Apple Ends OS X 10.8.4 Beta Testing Program, Suggesting Imminent Release

[MacsRgr8]

I see your point, and it may make sense from that perspective - in fact, I would much prefer to return to the good ol' days of TRUE major upgrades every two years instead of these ridiculously disappointing paid releases that add little more than iOSified crap to OS X.

I still remember the days of System 7, Jaguar, Tiger etc. when we REALLY had something exciting to talk about when a new OS version was released, both in terms of under- and over-the-hood improvements.

What do we get now? Reminders? AirDrop which I've used only ONCE in like what, a year? Messages? Gimme a break.

The price of a new OS X has dropped hugely to accommodate the small features added...

By the way, with EVERY release of Mac OS there have always been critics about the new release.
It's just the way it works. The silent majority approves but many tech-heads on these kind of boards don't seem to like new features.
Remember when OS X 10.5 appeared? How much bashing there was about the new Dock? Some people hated Spotlight in Tiger when it first was available.

Apple is making iOS and OS X for the masses. Trying to make it as easy as possible, integrated with iCloud.
Apple is not using the same OS strategy as Microsoft. Apple is not about "support" or "backwards compatibility", etc. It's about trying to move forward, even by forcing new OS X releases on new hardware, even if Apple knows there are some known bugs. Apple wants all users to experience the latest new features.
Even if System Admins and Tech Support folk don't.

 

[3282868]

The price of a new OS X has dropped hugely to accommodate the small features added...

Sorry, but why the eye roll? Genuinely curious. I've never understood the benefit as it seems insulting to a complete strangers opinion(s).

 

[milo]

...I would much prefer to return to the good ol' days of TRUE major upgrades every two years instead of these ridiculously disappointing paid releases...

To be fair, it used to be $129 every two years versus $19 to $29 every year, so it's hard to complain that they're not justifying the price. I wouldn't say that earlier OSX updates offered more than twice the new features of newer ones. And there's very little software that would keep a user from skipping an OS version.

Really? Huh, I was way off. Maybe it was Lion I'm thinking of. I remember DP1, DP2, DP3 and DP4, then the GM release. I still have em actually. Also kept a few beta's from Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard as they had some great features that didn't make GM due to licensing issues.

List of 10.8 betas down on the page here. Looks like Lion had 8 including GM. But it looks like SL had 14 betas and was tested for a year, so that is more releases and definitely a much longer period of time.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS_X_10.8_Mountain_Lion

 

[grahamperrin]

OT: number of builds of 10.8

… nine including the GM.

True. Eight pre-release builds were seeded.

 

[grahamperrin]

OT: numbers of developer previews of OSes before Mountain Lion

… Maybe it was Lion I'm thinking of. I remember DP1, DP2, DP3 and DP4, then the GM …

Probably not for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, but for at least one version of the OS:

• not all pre-releases were known as developer previews.

For Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/8086277/ reminds me of a Developer Preview Update (the build was greater than its predecessor, but the number of the developer preview was not greater).

 

[MacsRgr8]

Sorry, but why the eye roll? Genuinely curious. I've never understood the benefit as it seems insulting to a complete strangers opinion(s).

Yeah, after reading it again the eye roll does seem a bit insulting.
Sorry about that, that wasn't my intention.

It was merely meant trying to indicate that it is known that since OS X Lion the OS X upgrades are cheap.
Therefore the buyer shouldn't expect such a drastic new OS with huge amounts of new features as when Apple released the OS upgrades before Lion.

Again, not meant to insult, but trying to indicate that it should be known as it is the subject of the conversation.

 

[fivedots]

Yeah, after reading it again the eye roll does seem a bit insulting.
Sorry about that, that wasn't my intention.

It was merely meant trying to indicate that it is known that since OS X Lion the OS X upgrades are cheap.
Therefore the buyer shouldn't expect such a drastic new OS with huge amounts of new features as when Apple released the OS upgrades before Lion.

Again, not meant to insult, but trying to indicate that it should be known as it is the subject of the conversation.

It seems unfair to say that since the upgrades are cheap, there will not be huge amounts of new features.

Apple's strategy seems to be to sell hardware by offering attractive and affordable software. I don't think the price cut was intended to reflect the significance or depth of the updates.

 

[mag01]

12E55 out as final 10.8.4 build

 

[OllyW]

12E55 out as final

Just popped up as I was updating Mactracker.

 

[dastinger]

YAY! Hope it brings noticeable improvements

 

[3282868]

Yeah, after reading it again the eye roll does seem a bit insulting.
Sorry about that, that wasn't my intention.

It was merely meant trying to indicate that it is known that since OS X Lion the OS X upgrades are cheap.
Therefore the buyer shouldn't expect such a drastic new OS with huge amounts of new features as when Apple released the OS upgrades before Lion.

Again, not meant to insult, but trying to indicate that it should be known as it is the subject of the conversation.

Thanks for that, it's rare and refreshing to read a sincere explanation or apology for any misconstrued intentions.

 

[Peace]

Anybody notice the dev forums are down ?