Worth waiting for WWDC for Tiger?

[micsaund]

Hi,

I'm looking at finally dropping the cash to try a Mac (been wanting to for years) after dealing with a hot, heavy cheap Dell for my personal laptop. Anyway, I see that during the WWDC, Jobs is going to present the new OSX "Tiger".

Thus, my question is whether you think it would be worth waiting for another month to buy in order to get the new OS or does Apple "do the Right Thing" and include upgrades for anyone buying so close to a new release?

Also, with this being a short week (due to Memorial day), do you think that if I ordered a PB15" (listed as "ships same biz day") with overnight shipping, that I'd get it by next weekend? I'm leaving on vacation next Sunday and would hate for my new PB to sit on the porch Fortunately, if Tiger seems to be worth waiting for, I'll have the vacation to help pass the time before I click the Buy button, but I'm also contemplating taking the new PB on vacation with me...

Thanks!
Mike

 

[Butler Trumpet]

Well, at WWDC they are just previewing Tiger... it probably wont be out until around October... thats my guess. So you could order now, but would have to drop another $150 or so on the new OS when it comes out. If you order right this second, your PB has a very small chance of getting to you by the weekend. Next week maybe, but sometimes the Apple store is a little slow.
I am getting a new iBook pretty soon, and I dont really want to wait for the new OS, so I will probably just save and buy it later, no big deal really.
And congrats on making the switch to Mac.... I guarantee you will be happy and think atleast 100 times a day "wow, what was I thinking using a PC... this thing is awesome!" So good job and have a nice vacation!

 

[JOD8FY]

Tiger will not be released at WWDC. This is a common misconception - you're not the only one . It is simply being "previewed" which means that they'll show off some of its new features, but it won't be released until probably late October.

If you order your PB stock, it might ship out the same day, but I can't be sure. In any case, if you ship it overnight, it should most likely get there before the weekend.

Congratulations on the switch! I can't believe you held off for so long - I waited about a year and a half before I switched and I thought I was going to go insane!

Good luck with your beautiful new machine,
JOD8FY

 

[micsaund]

Ahh - thanks. I didn't realize that there would be much of a difference between "previewing" and actual release of the OS.

As for the shipping, I was figuring that even if the Apple Store was "slow" (by internet standards) I should still be able to get the PB by Friday, but it sounds like it might be a tad risky

Thanks for the well-wishes on switching. I'll be keeping my main desktop as a Winbloze PC for gaming, but I evaluated what I do with my current Dell laptop, and it's mainly for surfing the web/etc. Hence, the Mac should do that with much lower weight/heat and also offer me the bonus of a Unix style environment which I really enjoy (I run FreeBSD on a couple machines here at home, plus use Solaris and Linux at work). Overall, I think it will be a good match for me as a laptop at this time. Man, it's tough to click the Buy button for $2500 though!

Thanks for the tips/advice!
Mike

 

[JOD8FY]

but would have to drop another $150 or so on the new OS when it comes out.

I haven't been with macs very long, but I know that the upgrade to Panther was $130 and I believe that that has been a standard for some time now.

Also, Panther is a wonderful OS, it has some really, really nice features. After Tiger, the release of the OS's are expected to slow from annually to, well...slower . I'd order your PB now, you won't be unhappy with Panther. Even if you decide that you can't live without Tiger, it's only $130, as opposed to Microsoft's $300 upgrades (about every 5 years! )

Best wishes,
JOD8FY

 

[JOD8FY]

Man, it's tough to click the Buy button for $2500 though!

No doubt, but you'll find that it's worth every penny . I've had my 12" PB for a couple months now, and I'd have to say that the best part about owning it are the open-mouthed looks people give you when they see that glowing Apple on the back of that gorgeous laptop! Makes me laugh every time (suckers!) .

Cheers,
JOD8FY

 

[wide]

Even if you decide that you can't live without Tiger, it's only $130, as opposed to Microsoft's $300 upgrades (about every 5 years! )

Hmmm...

130 / 1 = 130
300 / 5 = 60

60 < 130

(yeah, I know Windows sucks, but Microsoft can't afford to upgrade every year. They have too many users, and it would cause loads of compatibility issues--especially with big corporations, many of which are still using Windows 2000. That's why they make their operating systems so costly--because you aren't going to buy another one for a long, long time )

 

[LeeTom]

> it's only $130, as opposed to Microsoft's $300 upgrades

just a point of contention really... but, you can buy Microsoft Windows XP Home for $91, and Windows XP Professional for $141.

Lee Tom

 

[stoid]

> it's only $130, as opposed to Microsoft's $300 upgrades

just a point of contention really... but, you can buy Microsoft Windows XP Home for $91, and Windows XP Professional for $141.

Lee Tom

Compare that to Mac OS 10.1 which Apple released at roughly the same time as Windows XP came out...

Mac OS 10.1 from amazon for $15.50.

If you are going to contest a point, at least do compare apples to apples and not oranges.

 

[LeeTom]

I'm not comparing anything to anything, simply stating the accurate price of Windows XP.

Lee Tom

 

[bousozoku]

Compare that to Mac OS 10.1 which Apple released at roughly the same time as Windows XP came out...

Mac OS 10.1 from amazon for $15.50.

If you are going to contest a point, at least do compare apples to apples and not oranges.

It was worth around 15.50 too.

Be surprised if you see Mac OS X v10.4 before the end of the year, except in preview.

 

[nyprospect]

the best part about owning it are the open-mouthed looks people give you when they see that glowing Apple on the back of that gorgeous laptop! Makes me laugh every time (suckers!) .

