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ljump12

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 10, 2006
254
0
philadelphia
Im new to this whole mac stuff; is leopard like a new version of the OS; so will i have to spend $150 to get it; or is it a free upgrade?
 
It will cost money, probably the same price as Tiger. Not sure what that cost in the US but here in the UK it was about £70ish or so.
 
Once it is released, it will be included on all new computers but if you want it for your computer currently at home, you will have to buy the upgrade and hovering around $100 is a fair guess.
 
Anyone who wants Leopard will all have to pay for it. Apple charge for all "major-point" upgrades i.e. 10.3 Panther or 10.4 Tiger, but then give free upgrades to keep the OS up to date with new hardware, security, all that sort of stuff.

So $129 for Leopard 10.5.0, then you'll get 10.5.1 through to 10.5.x for free. Then when 10.6.0 comes out, you have to pay again.
 
dynamicv said:
Anyone who wants Leopard will all have to pay for it. Apple charge for all "major-point" upgrades i.e. 10.3 Panther or 10.4 Tiger, but then give free upgrades to keep the OS up to date with new hardware, security, all that sort of stuff.

So $129 for Leopard 10.5.0, then you'll get 10.5.1 through to 10.5.x for free. Then when 10.6.0 comes out, you have to pay again.


how often do they release big updates? should i skip an update if its like every year?
 
Every major upgrade of the OS costs money. The way I think about is that it is not just an upgrade it's a major overhaul of the old OS.

In my opinion the move from Panther(10.3) to Tiger(10.4) was not a huge upgrade but Apple added some nice features. (I'm not a developer so I don't no what all happened under the hood)

Microsoft would do the same if they could get upgrade out the door like that.:D
 
ljump12 said:
how often do they release big updates? should i skip an update if its like every year?
I think it's about every 18months or something like that.
 
ljump12 said:
how often do they release big updates? should i skip an update if its like every year?
It was every year when OSX was being refined, but since Panther was released they've really slowed down. It's likely to be every 18 months to 2 years for now.

And you can easily miss an update if you want. There are plenty of posters on Macrumors who are running Panther, and even some still on Jaguar. Most software will still be supporting Panther and Tiger even after Leopard gets released, and Apple seem to have adopted a policy of supporting the last two OSes, so Tiger will still be getting updates from them.

alexstein said:
In my opinion the move from Panther(10.3) to Tiger(10.4) was not a huge upgrade but Apple added some nice features. (I'm not a developer so I don't no what all happened under the hood)
Totally correct. Virtually all the good stuff that got updated in Tiger is out of view of the user. The main difference is in the way the kernel interacts with the rest of the OS. The Panther kernel was limited to only two processors, and had major pipeline bottlenecks in the way that it did it. The Tiger kernel corrected both of these, as well as changing the way that hardware talks to the OS in general use.
 
ljump12 said:
how often do they release big updates? should i skip an update if its like every year?

Every 18 months or so? Roughly speaking. I upgraded to Tiger on my Mini, when Tiger was released it was about 3 months after I got my Mini. Initially I resisted but I got EyeTV 2 software which needed Tiger. I may skip Leopard unless I am forced to upgrade like before. For certain, I am not buying a new Mac *until* Leopard is released. I don't want to pay twice!
 
JosiahPB said:
I bought a Tiger for 150 and my friends couldn't figure it out. That's what Windows does to you.
The last few updates have come in at $129 for a single user and $199 for a family pack (5 macs in the same household). Edu prices are typically way less; I believe $69. Also, retailers like Amazon often take pre-release orders at $99.

Considering that the OS is something you use every time you turn on the computer, I think it's worth shelling out the $100 or so every 18 months. Your milege may vary, but Tiger has generally been faster and more stable for me--well worth the 20 cents a day it's costing me.
 
dongmin said:
The last few updates have come in at $129 for a single user and $199 for a family pack (5 macs in the same household). Edu prices are typically way less; I believe $69. Also, retailers like Amazon often take pre-release orders at $99.

Considering that the OS is something you use every time you turn on the computer, I think it's worth shelling out the $100 or so every 18 months. Your milege may vary, but Tiger has generally been faster and more stable for me--well worth the 20 cents a day it's costing me.

Is it seriously $69? Awsome, thank god for my mom being a teacher:cool:

I felt kinda gipped because I resisted buying Tiger (My G5 still has 10.3.9) but I bought my MacBook and now I'm gunna have to pay again...ugh

Anyone know, in a timeframe, when Tiger will be reeased?
 
Virtualball said:
Anyone know, in a timeframe, when Tiger will be reeased?

Should know with more certainty when it gets previewed at WWDC in August. But the best likelihood based on past news is that *Leopard* will bow between Dec 2006 and Feb 2007? Meaning it will most likely come out at the MacExpo in January....
 
mkrishnan said:
Should know with more certainty when it gets previewed at WWDC in August. But the best likelihood based on past news is that *Leopard* will bow between Dec 2006 and Feb 2007? Meaning it will most likely come out at the MacExpo in January....
Tiger took about 10 months from the developer preview to the final public release. I don't think Apple has ever gone from developer preview to final in under 6 months. That's an awful short amount of time for beta testing. I'd say, optimistically, you're looking at the March-April time frame.
 
dongmin said:
Tiger took about 10 months from the developer preview to the final public release. I don't think Apple has ever gone from developer preview to final in under 6 months. That's an awful short amount of time for beta testing. I'd say, optimistically, you're looking at the March-April time frame.

When I thought about that some more, what might make more sense is the firm release date announcement and beginning of pre-orders in January -- with your release in April, this would be exactly what happened with respect to WWDC and Tiger last year.

But then also, Jobs did seem to compare the timescale to Vista, and although I'm sure he had the prescience to forsee Vista delays ;) I doubt he would've done that if Apple were planning April from the beginning?

Who knows? I guess we'll see. :)
 
It'll be free with every new Mac you buy once it is in the pipe.

$19.95 if your machine doesn't have it preloaded once it is announced, or you buy within 30-days.

Full whack for everyone else -- there is no "upgrade" version, or they are all upgrades depending on how you want to look at it.
 
No upgrades? So all the money on my MBP that went into the OS X release that came with it will be wasted within a few months? Get your act together Apple...

Anyway, I can't wait for Leopard, because my mate has (finnaly) just got Vista running on his computer. It's cool, and has one really good feature OS X doesn't have - it can map out your network. Ie,, it shows an icon for every computer, which in turn connect to the hubs and devices on the network...
 
Killyp said:
No upgrades? So all the money on my MBP that went into the OS X release that came with it will be wasted within a few months? Get your act together Apple...

If you count having a year's worth of usability of your computer prior to Leopard release as being wasted, then yes, you will have wasted your money.

And we all know that Tiger will immediately cease to function as soon as Leopard hits the shelves. :rolleyes: You paid for Tiger, you get to use Tiger. It functions now and it will function in the future. If you choose to upgrade to Leopard, there's nothing stopping you. But there's nothing forcing you to upgrade either.
 
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