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WWDC Product Releases?

Switcher question

I'm about to make the switch from PC and am curious about how the introduction of a new OS works with Apple. When they announce a new upgrade to the OS does it usually ship immediately? Meaning, if Tiger is introduced at WWDC, would someone who buys a PowerMac next week get Tiger with it?

Thanks!
 
jmontanino said:
I'm about to make the switch from PC and am curious about how the introduction of a new OS works with Apple. When they announce a new upgrade to the OS does it usually ship immediately? Meaning, if Tiger is introduced at WWDC, would someone who buys a PowerMac next week get Tiger with it?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Nope, at WWDC it's just a preview. Tiger probably won't be out until later in the year .. it might even be later than that.
 
Hate to disappoint you, Tiger will not be announced at WWDC, it will be previewed, you'll get some glimps of it, but that's all
 
Tiger will probably come out on October/November since Apple has a yearly cycle of creating a new upgrade every year. It'll probably cost $129 for the upgrade. Good luck on your purchase, Jmonantino! :)
 
jmontanino said:
I'm about to make the switch from PC and am curious about how the introduction of a new OS works with Apple. When they announce a new upgrade to the OS does it usually ship immediately? Meaning, if Tiger is introduced at WWDC, would someone who buys a PowerMac next week get Tiger with it?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

For the last couple of releases, the developer conferences have been the first unveiling of the new OS releases. Basically, Apple have to get early versions into the hands of developers before release, so since they can't keep it a secret any longer they might as well make a song and dance about it.

I'd imagine it'll ship with 3 months of WWDC (if it was 4, 5 or 6 months away, it probably wouldn't be mature enough to be demo'ed).

After release, existing Mac hardware will probably ship with 10.3 installed, with 10.4 upgrade CDs bundled for a few months, then 10.4 will be preinstalled on all Macs. Any hardware projects in progress might be 10.3 or 10.4 based, depending on the schedules of the respective projects. So, for instance, if a G5 iMac ships at the WWDC, I'd expect it to be 10.3 based. If it's announced, but shipping in Autumn, it's probably using a branch of the 10.4 OS.
 
RE: Switcher question

jmontanino said:
I'm about to make the switch from PC and am curious about how the introduction of a new OS works with Apple. When they announce a new upgrade to the OS does it usually ship immediately? Meaning, if Tiger is introduced at WWDC, would someone who buys a PowerMac next week get Tiger with it?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

WWDC = Worldwide Developer's Conference. It has been almost like a mini-MacWorld expo, especially for those of us on MacRumors.com. It can be 3+ months prior to an OS release. From what I've seen, it's usually a bit more than that, but even so, it gives us all a good idea of the direction Apple is heading in. It gives us all a chance to figure out our buying decisions, if any, and what app updates are likely.

If you time it right, you can usually get either a free or a $19.95 (or somesuch) upgrade to the newest version of Mac OS. I am not certain about all the details -- there are others here who could cough up specifics on demand.

In any event, if you're planning on making the switch, don't let the OS be the limiting factor. It isn't like Panther isn't an awesome OS itself. Just be sure to allow yourself enough time to obtain new software (sometimes repurchasing, sometimes cross-grades), and probably at least some new hardware. Also, you might want to use this time to get your data ready for porting.
 
whooleytoo said:
So, for instance, if a G5 iMac ships at the WWDC, I'd expect it to be 10.3 based. If it's announced, but shipping in Autumn, it's probably using a branch of the 10.4 OS.
Click to expand...

Based on my experience that is not the case. Just last year this happened to me and another person I work with: bought three machines - one in Septemeber, one in November and one this past January. The one in Septemeber did not come with Panther and no free upgrade either - despite Panther being announced in June 03 and shipping in Oct. 03. The two other machines both came with Jaguar installed and the Panther disks to upgrade.
 
kainjow said:
I'm giddy like a school girl I can't wait for 10.4. :D :p
Click to expand...

i thought you were a school girl? oh no not again. actually im kinda thinkin since there is no broadcast (at least as of this posting) it will all be about 10.4 and no new hardware. i am satisfied with 10.3 but will get 10.4 (assuming it doesnt come on a dvd) for my old school 350 mhz g4. a new imac would be nice but im going to hold out for one more year until i graduate and get a job before i get a new box as tempting asthe 2.5 is.
 
Anybody know if they ship for free the latest OS version (Tiger) out to Developers, or more precisely Student Developers, upon release?

Just curious. ;)
 
macnews said:
Based on my experience that is not the case. Just last year this happened to me and another person I work with: bought three machines - one in Septemeber, one in November and one this past January. The one in Septemeber did not come with Panther and no free upgrade either - despite Panther being announced in June 03 and shipping in Oct. 03. The two other machines both came with Jaguar installed and the Panther disks to upgrade.
Click to expand...

Did you order it? Or buy it from a store? If you ordered it, was it before Panther was announced?

I think occasionally you might have to contact them, and get it for about $20 (the cost of the CD). I certainly would have contacted them if that had happened to me.

I actually ended up getting Jaguar twice! Just after release I bought it for my G3. But then, after seeing the 17" iMac, I bought one too, which had the Jaguar upgrade disks (which I wasn't expecting). A bit wasteful.. but anyway..
 
Soire said:
Anybody know if they ship for free the latest OS version (Tiger) out to Developers, or more precisely Student Developers, upon release?