Yep i spent many a times at a starbucks drooling .i still have not switched .

 

[LeeTom]

Yep i spent many a times at a starbucks drooling .i still have not switched .

were you drooling because of the laptop, or did the bad coffee just make you really sick?

 

[blue&whiteman]

were you drooling because of the laptop, or did the bad coffee just make you really sick?

burn!

 

[nyprospect]

Maybe alittle of both lol over priced coffee and over priced laptop lol

 

[JFreak]

Thus, my question is whether you think it would be worth waiting for another month to buy in order to get the new OS or does Apple "do the Right Thing" and include upgrades for anyone buying so close to a new release?

tiger will be released in late fall, and when they announce a release date, that means all computer byers who bought the unit 30 days before the release (or right after the release when there are packages that doesn't have tiger included) can order upgrade discs for $20 or something. if you however want to have tiger in the software restore discs that come with the computer, you will have to wait 'till christmas, or even more. so at this point i'd say there's no point in waiting so long, the upgrade doesn't cost so much. is the upgrade price worth more or less than the time you get to use the computer between now and then? whatever you decide, these are the facts.

if you are buying a powerbook, i'd recommend taking a trip to a physical apple store where you can open the box in the store and check the laptop's screen. it is a good chance there are dead/stuck pixels and if you notice them in the store, you can more easily change the laptop. make a deal that if there are any faulty pixels, you will try another one until you find one that has a perfect display. i'm so glad i did such a deal with the store when i bought my current 1.25GHz albook, because it was the fourth (!) laptop that had a perfect screen - the first three were faulty.

also, if you can, replace the hard drive with a faster one. really. mine has a 7200rpm model and it rocks.

 

[LeeTom]

also, if you can, replace the hard drive with a faster one. really. mine has a 7200rpm model and it rocks.

hey JFreak-
did you put the 7200rpm drive in yours? I tried two separate ones in my powerbook 15" 1.25ghz, and it would make random beeping sounds, like the ones that happen at boot time if there's some sort of memory problem. I tried checking EVERYTHING, swapping RAM, Hard drives... the only way to get rid of it was to not have a 7200rpm drive in there.
Have you experienced anything like that?

 

[JFreak]

hey JFreak-
did you put the 7200rpm drive in yours? I tried two separate ones in my powerbook 15" 1.25ghz, and it would make random beeping sounds, like the ones that happen at boot time if there's some sort of memory problem. I tried checking EVERYTHING, swapping RAM, Hard drives... the only way to get rid of it was to not have a 7200rpm drive in there.
Have you experienced anything like that?

i let the authorized personnel do the change, because i didn't want to ruin my warranty. but the drive inside is a "hitachi 7k60" model and works perfectly.

 

[denm316]

Tiger is only being previewed, who knows when it is being released. I think everyone is hoping it follows the Panther timeline for a release in the end of October.

As for shipping times, I ordered a CTO 12" PowerBook, it said 2-3 days to ship and I got upgraded shipping for $12. I ordered on a Tuesday at 7:00am and had it by 10:30am on the following Monday.

 

[micsaund]

if you are buying a powerbook, i'd recommend taking a trip to a physical apple store where you can open the box in the store and check the laptop's screen. it is a good chance there are dead/stuck pixels and if you notice them in the store, you can more easily change the laptop. make a deal that if there are any faulty pixels, you will try another one until you find one that has a perfect display. i'm so glad i did such a deal with the store when i bought my current 1.25GHz albook, because it was the fourth (!) laptop that had a perfect screen - the first three were faulty.

also, if you can, replace the hard drive with a faster one. really. mine has a 7200rpm model and it rocks.

That's a real bummer that you buy a "premium" laptop and have to deal with dead pixels to the extent that I've been hearing about with the Macs. I was avoiding buying at a store because (I'm guessing) it would cost another 4-5% extra in city sales tax (on top of the 4% or so that I'd pay in State tax -- my ship-to address is not in a city with an Apple Store), but if it avoids a crappy screen, it might be worth it!

Your 7200 RPM drive sounds interesting. At this point, though, I'm looking for a nice cool-running laptop. How does that drive affect the heat?

On a similar note, does anyone know what the 128MB video RAM option does to heat production and battery life if I choose to get that? Is that option available in the physical stores (generally) or is it special order only?

Thanks for the help, everyone!
Mike

 

[Kwyjibo]

this is a current misconception that is floating around these boards. even if you go into an apple store and purchase a powerbook, and then open it you can return it with the 15% restocking fee but they won't straight up switch it right there (and applecare has their own pixel policy). Its not like they have the boxes of powerbooks lined and they are gonna let you open them all up and buy the first one with a perfect screen...

 

[micsaund]

Its not like they have the boxes of powerbooks lined and they are gonna let you open them all up and buy the first one with a perfect screen...

For $2500, maybe they should (that's a lot of money for me) or do better quality control during manufacturing. Even my cheap $700 Dell that I'm looking to replace (and a couple other people I know who have the same cheap model) does not have any bad pixels. I'm not Mac-bashing (after all, I'm the originator of this thread), but if there's a consistent problem with quality, Apple should do something to address it rather than assume that their users are "dumb" computer users who don't know any better (or even worse, assume that you're willing to put-up with crappy stuff just to get the "Apple" name). I liken a laptop like this to a BMW/Benz -- yes, they cost a premium over lesser cars, but in return for that, you get impeccable service, good design, and good quality. It almost sounds like Apple is trying to get the BMW/Benz premium price for Pontiac quality...