Apple lands Xbox boss, Mac OS X 10.5.7, $999 MacBook Air deal

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
A director of Microsoft's Xbox team is on his way to Apple. Meanwhile, the Mac maker appears to be taking its time to assure that Mac OS X 10.5.7 Update is rock solid before it's released to the public. And one of our sponsors is clearing out early model MacBook Airs for $999 and has dropped word that existing MacBook coupons won't run in May.



Xbox director quits for Apple



Microsoft's Xbox strategy boss Richard Teversham has quit the company after 15 years to assume a new role in Apple's European offices related to education.



For the past two years, Teversham has been Redmond's Director of Business, Insights and Strategy for Xbox, reporting directly to Vice President of Interactive Entertainment, Chris Lewis. Prior to that he held a director title overseeing the Xbox platform and marketing.



Microsoft confirmed to MCV that Teversham has step down to take "a new opportunity outside" of the company without identifying Apple by name. "A process is underway for recruiting his replacement," the software giant said.



Mac OS X 10.5.7



Once presumed to be racing towards the finish line with Mac OS X 10.5.7, Apple's now said to be easing into the release of the Leopard update and making sure all its ends are tied.



Rumors of the software's imminent release have swirled for about two weeks now but on Wednesday developers were reportedly asked to put their weight on yet another pre-release distribution carrying build number 9J58.



Like those that came before it, the latest build corrects just a couple of issues -- one related to iChat and the other Safari -- and continues to list incompatibility with the public beta of Safari 4.0 as its lone issue.



$999 MacBook Air and MacBook coupons



MacMall, one of AppleInsider's sponsors, dropped us a note earlier this week about a deal it's running on first-generation MacBook Airs. It's offering the original $1799 1.6GHz model with Intel graphics for $999 after instant discounts and a $200 mail-in-rebate. The deal may be a compelling option for anyone in the market for an ultra-portable Mac for basic email, internet and business use, and who isn't concerned with the NVIDIA graphics boost delivered by the latest models.



Also, the Apple authorized reseller let us know that its 3% off coupons on the current 13-inch MacBook line are going on hiatus until at least June, and will therefore expire tonight at 12:00 am Pacific. The coupons, when combined with MacMall's instant discounts, offer between $100 and $156 off the MacBook line (or $899.18 to $1,442.29). As always, full details are available via our Mac Price Guide.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 73
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Since Safari is a separate update I'm sure they will up the beta before the release of 10.5.7.
  • Reply 2 of 73
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    I suspect they'll discontinue the MBA and replace it with their new 'thin-as-paper-but-just-as-powerful-as-the-Air' computing device.
  • Reply 3 of 73
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Since Safari is a separate update I'm sure they will up the beta before the release of 10.5.7.



    This is what I suspect as well.
  • Reply 4 of 73
    Let's see...First adding a number of graphics chip experts to it's team, and now an xbox director...Yep, It's looking like Apple is working up on a Mac gaming push.
  • Reply 5 of 73
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by John French View Post


    Let's see...First adding a number of graphics chip experts to it's team, and now an xbox director...Yep, It's looking like Apple is working up on a Mac gaming push.



    Yeah, but the article on this latest hire indicates he's going to work in one of Apple's education departments, which is odd.



    K
  • Reply 6 of 73
    stokessdstokessd Posts: 103member
    Given that the xbox hasn't made a dime of profit, and doesn't appear to in the future, I don't see that as a great hire.



    Sheldon
  • Reply 7 of 73
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by John French View Post


    Let's see...First adding a number of graphics chip experts to it's team, and now an xbox director...Yep, It's looking like Apple is working up on a Mac gaming push.



    I agree, even though they have him working out of a European office under the guise of something "related to education", there's no other reason to hire him except for his knowledge of the gaming market.
  • Reply 8 of 73
    hudson1hudson1 Posts: 800member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    I agree, even though they have him working out of a European office under the guise of something "related to education", there's no other reason to hire him except for his knowledge of the gaming market.



    Agree. The "Europe" and "education" comments are very possibly just a ruse.
  • Reply 9 of 73
    jpellinojpellino Posts: 697member
    "-- and continues to list incompatibility with the public beta of Safari 4.0 as its lone issue."



    That's kinda a big one.



