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Why is Panther still being sold?

M

mac-er

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 9, 2003
1,452
0
It seems like Apple is ripping people off by selling Panther. (at least, people that are a bit naive or ignorant about computer issues).

I think they should have the link to buy Panther, but when you click on it it should say, "the next generation Tiger is coming the first half of this year, so we aren't selling this version of the OS anymore so you don't waste your money."
 
mac-er said:
It seems like Apple is ripping people off by selling Panther. (at least, people that are a bit naive or ignorant about computer issues).

I think they should have the link to buy Panther, but when you click on it it should say, "the next generation Tiger is coming the first half of this year, so we aren't selling this version of the OS anymore so you don't waste your money."
Click to expand...

yes i noticed that at the apple stores i have been to - not actual apple stores but where they sell apple, they are not very helpful when advising on what/when to buy. no one told me when i bought my iBook about a month ago, that there would be new ones soon, or that Tiger would be out soon .they just want the money.
it is partly my fault, i didnt no anything about apple when i got the iBook - it was an impulse buy, but they should have been more helpful rather than money grabbing.
 
yeah well it is a bit shady, but its not like they are keeping Tiger a secret either, they did the same with Jaguar right before Panther was released, they are a corporation you know LoL, they want to make money, sux sometimes oh well
 
There are still people that are upgrading from OS 9 and earlier to OS X. Plus, not everyone has a shiny new Mac, so Tiger may not run on their box.
 
And Apple loses $50,000,000 in Panther sales from now until April 17th? Yeah right. :rolleyes:
 
john_satc said:
yes i noticed that at the apple stores i have been to - not actual apple stores but where they sell apple, they are not very helpful when advising on what/when to buy. no one told me when i bought my iBook about a month ago, that there would be new ones soon, or that Tiger would be out soon .they just want the money.
it is partly my fault, i didnt no anything about apple when i got the iBook - it was an impulse buy, but they should have been more helpful rather than money grabbing.
Click to expand...

New iBooks and Tiger being released any day are RUMORS. Sales staff can't be giving customers advice based on rumors. This is the business practice of most any retail establishment. They sell what they have. Not what they maybe could possibly potentially have tomorrow.
 
Apple isn't pointing guns at people's heads and telling them to buy Panther. They can sell whatever they want and we have the right to buy it or not. If they want to sell Panther, more power to them. I am fully aware that Tiger is going to be released very soon and I really don't give a damn what other people do and I'm not going to go out of my way to save someone from buying Panther.
 
Just because its what businesses do to make a buck doesn't make it right.

There are ethics in the world.
 
mac-er said:
Just because its what businesses do to make a buck doesn't make it right.

There are ethics in the world.
Click to expand...

Is this hurting people? No. Besides, if people buy Panther now, Apple will probably offer them Tiger for $20. People have a choice to buy it or not and most Apple customers are smart and know that Tiger is coming so they'll wait.
 
mac-er said:
It seems like Apple is ripping people off by selling Panther. (at least, people that are a bit naive or ignorant about computer issues).

I think they should have the link to buy Panther, but when you click on it it should say, "the next generation Tiger is coming the first half of this year, so we aren't selling this version of the OS anymore so you don't waste your money."
Click to expand...

probably a lot of people (including me) won't switch to tiger before 10.4.3. so we have still a year to go on panther, if not more. that makes 10.3 a reasonable purchase. you get 10.3.9, almost bug free, fast, reliable, works with all my software.
i hope the rev.b imac can run on panther even if it comes with tiger on it. i would buy one and keep it on panther until this rumor site shows me that tiger is rock solid.

andi
 
andiwm2003 said:
...
i hope the rev.b imac can run on panther even if it comes with tiger on it. i would buy one and keep it on panther until this rumor site shows me that tiger is rock solid.
andi
Click to expand...
Don't count on this. Unless the next iMac G5 revision comes with 10.3.x on it, don't expect to be able to run 10.3.x on it.
 
Pismo said:
Is this hurting people? No. Besides, if people buy Panther now, Apple will probably offer them Tiger for $20. People have a choice to buy it or not and most Apple customers are smart and know that Tiger is coming so they'll wait.
Click to expand...
The Up-To-Date program is usually for people who buy the product after a certain date and with Mac OS, it has been starting on the day of the announcement.

So, Apple (from past experience) is unlikely to make this offer since Tiger's ship date is as yet unannounced.
 
Inkmonkey said:
New iBooks and Tiger being released any day are RUMORS. Sales staff can't be giving customers advice based on rumors. This is the business practice of most any retail establishment. They sell what they have. Not what they maybe could possibly potentially have tomorrow.
Click to expand...

alrite thats true, ill take my point back :)
 
Another way to look at it is that you arent buying the "latest" toy. Your buying a tool. If the tools currently available suit your needs, you can buy them. If the current tools available dont meet your needs, dont buy them.

Once a newer OS comes out, the "old" one dosent become obsolete, its just not the newest. It still does the job you originally bought it for, so your still getting your monies worth.

And, you'll run across the problem of when to draw the line to stop selling something. 30 days? 90? No matter where you make the cut off, someone is going to be locked out right on the edge.

