument that I didn't really think about, because I'm not a student. (I just noticed this.)

Yes, if you're a student, obviously buying now with the free iPod is worth it. But the original post wasn't about students; it was simply asking why people are so concerned about paying $129 for Leopard. And that's where my comment was being made.

[CalBoy]

There was a factor thrown into the argument that I didn't really think about, because I'm not a student. (I just noticed this.)

Yes, if you're a student, obviously buying now with the free iPod is worth it. But the original post wasn't about students; it was simply asking why people are so concerned about paying $129 for Leopard. And that's where my comment was being made.

If you're not a student, then it is a little better to wait, but not by much. However, if your hardware is not working, then there's no point in waiting.

[LoganT]

This is why I'm waiting. Apple computers aren't upgradeable (besides ram and HD and the mac pro). So I'd rather wait and buy the best technology I can that will last me a long time rather than buy a dying technology which won't.

[imacdaddy]

That's your money saved for buying option.

For Macbooks
1) 2.0GHz to 2.16GHz is $200
2) White to Black Macbook is $200
3) 1GB to 2GB is $175

MBP
1) Pay extra $92 from 15" to 17"
2) Upgrade to High-res

iMac
1) Pay extra $42 to upgrade from 2.16GHz to 2.33GHz
2) Upgrade HD to 500GB
3) Upgrade video card and ram from GeForce 7300 GT 128MB to 256MB GeForce 7600 GT

MacPro
1) Add $41 to upgrade video card to ATI X1900 XT

[yetanotherdave]

That's your money saved for buying option.

For Macbooks
1) 2.0GHz to 2.16GHz is $200
2) White to Black Macbook is $200
3) 1GB to 2GB is $175

MBP
1) Pay extra $92 from 15" to 17"
2) Upgrade to High-res

iMac
1) Pay extra $42 to upgrade from 2.16GHz to 2.33GHz
2) Upgrade HD to 500GB
3) Upgrade video card and ram from GeForce 7300 GT 128MB to 256MB GeForce 7600 GT

MacPro
1) Add $41 to upgrade video card to ATI X1900 XT

You forgot
ipod + $41 for 30Gb
or
buy a 4 gig nano
or
airport extreme $179

[CalBoy]

That's your money saved for buying option.

For Macbooks
1) 2.0GHz to 2.16GHz is $200
2) White to Black Macbook is $200
3) 1GB to 2GB is $175

MBP
1) Pay extra $92 from 15" to 17"
2) Upgrade to High-res

iMac
1) Pay extra $42 to upgrade from 2.16GHz to 2.33GHz
2) Upgrade HD to 500GB
3) Upgrade video card and ram from GeForce 7300 GT 128MB to 256MB GeForce 7600 GT

MacPro
1) Add $41 to upgrade video card to ATI X1900 XT

All of this is very true. Again, for non-student buyers, this is a lot of money. Some software or other accessories could be bought with $200+ worth. Although I feel it's fair to point out that many more people probably want Leopard rather than iLife. I think a comparison using $130 is more accurate. Either way, it's a lot of money.

[MidiMonk]

One thing to factor is that when leopard comes pre installed on new machines, you will not be able to backtrack to tiger.If leopard has bugs, which any new OS will have, your stuck to Apple fixes the issues.Given the track record of late, i am glad to have a great SR MBP that has more than enough horsepower and can be updated when i want to, not because Apple lockd me into an upgrade.

[CalBoy]

One thing to factor is that when leopard comes pre installed on new machines, you will not be able to backtrack to tiger.If leopard has bugs, which any new OS will have, your stuck to Apple fixes the issues.Given the track record of late, i am glad to have a great SR MBP that has more than enough horsepower and can be updated when i want to, not because Apple lockd me into an upgrade.

That's why one should wait for a month after Leopard before buying the softwware licesnse or a new computer.