    There must be some working Safari in the release, does anyone know if the test release includes an older 3.x version or some better 4.x?
  • Reply 10 of 73
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kasper View Post


    Yeah, but the article on this latest hire indicates he's going to work in one of Apple's education departments, which is odd.



    Perhaps the position on paper is a preemptive move by Apple in the vein of the Papermaster hire from IBM to prevent MS from suing.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stokessd View Post


    Given that the xbox hasn't made a dime of profit, and doesn't appear to in the future, I don't see that as a great hire.



    That doesn't mean it's his fault. He could be responsible for not losing another billion or from finally turning a gross profit, albeit a small one, per unit sale.
  • Reply 11 of 73
    As mentioned in the older 10.5.7 thread, my source informed me that it looked like there was going to be at least one more build likely after 9J56, and I would say this is it. The tell will be if this has the latest ATi video drivers present - which is what had been holding up the previous seed. I think this delay has meant they could check off some additional fixes in the meantime.
  • Reply 12 of 73
    pg4gpg4g Posts: 383member
    Please note:



    10.5.7 is not incompatible with the beta. The installer however is.



    I installed the Safari 4 beta on 10.5.6, then installed the beta, and there is no issue with the actual beta with 10.5.7 itself.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jpellino View Post


    "-- and continues to list incompatibility with the public beta of Safari 4.0 as its lone issue."



    That's kinda a big one.



    There must be some working Safari in the release, does anyone know if the test release includes an older 3.x version or some better 4.x?



  • Reply 13 of 73
    dimmokdimmok Posts: 359member
    I too have left the Xbox after experiencing the dreaded RROD.

    I just purchased a PS3....wow this system is so much nicer.



    MGS4 FTW!
  • Reply 14 of 73
    I wonder if the care being taken with 10.5.7 may be partly because it's intended to be the final update for Leopard? Given the gap between an almost assured May release and Snow Leopard likely not coming until August, there is definitely time for another Leopard update.
  • Reply 15 of 73
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    MacMall, one of AppleInsider's sponsors, dropped us a note earlier this week about a deal it's running on first-generation MacBook Airs. It's offering the original $1799 1.6GHz model with Intel graphics for $999 after instant discounts and a $200 mail-in-rebate.



    So it is really $1,199 that gets charged to your credit card. Then you wait around and see if $200 actually arrives in the mail later.



    Pass.
  • Reply 16 of 73
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DimMok View Post


    I too have left the Xbox after experiencing the dreaded RROD.

    I just purchased a PS3....wow this system is so much nicer.



    MGS4 FTW!



    Troll much?
  • Reply 17 of 73
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stokessd View Post


    Given that the xbox hasn't made a dime of profit, and doesn't appear to in the future, I don't see that as a great hire.



    Assuming it's his fault. I think MS is in it for the long haul, if they weren't convinced of the project's long term viability, they would have dropped it like Ultimate TV or their networking hardware.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DimMok View Post


    I too have left the Xbox after experiencing the dreaded RROD.

    I just purchased a PS3....wow this system is so much nicer.



    MGS4 FTW!



    It was a fiasco, but I thought they have a warranty extension set up for that. You can get it fixed for free, I heard they even send you the shipping box & prepaid label.



    But the PS3 is pretty nice too.
  • Reply 18 of 73
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ltcommander.data View Post


    I wonder if the care being taken with 10.5.7 may be partly because it's intended to be the final update for Leopard? Given the gap between an almost assured May release and Snow Leopard likely not coming until August, there is definitely time for another Leopard update.



    I think there will be at least one more and probably two point updates. Since Snow Leopard will not be on PPC Macs and the time frame from the last PPC Mac sold to the Snow Leopard release this Fall, I think Apple will keep those aging Macs current with more updates to appease their customer is some way.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by irnchriz View Post


    Troll much?



    His post was in no way trolling.
  • Reply 19 of 73
    monstrositymonstrosity Posts: 2,234member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    I agree, even though they have him working out of a European office under the guise of something "related to education", there's no other reason to hire him except for his knowledge of the gaming market.



    indeed. But it makes me wonder why they bother. I mean, it's clear as day to me and has been for considerable time that Apple are working on the next big thing in gaming. So if I know then surely Apples competitors know.
  • Reply 20 of 73
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    So if I know then surely Apples competitors know.



    We also knew the iPhone was going to be a hit, yet it didn't seem to hit many execs until after it sold a million or two units.
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