Tiger now, or Leapord later?

[thejadedmonkey]

Hello all. My current setup is a 1.25ghz mac mini running 10.3.9. I have a $50 gift cirtificate from Apple from the iPod settlement, and am eligable for the edu discount. Tiger will cost me a total whopping $20 from the apple store, which is pretty dang good. My question is, will it be worth it for the summer, or should I just keep Panther and spend the $20 in jan/feb when Leapord will probably come out.

The other thing to keep in mind is that I'll probably be getting a new macbook (pro?) once they come standard with Leapord (assuming I have the funds).

I'm also assuming that Leapord won't have that many new technologies for PPC computers, and that I won't end up missing out on anything. Obviously, I'm not one to get the latest and greatest, but after Tiger's been out for so long, is it worth it, or should I just wait another few months and pop Leapord onto my mini?

Advice, cautions, concerns are all appreciated.

P.S. I also only have 512mb's of RAM, and don't plan on upgrading soon
P.P.S. Can a bluetooth connection be connected to a wireless mouse and a cellphone at once?

 

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

Leopard will definitely have advantages for PPC users - by January, at most 5-10% of Apple users will have Intel computers. That means that 90-95% of Apple's user base will remain with PPC chips.

Apple, then, will have to make Leopard a lucrative upgrade to them as well.

Do you need Spotlight or Dashboard? Personally, I never use Dashboard, but I'm constantly using Spotlight and Mail. I haven't opened a 'finder' window in months; instead, I just use Spotlight to access all my files.

Either way, 130 bucks is a lot for Spotlight - I'm not sure if I would've paid for it (but it came preloaded on my Macs anyway...)

My sister remains on Panther - and she remains happy.

 

[imacintel]

Hello all. My current setup is a 1.25ghz mac mini running 10.3.9. I have a $50 gift cirtificate from Apple from the iPod settlement, and am eligable for the edu discount. Tiger will cost me a total whopping $20 from the apple store, which is pretty dang good. My question is, will it be worth it for the summer, or should I just keep Panther and spend the $20 in jan/feb when Leapord will probably come out.

The other thing to keep in mind is that I'll probably be getting a new macbook (pro?) once they come standard with Leapord (assuming I have the funds).

I'm also assuming that Leapord won't have that many new technologies for PPC computers, and that I won't end up missing out on anything. Obviously, I'm not one to get the latest and greatest, but after Tiger's been out for so long, is it worth it, or should I just wait another few months and pop Leapord onto my mini?

Advice, cautions, concerns are all appreciated.

P.S. I also only have 512mb's of RAM, and don't plan on upgrading soon

Get Tiger. Your mini will be fine. There is so much your missing out on when you have Panther. Get Tiger. You will be so much happier. Leapord will have great features(ones that we just can't think of) for PPC machines, so you should get tiger. I was so much happier with tigr.

 

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

Get Tiger. Your mini will be fine. There is so much your missing out on when you have Panther. Get Tiger. You will be so much happier. Leapord will have great features(ones that we just can't think of) for PPC machines, so you should get tiger. I was so much happier with tigr.

How exactly did you benefit...? Like, what functions did you use in Tiger that you couldn't have in Panther...?

By the way, Tiger is (at 10.4.6) a very reliable system. At 10.4.6, it is a much more lucrative upgrade than say when it was at 10.4.1. Apple has done a decent job of getting the bugs fixed, and 10.4.7 will be available soon...

Still, I'm not sure if it's worth the 70 dollars...

 

[Blue Velvet]

I would wait for Leopard to be honest. Tiger is all well and good but you'll want to get Leopard anyway because the drumbeats here and elsewhere will make you want it.

At this stage, only upgrade if your apps need Tiger.

 

[66217]

I would recommend buying Tiger...because if you buy a MB or a MBP you will find using less and less you mac mini and maybe you could live withouth Leopard at your mini......... and you will enoy Tiger for some time until you buy your MB or MBP.

 

[mkrishnan]

Here are my thoughts...

1) Double check your iPod settlement certificate. Mine is not valid in combination with the education discount.

2) I personally find 512MB and Tiger to be rather tight. But I can only imagine that 512MB and Leopard will only be tighter.... Tiger is faster overall than Panther, but my standard usage feels like it needs about 128MB more RAM in Tiger than Panther (I have 640 in my iBook, and it was almost always plenty in Panther).

3) Count on a fair likelihood that Leopard upgrades will have some diceyness associated with them for the first two-three months. That's how long it took until Tiger was stable enough that horror stories became relatively rare.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Here are my thoughts...

1) Double check your iPod settlement certificate. Mine is not valid in combination with the education discount.

Oh damn, you're right! well, there goes that idea. Since I know I'll be getting Leapord just because of the rumors of a revamped finder, and it suddenly got a whole lot more expensive...bummer.

This $50 from apple is seriously turning into the hardest money I've ever had to spend!

 

[mkrishnan]

This $50 from apple is seriously turning into the hardest money I've ever had to spend!

Heh, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with mine either. Everytime I settle on something, I decide I'd rather not. At this rate, it'll go to a replacement iPod in the end.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Heh, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with mine either. Everytime I settle on something, I decide I'd rather not. At this rate, it'll go to a replacement iPod in the end.

I'm thinking either that, or perhaps an iPhone if they ever come out with one..

 

[mkrishnan]

I'm thinking either that, or perhaps an iPhone if they ever come out with one..

Good luck with that.

 

[9Charms]

Sell your certificate for $40, go on eBay and pick up a used copy for $40. Bada-bing, bada-boom.

Tiger is waaay better than Panther. I've found that Bonjour thing to be quite handy, especially when trying to find printers (PC printers at that!).

Dashboard is quite handy, although a bit slow. Spotlight is scary, as in "how did it know?"

Also consider this: if you're getting a MacBook or any Intel mac with Leopard, you can't use that copy of Leopard on PPC. So you'd have to buy Leopard again anyways.