[Wallace86]

There are always other options. I personally decided to wait, hoping for 17" LEDs, as well as to see if Leopard indeed does have a resolution independent UI (anyone know if it is going to have this) which will help me decide which resolution to get. I personally just got a souped up HP from Costcos to hold me over until october (90 return policy;)), and if i decide to wait longer I'll get another one from Sam's club (6 month return policy). A few month wait in comparison to how long I'm going to be using the MBP for (the rest of college, and after), it is really not that hard of a choice.

[bobber205]

Just think about how long people who wait for a new windows OS to come out have to wait! :eek:

[zap2]

a lot of people wait months and months to buy a computer so they can save, what, $130 on an operating system? i'd rather buy the computer now. having a computer and using for the months in between it is certainly worth the $130 in so-called savings. it isn't like a tiger-based mac with ilife 06 is outdated. i don't need my time machine now, or my core animation or spaces. tiger suits me fine, and a savings in $130 isn't worth it to wait nearly a year for a new computer.

It is for some people...I'm sure some people don't need the new Mac, and their current one works fine.

I can't see why people, for a a moment, would think that people shouldn't wait...IF THEY WANT. Its a personal choices money vs time....there is no right or wrong way to go about it.

[gauchogolfer]

I personally just got a souped up HP from Costcos to hold me over until october (90 return policy;))...I'll get another one from Sam's club (6 month return policy).

Does this really work? How can they make any money? What's to keep you from just buying/returning indefinitely?

[dogtanian]

It is for some people...I'm sure some people don't need the new Mac, and their current one works fine.

I can't see why people, for a a moment, would think that people shouldn't wait...IF THEY WANT. Its a personal choices money vs time....there is no right or wrong way to go about it.

I agree theirs no right or wrong answer!, the original poster has been informed why people do wait for the OS and iLife updates. It doesn't matter if anyone agrees with them. I personally have been waiting for a while for Leopard, I personally couldn't justify spending the extra £'s for the upgrade if I can get them both free (hopefully) by October. I wish I was in a financial position to not have to worry about that but I have student loans to pay off...

[VideoFreek]

Does this really work? How can they make any money? What's to keep you from just buying/returning indefinitely?Umm... maybe ethics (http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/return-policy-ethics.html)?

[CalBoy]

I personally just got a souped up HP from Costcos to hold me over until october (90 return policy;)), and if i decide to wait longer I'll get another one from Sam's club (6 month return policy).

People who employ tactics like that are the reason behind Costco's return policy change. The policy was never meant to allow you to keep returning prodcuts, essentially "renting" them for free. Eventually, this will catch up to you, and stores will simply not want to do business with you. Just suck it up and buy one.

[irishgrizzly]

I don't understand why everybody doesn't just do the same as everybody else – why do some people have one set of needs and values and others a completely different set? What's going on? Why is none of this oblivious? Let's all argue until it's resolved.

[CalBoy]

I don't understand why everybody doesn't just do the same as everybody else – why do some people have one set of needs and values and others a completely different set? What's going on? Why is none of this oblivious? Let's all argue until it's resolved.

LOL. Love it! But seriously, I think you mean "obvious" and not "oblivious":)

[Mac In School]

I'm waiting, just to save that $129.

Is $129 a lot of money? No. But, when the Mac Book Pro itself will cost $3300, I just spent $4000 on a Mac Pro 5 months ago, I'll have to spend $129 on Leopard for the Mac pro, $129 become a lot of money.

Not to mention that Office will be released around the same time (more $$). Then you have iLife. If they release Leopard with a new version of iLife, I'll buy the new version for the Mac Pro, and would have to buy it for the Mac Book Pro.

Let's also factor in that I use a laptop a grand total of maybe 5 times/year, and I have a full-loaded Windows laptop that works just fine, and it makes sense for me to wait.

I guess it all comes down to how badly you need (or want) the new computer. The one I'm waiting on is merely something to fall back on in case I have to work while on vacation.

[Zwhaler]

Wirelessly posted (LGE-VX9900/1.0 UP.Browser/6.2.3.2 (GUI) MMP/2.0)

...because they dont understand the concept that there will always be something better around the corner and that waiting and waiting doesnt do you any good. (unless of course you only have to wait a day or two)

[Mac In School]

I'd like to add...

