Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

News of Panther Hits Windows World

S

Shadey

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 25, 2003
28
0
Columbus, OH
Thought this was kinda funny :D

Apple Finalizes Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther"
Apple finalized Mac OS X 10.3 (codenamed Panther) this week, setting the stage for a late October or November rollout of the product. The so-called "Golden Master" version of Panther will no doubt destroy Microsoft's market share and raise Apple like a Phoenix out of the depths of the PC industry. But as miraculous as Panther is, it's unclear how successful the product can be, given that Apple is charging yet another $129 for the upgrade; this is the second costly upgrade to OS X since the product first debuted, meaning that the Apple faithful will have spent over $375 on the OS if they've upgraded each time (and you know they have). Microsoft, meanwhile, has released a slew of free upgrades to Windows XP--like Windows Media Player 9 and Windows Movie Maker 2--and a number of low-cost add-ons, like the excellent $15 Plus! Digital Media Edition. Does low pricing qualify as innovation?

I, personally, am both a PC user as well as a mac user. If I had to choose, I would prolly go with OSX over WinXP, but I think they are both good OS'. I just find it funny that even tho this guy has an Apple (or so he says), everything he says about them is degrading.

He does raise a question that I've had in my mind tho. Why does Apple charge for small upgrades like these? The last time MS did that was with Win98SE, and if memory serves, that's the only time they did it.


EDIT: Opps, forgot to include the link.
 
Each revision has pretty major changes to it, not so much from .1 .2 but definately from .0 to .1. I'm not sure if I'm not sure I'm willing to put up $129 for Panther, it'd help if they have a discount.
 
Originally posted by CMillerERAU
I'm not sure if I'm not sure I'm willing to put up $129 for Panther, it'd help if they have a discount.
Click to expand...

So you're kinda on the fence then, right? :D
 
Re: News of Panther Hits Windows World

The so-called "Golden Master" version of Panther will no doubt destroy Microsoft's market share and raise Apple like a Phoenix out of the depths of the PC industry.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing this is a slam. :rolleyes:

Well, at least I'm excited about it.
 
Re: News of Panther Hits Windows World

Originally posted by Shadey

....

Why does Apple charge for small upgrades like these? The last time MS did that was with Win98SE, and if memory serves, that's the only time they did it.

...
Click to expand...

Based on everything we now about Panther, I would not call it "small upgrade". However, I would also like to see it priced more reasonably ($99 or less).
On the M$ consumer side, they had Win ME since Win98SE. ME was paid update (not that anybody bothered updating :) ).
 
And how many paid upgrades has Window NT had since it came out?

Wait a minute NT doesn't exist anymore because they keep changing the name. :rolleyes:

At least Apple isn't charging extra money to use the second processor.
 
Re: Re: News of Panther Hits Windows World

Originally posted by tutubibi
Based on everything we now about Panther, I would not call it "small upgrade". However, I would also like to see it priced more reasonably ($99 or less).
On the consumer side, M$ had Win ME than XP out since Win98SE. ME was paid update (not that anybody bothered updating :) ) and XP costed money as well (+more RAM, +bigger HD...).
Click to expand...

While I agree ME was a stupid upgrade, XP was not. While ME was made to look much like 2000, it IMO had more bugs than 98, and I refused to run it on my machine.

Now, XP on the other hand has many more features over ME. One of them being something that Apple is touting for OSX; Fast-User Switching. Not to mention Remote Desktop & integrated CD burning.
 
Let me say this: I don't mean to start a debate, I'm just trying to justify the cost of one feature that I really think I'll use in 10.3. Expose.
 
Re: Re: Re: News of Panther Hits Windows World

Originally posted by Shadey
While I agree ME was a stupid upgrade, XP was not. While ME was made to look much like 2000, it IMO had more bugs than 98, and I refused to run it on my machine.

Now, XP on the other hand has many more features over ME. One of them being something that Apple is touting for OSX; Fast-User Switching. Not to mention Remote Desktop & integrated CD burning.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
I did not properly understand original reference to 98SE as update to 98. Once I figured that out, I changed the post. This English can be tough :)
 
Originally posted by Sun Baked
And how many paid upgrades has Window NT had since it came out?

Wait a minute NT doesn't exist anymore because they keep changing the name. :rolleyes:

At least Apple isn't charging extra money to use the second processor.
Click to expand...

Or 8GB of RAM. You have to run Windows 2000 Advanced Server or Windows 2003 Server Enterprise to get to use that much. Or just to run up to 4GB of RAM, you'll need Windows 2003 Server Standard.
 
apple doest charge for small updates. they have had 8 of them come out since 10.2 and can easily be called service packs if you wish. I am still amazed at how much stuff you get out of the box with OS X. many windows people argue that there isnt as much software for mac os X. they are feeling that way because they are always on the hunt for buying software. most customers I work with never have to buy another piece of software for their computer. they have typing, music, photos, movies, dvds, cd burning, and everything else out of the box. and they arent cheapo programs either, high quality apps is what we are talking about. i think 130 is fine, and if it isnt for some people they can stick with jaguar, it is still nice.

iJon
 
I say bully for Apple if they want to charge for updates. The updates are significant and well worth the money, in my opiniong. I never saw any updates to any Windows OS that brought about any significant change (98 SE excepted). Whenever they release major updates, the release a whole new OS, and charge in the area of $200 for it.
 
well, jaguar was the most sold OS over a weekend of all time as i remember, so all the uprades are totally like a new OS. look at the difference between X.0, and X.1. then look at the diferences between X.1 and X.2. X.3 is going to be a big change.

low price is kinda innovation but it isn;t in this case. they have a lower upgrade price, true, but also, X.0 X.2 and X.3 are also the full system, not just the upgrade.

just wanted to put that into the mix.
 