I agree its frustrating sometimes, but to say they are ripping people off is a bit much. "Hey, lets take a perfectly working piece of software off the market for months costing us potential millions of dollars, since we do have something newer and better coming out sometime soon, and we arent really sure when that will be." :rolleyes:

And car dealers should stop selling new cars at least three months before the new models come out, too. :rolleyes:
 
mac-er said:
Just because its what businesses do to make a buck doesn't make it right.

There are ethics in the world.
Click to expand...

Apple is just doing what they need to do to stay alive. They would go under if they ceased using the same aggressive practices that all the other companies use. With the kind of competition thats out there today, I really cant blame them.

Yes, its unethical, but thats just the way the world goes round at the moment (unfortunately)
 
Mr. Durden said:
Once a newer OS comes out, the "old" one dosent become obsolete, its just not the newest. It still does the job you originally bought it for, so your still getting your monies worth.
Click to expand...

This is very true. My company makes software and we have to support and sell older versions because many clients don't want to upgrade until they have to. We make stuff for automative insurance companies and body shops, and the shops have to use what the insurance companies tell them to. So that means we have to sell the older stuff if we want to get those shops. There are legitimate reasons for selling older software. Many users require it.
 
jackieonasses said:
That is like saying... with the imminant release of Powerbooks. We are going to stop selling them. We don't want to make money and we want to screw you over...
Click to expand...

And How is apple to know that someone doesn't want to buy it right now, regardless of whether a new version is around the corner? Even more so for powerbooks--they can't just stop selling. And why should they preannounce? If they do that, they'll have to pre-pre-announce and so forth. Might as well just slap a label on everything they sell, saying "warning: we will be introducing a better version of this product sometime in the future."
 
Many educated consumers choose to buy an older "tried and true" version of a product (like buying a 2005 car now, even though 2006 models are just around the corner) rather than deal with the potential bugs and problems of a brand-new product. Just because you want the latest and greatest, don't assume that everyone does.

If I was running a business and looking to buy new computers sometime in the next 6 months, I would probably buy them right now, because I *know* they will work. I couldn't afford dealing with the headaches that new systems/software will produce.

If Tiger turned out to have features that my company could use, I would test it on a few systems, then gradually introduce it to make sure it worked.
 
Erendiox said:
Yes, its unethical, but thats just the way the world goes round at the moment (unfortunately)
Click to expand...


How is it unethical? Apple should stop selling Panther now because sometime in the next 6-8 months they will be shipping a new OS? And how long will it take Tiger to be stable/bug-free enough to be widely used professionally?

I just recently switched my work computer over to Panther and I have no plans to even consider using Tiger until at least 6 months or so after it's street date.

I'd be pissed if Apple STOPPED selling Panther (or any other software) months in advance an update. "No, we stopped selling that now 'cause we'll have an upgraded version for sale in 6 months." C'mon, that's just stupid.

Don't forget people, what's the typically difference between an Apple production announcement and the actual date it starts shipping?

Lethal
 
Le Big Mac said:
And How is apple to know that someone doesn't want to buy it right now, regardless of whether a new version is around the corner? Even more so for powerbooks--they can't just stop selling. And why should they preannounce? If they do that, they'll have to pre-pre-announce and so forth. Might as well just slap a label on everything they sell, saying "warning: we will be introducing a better version of this product sometime in the future."
Click to expand...

well, i agree with the point you want to make. just the example is a bad one. remember what they did 6 weeks before the imac g5 was introduced?

andi
 
I think the issue is pretty simple.

Apple are open about the release date of Tiger being in the first half of 2005. They are open about what the new features are going to be. If people want to buy a tried and tested OS in Panther now, rather than wait for a new OS with possible glitches why shouldn't Apple sell Panther to these people?

I don't see anything unethical about their behaviour at all.
 
mac-er said:
It seems like Apple is ripping people off by selling Panther. (at least, people that are a bit naive or ignorant about computer issues).

I think they should have the link to buy Panther, but when you click on it it should say, "the next generation Tiger is coming the first half of this year, so we aren't selling this version of the OS anymore so you don't waste your money."
Click to expand...
Is this a trick question? A joke of some type? Please tell me that you don't honestly believe that this would be a logical course of action.

People buy products that they need. If someone realizes that they need 10.3 (or Mac OS X) to run some application, they are going to buy 10.3. And you are suggesting that Apple tell them that they can't have it?

Not everyone is chasing the newest operating system. Most people upgrade only when they need something that their current operating system doesn't provide (usually support of some mission critical application). It is very bizarre to think that just because you don't see a need for Panther now, that there must not be a need for it at all.

If you are as up on computer issues as you think you are, you should know that there are still people that need Panther (or any version of Mac OS X) now.

By the same logic, Apple should stop selling computer models six months before the next revision. You go to buy a new Mac that you need for work or school and the link takes you to something that says "the next generation Mac is coming out within six months, so we aren't selling this version of this Mac anymore so you don't waste your money."... and then they go and buy a Dell.

I hope this was a joke (a late April Fools Day type of thing), but if it isn't... :eek:
 
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