Apple confirms Mac OS X Tiger for April 29th
By Peter Rojas 
posted Apr 12th 2005 9:14AM
posted Apr 12th 2005 9:14AM
Ok, so maybe it's a few weeks after everyone thought/hoped/prayed it would happen, but Apple confirmed today that
they'd be launching Mac OS 10.4 (aka Mac OS X Tiger) on April 29th. The feature set isn't exactly a secret, but among
other things they're going to be introducing a new desktop search technology called Spotlight; a new feature called
Dashboard, which lets you run mini-apps called widgets on your desktop (ask Konfabulator how they feel about this one),
and expanded support for RSS.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this one in]
woot
YA BABY!!!
Finally something worth cheering over! as compared to all the hoola over bullshit micrsohit crap!
Does anyone know when 10.4 will be available with new Mac computer purchases? Also, do they have a program avialable for people who have recently purchased a new Mac. Just want to know if anyone's got the 411.
Ugh, ordered my Powerbook last week, the cutoff date for new Mac purchases available for the the low cost upgrade to Tiger is the 12th (today ) according to the Apple website.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/
"Customers who purchase a qualifying new Macintosh computer on or after April 12th, 2005 that does not have Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" included can upgrade to Tiger."
Dashboard runs your widgets off screen, Konfabulator runs them on your desktop.
If you had to guess, yes, Dashboard looks like a huge rip off of Konfabulator, but only because they both have the same design philosophies. Truth is, there was nothing new about the desktop widget idea, Konfabulator just did it better than everyone else. And, who knows, maybe they still do. I used to use Konfabulator to monitor my mail until I found Growl, which does what I want without my having to clear the desktop to see a widget.
I'll probably use Dashboard sparingly - I can see the calculator function being pretty handy - but the truth is, with all of the other systems I have come to rely on: QuickSilver, Growl, WeatherMenu, I don't know if I will want to completely change my habits for some new eye candy. Ah, who I am kidding. I will work my self around in circles for the eye candy :)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, Tiger and my birthday all the same week. Now, if the movie would just not suck...
Cheers,
Ahh! Can finally get my Mac Mini.
Bizarrely, the UK Higher Education store has Tiger available for pre-order, but the main store has it as "coming soon"...
No news on upgrades yet, although according to the Apple Store it was about 3 months last time. Do you really only get a couple of weeks cutoff in the US?
Isn't that the same day the hitchhiker's guide comes out? Hmm priorities...
For anyone not in the know ... Dashboard is really nothing like Konfabulator. Just because it looks the same, doesn't mean it is.
Compare Konfabulator and Dashboard the same way you would compare a Potiac Fiero to Ferrari 308GT ... look similar, but one is more powerful, built with better underpinning, won't have the quirks, and umm one is built by Ferrari.
Yeah, but Konfabulator was pretty pissed off when Apple unveiled Dashboard, and I can't say I blame them.
Same here #7. Patience actually paid off this time. But it is time to pickup that Mac Mini I have waited so patiently for.
When was 10.3 released? I'm curious how often Mac people have to pay $129 to stay current.
A good friend recently was forced to upgrade to 10.3 in order to use her Airport Express, and was not happy about it. Not flaming, just curious.
Brett, my sentiments exactly. With Tiger and iLife '05 included, it was an outlay of almost $200 that I saved on. Now if apple would bump up their line to 512MB RAM standard....
Eric W, 10.3 came out on October 25th 2003. You can usually find the new OS release for less via Amazon and other retailers. The Educational discount is also pretty great. You can get it for $69.
The announcement doesn't seem to have filtered through to the Apple UK site yet. I'm a bit nervous about placing my Mac Mini order - on the US site it states, "This offer is good only in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia)".
Thanks for the straight up answer Pedro. Much appreciated.
Eric W., Given that the Airport Express info clearly states that 10.3 is required for iTunes streaming (usb printing and network features work on 10.2.7 and up), surely your friend wasn't "forced" to upgrade to 10.3 -- she made a decision to buy a new peice of kit (the AEX), and to utilize all of its features needed to update -- so she wanted more -- hardly "forced"...
Actually, thats not true. The software needed to set up the Airport Express requires 10.3, which means that she couldnt set the thing up on her network. Granted, once it is set up, It would have worked fine for networking(all she wanted anyway), but she couldnt get to that point. Being an average consumer, she read that it will work with 10.27, didnt read the part about 10.3 being required for "Using AirPort 4.0 software to administer the base station" and bought it.
Again, I'm not trying to pick a fight, I'm just curious about the frequency of OS upgrades since I have a LOT of friends who use mac's, don't understand this stuff, and then ask me to fix it even though I am a PC guy.
Wasn't OS 9, or 8 running widgets ?
So Apple is just reclaiming their own territory back from Konfabulator. ( I think )
Regardless of how often they come out with OS versions, I'd much rather have new features, upgrades, and an evolving OS released every year and a half than have an OS that hasn't seen a widescale upgrade in 5 years and won't see one for several years more (Service Packs don't count either).
Eric W, Apple has said that they will be slowing down the OS upgrade rate after Tiger. Hopefully not as slow as MS, but probably not every year or year and a half.
I think they forgot to list one of the BIG new features. The first operating system (ever), to include a full featured screen reader for the visually impaired. That may be just the last nail in the Windows coffin for me.
XP came out in late 2001, so it is only 3.5 years old, not 5. And Longhorn release is only a year away.
Service Packs do count if they add features to the OS. Its nice that they are free and will be free for 10 years in the case of XP Pro.
But really, can you say that Media Center Edition 2005 is not an upgrade?
hey, umm why is there such a big deal about tiger? i mean sure its new and all, but its just adding a few new features, nothing much.. and i mean this hype has been going on for ages! pls explain and be mature and dont flame
Chin, just follow the provided link to Apple's Mac OS X site. Maybe the extensive information there will answer your question.
Cheers
Why should Konfabulator be pissed? It's the nature of things. iTunes killed off Audion. Windows Fax Services killed off Delrina. And I'm sure that the inclusion of Windows Firewall or Defrag or Scandisk never helped Peter Norton's wallet any.
At least Konfabulator still has some markets that Dashboard can't go: Windows XP and slower G4s that can't handle Quartz Extreme.
P.S. Dashboard looks by far more advanced than any other widget software I've seen (Konfabulator or Samurize). It's incredible.
Check out the links on the "Tech" dropdown in the video related to the new RSS feature in safari:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/theater/safari.html
I'm excited, I've been waiting a while for this to come out. I'm looking forward to using the new Spotlight Search and the new version of Mail.
#28, Dashboard works on every Tiger supported Mac. Not just QE supported Macs, althought some of the eyecandy (like the ripples) is not there.
I look forward to upgrading my office computer, but when I get home, I'm still kind of giddy about booting up OS 9.2. *teehee*
Wasn't there a Windows 3.1 program called "Dashboard" 10 or more years ago? Kind of like sidekick but with memory and harddrive monitors.
If Apple didn't pay to use that name, hopefully someone will sue em, either that or give me the right to rename my recycle bin!
re: upgrades for users who purchased a new computer in the last three months. I've called and emailed them about this and they won't budge. Even if you bought your mac on April the First, you have to pay full price for the upgrade. The Customer service Rep told me that "Upgrades are the same as promotions" and I wasn't applicable. I suggest that anyone who has bought a new mac in the last six monts calls the free Apple helpline and complains about this issue.
I just called apple and (as has already been mentioned) to qualify for a free upgrade to tiger, your computer had to have been purchased april 12 or later. I bought my new g5 (which I coincidentally paid over $13,000 for) on April 2nd. Im pissed to say the least.