I think many people also see that it is only a change from .2 to .3 and think 'oh well that is just a minor update that apple is trying to make me pay $129 for'. If it were called 10.5 i bet fewer people would be complaining about $129 for a 'minor update'.

Also previous OS updates that have carried only a single tenth difference have not been major or paid for the most part. The paid updates were normally .0 and .5.
 
The difference is that there wasn't truly a major Windows upgrade between 95 and XP. Essentially 98 and ME were "minor upgrades" yet Microsoft still charged their typical $200 for them.

I think Apple has done an OK job in showing the differences with their naming conventions (Jaguar to Panther), rather than with version numbers (10.2 to 10.3). If all you looked at were the numbers, the .1 difference doesn't sound as significant as it really is. Furthermore, as others have already pointed out, you get a lot more in the box with OS X than you do with Windows. That was one of the most pleasant surprises I immediately noticed when I switched platforms.

Let those Windows only people think it's just a "minor upgrade" all they want, it's obvious they don't know what they're missing out on anyway. :) Besides, Apple is giving their customers as much if not more for their money than Microsoft is giving theirs, plus they aren't making us wait 4 years in between significant updates either.
 
I'm gonna have to make a FAQ out of this. ;)

OS X is a brand-new operating system. It is not "version 10" of the old Mac OS. Apple is doing itself a disservice by branding is "OS X 10.yadda". In fact, Jaguar should be called OS X, version 2.0, and Panther OS X version 3.0. Each 10.x is a MAJOR release, similar to a change in year in the name of a Windows version. When Windows changes versions, you get to pay upwards of $400 to buy a full retail version, less for the upgrade, sure. But apple sells you the full-on retail product of a full major version for $130. AND you get a ton of productivity apps bundled in. Try to rip a CD with a fresh install of just windows. Try to watch a DVD. Try to make a home video.
 
Originally posted by Vector
I think many people also see that it is only a change from .2 to .3 and think 'oh well that is just a minor update that apple is trying to make me pay $129 for'. If it were called 10.5 i bet fewer people would be complaining about $129 for a 'minor update'.

Also previous OS updates that have carried only a single tenth difference have not been major or paid for the most part. The paid updates were normally .0 and .5.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting point. I wonder what people would think if instead of being .1, .2, etc., if Apple were to call these v1, v2, etc. So, then we'd have OS Xv1, OS Xv2 (Jaguar), OS Xv3 (Panther). Personally, I'm glad they don't use this method, but it might make the updates seem more substantial to some people.
 
I think 10.3 will pretty much be an 'optional' upgrade. Considering that 10 is now pretty much bug-free. 10.3 adds pretty much 'eye-candy' (if you call it that) rather than bug fixes. 10.1 - 10.2 was like this but not entirely. I classify some 10.1 stuff as bugs, but probably just because I'm used to 10.2. I'm defintly getting Panther though. Gotta love student discounts. ;P
 
-Gents

Apple originally was going to go with the versioning naming convention of OS X 1.0, OS X 2.0, etc. but, for the life of me, I don't know why they changed it.
 
Reality Check

Panther is well worth the upgrade cost. Allot of Apple users don't know how good they really have it. The fact that Apple gives away high quality, commercial software for Mac OS X, and provides costless upgrades for them, is by itself amazing. iDVD is the only free DVD authoring software on any platform, and it's better than most packages costing around $200 (which just start to include features like chapter markers and motion menus)! Then you have iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iChat, Mail, Safari, Address Book, iCal, and Sherlock (all free); each acceding in their own class. Other companies could easily get away with charging upgrades for these, but Apple does not.

Another incredible fact is that Apple cranks out annual OS upgrades; and they are not "service packs", "fixes", or "updates", they are full strength upgrades boasting drastic new features and innovations. This happens every year! Windows, for a crying shame, takes 2-3 years between "upgrades", and look how pathetic the differences are? I can only see minor interface enhancements, and some better stability. They don't even bundle any new programs, because there really are none ("calculator" anyone?). You're only getting the bare basics.

Dare I say that Apple's annual upgrades are equal, if not surpassing, the 2-3 year updates to the Windows operating system. Does anyone see what I mean? It may be customary to look at ".x" upgrades as simple version updates, but they really represent great strides in technology that Apple continues to build and expand in there modern operating system: Mac OS X.
 
I to have both a mac and a pc and yes they both have there pros and cons but man I really dont like the idea of paying for winzip or stuffit when it comes free with OS X or OS 9. I dont know theres a lot of little things about windows that just make me long to use my mac again... pcs are for gameing only imo (will I do some programming for school too, everything else is OS X)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back