in 30 days MS to preview vaporware features in Longhorn to distract it's lemmings from gazing too long on Panther.

...were going to give it away for free to help build market share & as payback to all the loyal customers who have already paid twice & been providing free bug testing & tech support via the user forums...

I also heard that the .mac email accounts were coming back - so that the free 'advertising' that apple was getting by having so many emails show up with 'mac' in their address will make the world realize tha mac is alive & well...

Bahahahaha...

I just received my G5 2 days ago. anyone know if apple is going to offer an "Up to Date" program (19.95) for Panther? it looks worth the money ($130), but i still hope they offer something to people that just broke the bank and waited 3 damn months for their G5 systems.

"They USED to have a policy wherein if you got a piece of hardware within 30 days of a major release of the OS, you got to pay the 23 bucks or so . . . But I can't remember if it was from the date of order or date of delivery (I'd guess order, not delivery)."

You'd be wrong. The policy is based upon the date that the hardware is shipped.

"(Hey, did I get all the complaints in there? I tried. Hope I didn't miss any.)"


Get real, and NO ONE has a clue what Apple will do.
So until they do, shut the F^^^K up.

" They only need to delay the "official" release another couple of weeks so they can extract another $130 out of all the "valued" customers who just finished waiting 2-3 months for their G5 desktops. "

You know what, after waiting 1.2 months for my G5 1.8, I have to say it sucks that I don't get a free Panther with my G5. In fact come to think of it, it sucks in general that G5 customers will not get the Panther as it was sold on the basis of : This is the worlds fastest machine etc. And will be EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED WHEN PANTHER COMES OUT!! As you know these two were made for each other and the G5 will work best with the panther OS... SOLD! I hear that to this very day, they sell G5 like that. One would think they would give a damn coupon with the purchase...

HUm... Apple has been able to piss me off pretty much lately...

I'll happily pay my 7$ or so to get the special student version from my university. And I think I'll also cough up another 7 bucks for the 10.3 server version. It's worth the money, I hear...

Why won't Apple make an official statement on whether G5 owners will receive "Up-To-Date" pricing on Panther? I just sent an email to iceo@apple.com requesting an official answer. I encourage others to do the same.

First of all, this article is based on RUMOR SITES! Nobody knows when Panther will ship.

Second of all, Apple typically has their "Up-to-date" policy set at 30 days. If you bought over a month ago thinking you would get a free copy of Panther just because you bought a G5, then you made a stupid mistake. You should have waited. Why should G5 owners get special treatment? You already have a great machine. If G5 owners all get free ugrades, then what about PowerBook, iBook, and iMac owners? Why don't they deserve free upgrades too?

30 days is 30 days. It should be the same for everyone - including G5 owners.

" " They only need to delay the "official" release another couple of weeks so they can extract another $130 out of all the "valued" customers who just finished waiting 2-3 months for their G5 desktops. "

You know what, after waiting 1.2 months for my G5 1.8, I have to say it sucks that I don't get a free Panther with my G5. In fact come to think of it, it sucks in general that G5 customers will not get the Panther as it was sold on the basis of : This is the worlds fastest machine etc. And will be EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED WHEN PANTHER COMES OUT!! As you know these two were made for each other and the G5 will work best with the panther OS... SOLD! I hear that to this very day, they sell G5 like that. One would think they would give a damn coupon with the purchase..."

Uhhh...
1. Panther was announced before orders were taken on G5s.
2. The observable pattern of OS X upgrades thus far has been that major (aka, the ones that cost) upgrades come out in the Fall.
3. G5s weren't goint to ship until late Aug/early Sep anyway.

Instead of whining, perhaps some folks should ask themselves why they just didn't wait to buy their flashy new G5s until AFTER Panther shipped. As consumers, there ARE some things they can control!

Oh, and those complaining about having to pay the cost of upgrades every year might want to consider the other option: not buying the upgrades. After all, they're not mandatory, and their Macs won't implode if they don't buy the latest & greatest right away.

OK....that said, I can't wait until my new G5 arrives....with Panther (or follow-on) installed.

I know may apple tech guys in austin and hey my father in law is one. they said most likely it will be a "free" update to G5 owners.... but it will be $20 to ship it.

Its finally time to order my dual G5. Yahoo! I didn't think I would last this long, but now I can go ahead and finally do it.

Ummm, I'd wait for them to actually announce a release or an upgrade path. Ordering now would be a mistake if you're thinking you're going to get a free panther update (or it coming with panther). Nothing's official until Apple says it is, and even then, it can change.