Many of us "switchers" have had very bad experiences with OS upgrades in the past. The idea of getting a clean, tested factory install of the newer OS is also appealing to us.

[raccoontail]

I personally just got a souped up HP from Costcos to hold me over until october (90 return policy;)), and if i decide to wait longer I'll get another one from Sam's club (6 month return policy).

Thanks for contributing to increasing mine and everyone else's Costco membership fees. May you get stuck in an *extra* long checkout line next time you shop there. Then again, maybe using Vista is punishment enough...

[The Stig]

If you can wait. Wait. If you can't. Don't.

The Stig

[Goldcard]

like people are arguing about this? :p

[L3X]

I'm waiting because i'm broke now, will be broke in October, and won't have the funds until Christmas.

[Cosmoza]

For me it's not just the software update, but i assume there will be hardware update coming up as well. So getting new model laptop, new OS and even iLife at once, would be just brilliant.

This year i've had 5 mac's already.. iMac (G3 400), iMac (G3 350), ibook (G4 12" 1.2), Powerbook (G4 17") and iMac (G3 350) so i think i can wait :p

[J'aime]

If you can wait. Wait. If you can't. Don't.

The Stig

Well said. That's what it boils down to in the end. To each his own.

[epicwelshman]

Ok, look. The people who are waiting obviously don't need a new machine right now. I have a MacBook. If I wanted a MacBook Pro sometime soon, I may as well wait a couple months. Leopard has a solid release date - it's not like you'd be basing your purchasing decision on rumor. I'd wager that people who NEED a new machine asap buy it. Those who can wait a little longer may as well wait for the free Leopard upgrade. What's the big deal?

[CalBoy]

Ok, look. The people who are waiting obviously don't need a new machine right now. I have a MacBook. If I wanted a MacBook Pro sometime soon, I may as well wait a couple months. Leopard has a solid release date - it's not like you'd be basing your purchasing decision on rumor. I'd wager that people who NEED a new machine asap buy it. Those who can wait a little longer may as well wait for the free Leopard upgrade. What's the big deal?

Of course there were plenty of us who were waiting for Leopard to come before June. I would have waited until Leopard was released if Apple hadn't made it official (granted before the iPod sales ends). Like you said, it's all based on need. I didn't need my mbp on June 8th, but why did I need to wait? Since there was no benefit for me to wait, I figured I'd become more productive NOW.

[JimmyDThing]

Of course there were plenty of us who were waiting for Leopard to come before June. I would have waited until Leopard was released if Apple hadn't made it official (granted before the iPod sales ends). Like you said, it's all based on need. I didn't need my mbp on June 8th, but why did I need to wait? Since there was no benefit for me to wait, I figured I'd become more productive NOW.

I realize I'm a month behind you guys, but I read this so I thought I'd respond.

I'm in the market for a low-end MacBook. I'm waiting because... I don't NEED one right now, I'll get to see what people say about Leopard, I'll GET Leopard, and maybe get a Santa Rosa update so I can throw some more memory into the MacBook if Leopard requires more memory (I believe it's up to 4GB instead of up to 2GB).

[CalBoy]

I realize I'm a month behind you guys, but I read this so I thought I'd respond.

I'm in the market for a low-end MacBook. I'm waiting because... I don't NEED one right now, I'll get to see what people say about Leopard, I'll GET Leopard, and maybe get a Santa Rosa update so I can throw some more memory into the MacBook if Leopard requires more memory (I believe it's up to 4GB instead of up to 2GB).

Technically, the macbooks can support up to 3.3GB of RAM; Apple just doesn't support this. The SR chips are believed to offer a higher max, but it isn't "official" yet. In your case, waiting makes perfect sense, since you don't need the computer. I was becoming frustrated with my old one, and I decided that it was just time to let it die.

[A Pittarelli]

all us mac geeks either buy right away or wait forever to buy a new system, you should know that by now ;)