Mac OS X 10.4 - Final Candidate?

[nagilum]

Predicted Apple.com tagline

Does anyone realise that these rumours are predicting the release of OS X on April Fools? Smells a bit fishy to me... Unless Apple has some sort of joke on it's site about it being April Fools.

'Mac OS X Tiger. No Joke.'

 

[notkevin]

So, assuming that Apple announces Tiger on Friday but will not be releasing the new OS until mid/late April, if someone were to order a new machine after they announce the new software, will it be included in their purchase? Or is it only after the actual release of the product?

Apple usually gives free upgrades (I don't think the shipping is free) to people who bought a new Mac within 30 or 60 days of an OS release. At work we got a free copy of 10.3 Server because we bought the server 30 days before 10.3 was released.

 

[jhomayne]

this is torture..

i had my ibook stolen about 7 weeks ago and finally the insurance company (well to be fair.. it's not the company itself but rather the company they use to order replacement computers) gets around to almost getting me my new ibook and i bet it'll arrive on thursday or something..

 

[petej]

Remeber the G-mail April 1st announcement. It caused such a stir because everyone guessed that it was a joke and G-mail got so much more publicity as a result.
I have bet with a friend that Apple will not only announce tiger but a revamp of their entire product line and launch one or two other hardware devices to get people really talking (I'm thinking about the Quicktime 7 / iTunes based mobile phone as an obvious example). I have another bet that some form of video download service based on H.264 will be launced but only for Macs in the first instance.
It's hard to comprehend the free publicity Apple would get in the press if they let it all go on April 1.

OK so it's a long shot but it's much more fun when there is a small amount of cash / pride resting on events

 

[fathomit03]

April 1 sounds highly likely. Monday evening I got a Tiger only OSX web page on Apple's site after a search for Rendezvous specs. There was no mention of Panther on the page and I thought Tiger had been released. When I checked the main page and saw no announcement I wondered what was going on. I tried refreshing the Tiger only page, but could not get it back. I should have got a screen shot. Next time...

 

[nagromme]

Very disturbing

As if an early release of Tiger isn't disturbing enough, I have seen NOBODY in this topic complaining that Tiger won't run on most Macs because it needs Core Image. Come on, what's wrong with people? I used to COUNT on that in any Tiger thread.

Have they finally realized that Apple has stated all along that Tiger will run on G3s? Have they realized that Core Image will run on the CPU if your GPU can't handle it? Have the discovered that Quartz, not even Quartz Extreme, much less Core Image, is all you need for most users' tasks? Have they accepted that it's OK to support OPTIONAL hardware--like high-end GPUs, DVD burners, scanners, and trackballs?

I am disappointed. Perhaps we'll have to settle for the classic complaints of "Apple is improving OS X too much too soon." Or "all my current Panther apps will suddenly stop working because they know Tiger exists."

I won't be surprised if Tiger is announced next week instead of Friday, but either way, its a lot earlier than I'd have thought. Glad I got my $35-rebate pre-order in early at Amazon Go grab it for $95. (Unless you get Apple edu pricing which is $69.)

Any advice on how to force myself not to install until 10.4.1? I really do like the idea of thousands of guinea pigs paving the way for me. Ah, forget it. What else are backups for?

 

[mainstreetmark]

April 1 sounds highly likely. Monday evening I got a Tiger only OSX web page on Apple's site after a search for Rendezvous specs. There was no mention of Panther on the page and I thought Tiger had been released. When I checked the main page and saw no announcement I wondered what was going on. I tried refreshing the Tiger only page, but could not get it back. I should have got a screen shot. Next time...

http://www.apple.com/macosx/

The main OSX page is pretty tiger centric these days. The Panther stuff has been demoted to "Below a Horizontal Rule"

 

[ncoffey]

I have another bet that some form of video download service based on H.264 will be launced but only for Macs in the first instance.

I hope this doesn't happen. Not because I wouldn't love it but because I'd lose so much money on it. It may take a good while to download a movie but if I can spend 10 bux (canadian), say, to download a movie legally and burn it to DVD then I'd probably watch a lot more movies. Yeah I'd love to say 2 bux for movies and 5 cents per song because then I wouldn't even pay attention to how much I buy and I'd spend a fortune, but I don't think the movie or record execs are intelligent enough to understand this. It's like the current situation with dvds and cds, however, as I get more value out of a CD than out of buying an album on iTunes. If the same thing happened with movies (ie: pay 25 bux canadian for a movie download), then I would probably never use it. It would be even worse than iTunes in this case because I can't but a single song off a CD so a dollar makes sense if I just want that one song. With a movie this logic wouldn't work and so their sales numbers would likely take a hit.