Just curious. ;)
Click to expand...

Select and Premier developers probably get it for free. I think Student developers get similar benefits to Select, so perhaps you will.

Free, online ADC members get nothing.. ;)
 
Pizza Box G5 iMac eh?

My mind immediately jumped to an Isamu Sanada prototype from applele.com when I heard "verticle pizza box."

picture_b_himac_r07c.jpg


That wouldn't be so bad would it?

(more angles : hiMac R7 at applele.com)
 
iMook said:
For a company with such attention to visual detail, I find it funny that their front page Store ad for the new liquid-cooled G5's misspells "processors". :p
Click to expand...

Yep, its 2:50 now here in Indiana, and its still spelled wrong. HAHA :)
 
I have a theory about when Apple announces new products.

Apple has competing and overlapping goals when announcing products:

1. To announce products when they really exist or are almost ready for release (as opposed to announcing vaporware).

2. To announce products as soon as possible to preempt competitors or grab market share in new areas.

3. To make surprise announcements for the increased suspense and publicity.

4. To make surprise announcements to avoid having sales dry up for previous (lame duck) products.

5. To be ready to ship a product soon after its announcement.

6. To announce products in conjunction with shows and meetings, particularly Macworld and WWDC, where user attention and news media are focused.

7. To announce products to the most appropriate target audience.

The goals don't all agree. We know, for example, that #3 and #4 (secrecy) have often taken precedence over #5 (shipping).

I've changed my thinking about #6 and #7. I think a lot of us have been assuming that Apple tries hard to do #6 and especially #7, so we are surprised if Power Macs are announced only weeks before WWDC and if a consumer product is announced at a developer conference. What I now think is that #1 and #2 are given more weight at Apple compared to #6 and #7. In other words, they only announce products at meetings if the timing happens to work out. They don't hold up products for a meeting as willingly as we thought and they don't announce prematurely just because there is a meeting. That would explain why past announcements have often been shortly before or after a meeting, and why it often seems to be the wrong audience for an announcement.

If meetings aren't such a big focus, and a steady stream of announcements is a more important Apple goal, then my conclusion is that they could announce anything at WWDC that is ready. We already have new Power Macs so new Power Mac models aren't likely. But anything else goes, including new consumer products, if they happen to be at their release point next week.
 
macnews said:
Based on my experience that is not the case. Just last year this happened to me and another person I work with: bought three machines - one in Septemeber, one in November and one this past January. The one in Septemeber did not come with Panther and no free upgrade either - despite Panther being announced in June 03 and shipping in Oct. 03. The two other machines both came with Jaguar installed and the Panther disks to upgrade.
Click to expand...

That is because Panther was simply introduced at WWDC last year, there was no ship date released with that announcement. It was officially released in October (anyone remember the exact date). Normally, if you buy a machine after a product's ship date is announced you can get it for free (or at a discount) - those are the strange coupons that come with you Mac often just say "1", "2" and "3" on them. If you bought the computer in Sept. before the Panther release date was announced you would not have gotten a free upgrade if you had purchased it after you would have. (This is to stop people from not ordering computers because they know that the new OS comes out in three weeks).
As far as the machines that came with Jaguar installed and Panther on a disc the were probably manufactured before the release of Panther and as a result they simply throw in another disc rather than go in and instal a new OS on an already packaged computer.
 
GAH there was a rumour I remember saying that according to a report from Quantas they were manufacturing some new small white plastic box for apple. And I also remember a report that the new iMac was supposed to contain more plastic than the current version.

I wish I could find these rumours/reports though! I remember them :rolleyes:
 
smart move moving to dvi. actually it's not as smart as it was dumb to make the adc connector in the first place.
 
LaMerVipere said:
GAH there was a rumour I remember saying that according to a report from Quantas they were manufacturing some new small white plastic box for apple.
Click to expand...

I think you mean "Quanta" as Qantas is Australia's national airline and not known for its activity in the consumer electronics market!

However, iMacs with kangaroos on them might just appeal to Jonathan Ive, as apparently the "Bondi" iMac was inspired from the time he lived here (Bondi is a suburb of Sydney with a wide beach and open views of the ocean).

Whatever it is, I'm sure the more (in)famous Australian, Steve Irwin, will feed it to a crocodile.
 
Jookbox said:
smart move moving to dvi. actually it's not as smart as it was dumb to make the adc connector in the first place.
Click to expand...

It wasn't dumb, it just promoted different priorities. One cable for video, power and usb makes a very elegant solution, freeing cable clutter, reducing power point overload, and allowing for neat effective computer placement.

Some have claimed it locked Apple screens out of the wider PC market, but that isn't actually true. I have a 20" Cinema which I share with both a G4 and a PC. Surprisingly, the advantages of having USB in the same cable extend to the PC as well, as it lets me move just the one ADC plug to have my Logitech keyboard and mouse become attached the the PC (the power adapter, not needed for the Mac, remains connected to the PC). A DVI cable would involve much more work and make an expensive KVM switch mandatory.

The problem with Apple ideas is that their benefits are not immediately obvious, which makes it easy for shortsighted commentators to condemn out of hand what are actually quite brilliant solutions.

The downside is that ADC video cards had to be specifically manufactured for Apple meaning they were slower to arrive, and ADC probably won't carry the wattage necessary to power that 30" megadisplay that will be announced next week. ;)
 
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