How can there be people with 7B80 when I'm logging to the ADC site and only see 7B74 available?

find a college student, and have them buy it for you at an apple store or online. Its only $70 then.

...you sometimes have to s**** with their minds. ;-)

It's not so much the amount of money involved for the purchase of 10.3 (or any "major upgrade"), it's the idea of Apple not recognizing and rewarding loyal customers such as those who order new hardware and/or software as soon as it's released. There is an easy solution for Apple: raise the base price to something like $149 (to punish those nasty MacOS 9 holdouts), but then offer $49 customer loyalty discounts for registered owners of ANY Mac OS X release, and offer free updates ($19 media/shipping) for any Mac hardware purchases for the last three months.

Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Its finally time to order my dual G5. Yahoo! I didn't think I would last this long, but now I can go ahead and finally do it.

Ummm, I'd wait for them to actually announce a release or an upgrade path. Ordering now would be a mistake if you're thinking you're going to get a free panther update (or it coming with panther). Nothing's official until Apple says it is, and even then, it can change.

-I guess you're probably right. What's a couple more weeks until the official announcement right? Heck, I've been waiting since they unveiled the G5.

"It's not so much the amount of money involved for the purchase of 10.3 (or any "major upgrade"), it's the idea of Apple not recognizing and rewarding loyal customers such as those who order new hardware and/or software as soon as it's released"

Or you could have waited another couple months and got a G5 with Panther already included.

Apple didn't make you buy anything and they don't owe you a "reward".

Choices people!

It's due to various leaks that have occurred during the entire Panther seeding process. I fear that these leaks (or the process of determining where the leaks are coming from) have caused the seeding process to be halted.

from your friends, i know alot who do that. easily done...

"It'll cost them just like it costs us 1 year Jag users (I've only had jaguar a year and I have to pay another $129 for yet another bug fix release!)"

etc. etc. etc.

---
1. How many people out there expect Apple to provide FREE software to all of us? They never have, and don't expect them to do that ever.

Anyone out there who has a sense of history will remember that Apple has always charged full price for major OS releases. This goes from System 7 to 8 to 9, etc. And IMHO, some of these past major releases made much less progress when comparing 10.1 --> 10.2 --> 10.3.

Now it is true that Apple has accelerated the timeframe for major releases. This is because they've finally got their R&D under control and are more efficient. So why complain about how much you have to pay for an upgrade, when compared to the past the only thing that's different is that you'd have to wait up to twice as long for less progress?

---
2. What do you mean, exactly, 'bug-fix-release'? Are you calling new features, kernel, bsd subsystem, apps, etc. bug fixes? Because they're not. Furthermore, you're missing the whole reality of software development. Software development is a continuous process, but unfortunately management must draw the line somewhere and ship something. No matter what you buy, it technically is 'work in progress' and no matter how good the product there will always be bugs.

So are you just whining about the quality of OS X in general and disappointed it wasn't the end-all-be-all savior to the Mac users? Well, then make that your point. OS X is not perfect. And they're working on it. Create some constructive discussion by talking about HOW it could be improved.

Don't buy a release just cuz it's new. Buy it because it has VALUE. By way of comparison, I have plenty of friends who still run Win2000 or Win 98 SE because they don't want to pay for the upgrade and/or buy new hardware.

There was a time (before System 7) when the OS was FREE. Ask your dad.

...but you can't feed your kids and pay medical bills by giving away your services for free. All those hard working engineers and everyone else who is involved in getting Panther to market want to get paid.

If your boss came and said because of customer demand you weren't getting paid or you were getting a pay cut what would be your response? ;-)

Watch for the updated to the Mac OS X Up-To-Date program here: http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/

This software is worth double the asking fee, if Apple gave everything for free they wouldn't exist.

If you want it pay for it.

I like how you are all admitting to the world that you pirated the beta, since 7B74 was the lst seeded version to developers. I know, I am one, and 7B80 is no where to be found on ADC.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/




For Power Mac G5 systems
Customers who purchase a qualifying new Power Mac G5 (M9020LL/A, M9031LL/A, M9032LL/A) regardless of purchase date that does not have Mac OS X Panther v10.3 included can upgrade to Mac OS X Panther.

If you purchased your Power Mac G5 directly from the Apple online store, follow one of these links to participate in the program


The program ends on December 26, 2003. Your order must be postmarked or faxed by December 17, 2003, so order your upgrade now.







For Macintosh systems
Customers who purchase a qualifying new Macintosh computer on or after October 8, 2003 that does not have Mac OS X Panther v10.3 included can upgrade to Mac OS X Panther.

If you purchased your system directly from the Apple online store, follow one of these links to participate in the program.