Edit: On the tiger topic, I have a mini that's supposed to ship tommorow. If Tiger is announced the day after I'd say I'll be a little amused. (And my friends with laugh at me.

 

[daveL]

Any advice on how to force myself not to install until 10.4.1? I really do like the idea of thousands of guinea pigs paving the way for me. Ah, forget it. What else are backups for?

If it's any help, 10.3.1 came out a mere two weeks (7 Nov.) after the Panther release. And 10.3.2 came out a month (8 Dec.) after 10.3.1.

 

[sw1tcher]

Product releases are rarely based on what engineering says, most of the times its based on what marketing says.

Exactly. When Microsoft released Windows XP, they also posted bug fixes and compatibility updates to their Windows Update website on the same day.

It's not uncommon for any software vendor to do the same. I mean, Apple did exactly the same thing when OS X 10.0 came out.

Apple released Mac OS X 10.0--an upgrade to its operating system with a reworked and more colorful interface--in March with little fanfare. While it was considered by users and analysts as one of Apple's most significant operating system releases ever, it is packed with bugs. Critics complained that it lacks a number of key features such as DVD playback.

"A lot of users pointed out that there were some serious holes in 10.0," Kay says. "Even Apple has admitted that they just needed to get something out the door."

So, if there are issues when 10.4 comes out, Apple can always issue patches via software update.

 

[sw1tcher]

I doubt it. For Panther they just put a countdown clock on apple.com

Maybe they'll put one on the site after the announcement's been made?

 

[sw1tcher]

Chances are there will be a release party with the opportunity to purchase Tiger.

And get a 10 percent discount on any hardware purchase, like when Panther came out. Plus, the free handout (e.g. t-shirt, pin, dog-tag, etc.).

 

[sethypoo]

I am there. With all the hype I really hope Tiger comes without fleas...

There are bound to be a few, every cat has fleas at least once..... . That's why we have OS 10.4.1, 10.4.2, and so on.

 

[revjay]

I am very anxious for Tiger. I've already preordered from Amazon with next day shipping, and I will also preorder from Apple.com, when they offer it. I want to make sure I have whichever way is faster covered!

Dude...you need to read a book or go out and make some friends or something.
How long have we been bantering about Tiger??? How long have we been waiting??? Will one more day really kill you?
Sounds like you are definately "covered".

 

[Object-X]

What's included?

Does anyone know what version of Apache and J2SE will ship with Tiger?

 

[daveL]

Does anyone know what version of Apache and J2SE will ship with Tiger?

J2SE 5.0 release 1: "It is based on Sun's J2SE 5.0 Update 2 (JDK version 1.5.0_02)".

 

[d.perel]

'Bout time to pre-order and save $35, by the way- who would rate this story negative? (Bill Gates...we know you're out there)

 

[Daveway]

Announcing products on a Friday would be out of the ordinary for Apple or any other company. Apple likes to hold their events early on in the week so that the press can report and momentize during the week. If you release a product on Friday the wow factor wanes over the weekend and not many news sources catch on Monday.

 

[SPUY767]

If you think you're being funny. . .

Does anyone realise that these rumours are predicting the release of OS X on April Fools? Smells a bit fishy to me... Unless Apple has some sort of joke on it's site about it being April Fools.

Or you think that you're the first person to mention this. . . Go stand on the M6. This post is not worthy of my insulting.

 

[aswitcher]

Announcing products on a Friday would be out of the ordinary for Apple or any other company. Apple likes to hold their events early on in the week so that the press can report and momentize during the week. If you release a product on Friday the wow factor wanes over the weekend and not many news sources catch on Monday.

I guess but if they do it right wont all the weekend papers and websites be all talking about it since it will stand out from the rest of the IT news for the same reasons you mention?

 

[daveL]

Announcing products on a Friday would be out of the ordinary for Apple or any other company. Apple likes to hold their events early on in the week so that the press can report and momentize during the week. If you release a product on Friday the wow factor wanes over the weekend and not many news sources catch on Monday.

Would it make any difference if Friday was Apple's 29 birthday?

 

[zwida]

There are bound to be a few, every cat has fleas at least once..... . That's why we have OS 10.4.1, 10.4.2, and so on.

10.4.2 is going to kick butt.

 

[Mechcozmo]

Great news. Because they need time to make a bunch of Tiger CDs and ship them all over the world for us to buy this sounds good for an April 15th "Buy it now" date. 10.4.1 can be ready by then, too.

 

[powerbook911]

If you live near an Apple Store, there is even a quicker way. Chances are there will be a release party with the opportunity to purchase Tiger.

Yes, but if it is like iLife and iWork, people who preordered received them, before they were in stores.

 

[DPazdanISU]

credit card + Edu discount = tiger on a my mini, dashboard will make things so easy