Like the once proud Titanic was felled by a mighty iceberg, the forthcoming version of Apple Mac OS X, Leopard, has hit a minor snag. That snag’s name?
iPhone.
From our colleagues at Macworld:
Getting the iPhone ready for its June launch has had an unintended consequence, however: QA and “some key software engineering” resources allocated to Mac OS X needed to be diverted from their work to finish the iPhone. As a result, Apple won’t release Leopard at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, as it had first planned.October? Oof. I feel like I’ve been hit in the stomach, frankly. As nice as the iPhone is, and as much as I do look forward to some day holding one in my hands, I can’t help but think that the core business of Apple should be focusing on OS X. Let’s face it: I’m far more likely to run out and buy Leopard the day it comes out than I am to plop down $500 for an iPhone. It’s kind of like watching your little brother get all the good presents for Christmas. This kind of makes that whole Apple TV delay look pretty pathetic.“While Leopard’s features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we’re sure we’ve made the right ones,” reads the statement.
And now for the rest of the week’s forecast: expect naysayers to cast a pall of doom-and-gloom rhetoric over the weekend, as they rant and rave about how Apple is sinking into a black hole of missed expectations and disappointment.
Yes, delaying Leopard to October sucks, but don’t go out and start stocking up on canned food just yet. Naturally, we’ll have more analysis on this issue as it develops. Meanwhile, the MacUser team will be holding a candlelight vigil outside of 1 Infinite Loop.
I think this is pathetic. I was hoping Apple would capitalize on the failure of Vista in the market. Instead, they are bleeding the Mac division dry in favor of the iPhone. It shows that the Mac is simply not an important focus for the company. If I didn't know all the alternatives sucked so bad...
"Meanwhile, the MacUser team will be holding a candlelight vigil outside of 1 Infinite Loop."
It'll be more like screaming and throwing rotten eggs at Steve's office window ;)
NOOOOOOO!! Oh well, I guess I'm on the other side of the fence. I'm glad they are delaying OS X in order to put iPhone in my hand on time, but it will also give my pocket-book a break. This year will be hitting me hard for all that is Apple. iPhone in June. Apple TV and requirements, of which includes the HD TV in July. So this keeps me from shelling out another $300 in June for OS X, iLife, and iWork, as I'm sure they are all tied together.
just how are we supposed to make fun of microsoft's delays now? :cry:
i don't understand how the release of one should interefere with the release of the other...
i'm sure apple has different people in different departments working on different products. :dizzy: just hire more people... we sure pay them enough for that...
Man they really screwed up. I know I said in these comments before that I expected Leopard to be delayed by six months or so because of Steve's attention to the iPhone, but that doesn't mean I like it. I agree that since Apple is a computer company that they should...oh, wait.
Ok, now I'm really mad.
Oh well.
The simple fact is, Tiger is a very good OS. The current iPhone lacks a certain tactile quality. If there were an iPhone to sell, I'd be pissed. There isn't, but there is this kick-ass OS available on all currently shipping Macs.
Let's not forget that in partnering with at&t, Apple made commitments that must be met. It's not just the massive hype surrounding this product, it's the fortunes of two businesses at stake.
It sucks, but suggesting that Apple's business interests are so attuned to our desires is specious at best.
The cellular phone (together with soccer and an infamous computer os...) is high in my list of things that I'd like to see "disinvented". I'm not surprised at all that Apple's iphone started causing damage even before being released!
But I find ironic that a significant part of Apple's sw experts had to be distracted from Leopard to work at a closed system, for which, AFAIK, only a few selected developers will be allowed to create applications (or widgets, phonets or what the heck the sw pieces running on the iphone are to be called).
I'm a retired grandfather. I'm looking at new cars, and I really really like the Audi TT or Mazda RX8, however I also really really like riding bicycles with my 4 young grandkids which requires a truck to get the bikes to the boonies. Choices choices...even the big guys sometimes can't do everything they want to when they want to. Pity.
Maybe Apple just doesn't want to beat Windows.
Guess not. Next?
I'll wait, better to be late with quality than early with crap. Just something to look forward to a little later than planned.
Jeff: Apple beat Windows' current OS with Tiger from two years ago. The world is not ending.
If Apple can do for cellphones* what it did for music, I can use the best OS ever for a few more months while I wait for the new best OS ever.
*I hate my phone, as I gather most do
They didn't delayed it 'cuz it was incomplete, it'll be done by June. But I guess they didn't dropped the "Computer" for nothing. Now, it's all about our pockets and our living rooms. And nothing about our offices? HELL-O!! Apple! Don't dissapoint me!
Silly whiners, (like that's something new for blog commenters)
Yeah right, Apple should put off the next device that will (ultimately) end up completely redefining the molbile communications world, and instead, concentrate on a replacement for that P.O.S. operating system (Tiger) they have out now. Oh it's so horrible, buggy, useless!
Vista will have caught up with Tiger, sometime the end of 2008. (maybe)
Concentrate on what will make Apple a stronger company; i.e., dominating a new market segment, and Adobe's release of CS3.
I'm going to be cautiously optimistic and hope that by Apple delaying 10.5 until October, they'll be able to deliver a rock-solid, amazing OS that blows everything else out of the water.
I really really want a new laptop but I kept saying just wait until June and get it with Lepoard. October!! Thats so far and I don't know if I can wait!!
For crying out load, let's all take a deep breath. We're talking about a four month delay on an operating system. I'm fairly certain most of us will be able to cope with the *lame* Tiger OS until then.
I prolly wont be buying an iPhone (The release in Europe is still further away & then still i see no immediate requirement of such a over featured phone)
But
I was planning to buy a new Mac as soon as Leopard was released (june !!! i still use a 700 Mhz G4, i need a new Mac ASAP) together with this new Mac i would get USB2 so i was going to buy at the same time an iPod (prolly the 2nd best one) (atlast, i can blame Apple leaveng the FW connection methode for that)
However buying this new Mac is delayed, Thx Apple for delaying Leopard (no Tiger ain't bad, but still using a G4-700 is)
As the parent of a high school senior, I'm not happy because I planned to send my son off to college with either a new laptop or iMac carrying Leopard.
The boy is smart enough to love our G5 iMac and want to stay with Apple but has been looking forward to an intel machine so he could boot into Windows for gaming. I'm very leery of him doing an OS upgrade while away at college with important papers (and expensive music collections) on board.
I wonder how many others out there were hoping Leopard would be included with education related purchases this summer.