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Buy now or when Panther arrives?

post #1 of 14
9/21/03 at 7:51am
Thread Starter 
I know "before the end of the year" is still 3 months to go. But the way development seems to be evolving, should't Panther be released within the month?

So should I wait bying a new PB or is there perhaps a free / at reduced price Panther upgrade included in the current PB boxes?
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post #2 of 14
9/21/03 at 8:18am
Quote:
Originally posted by Pandoering
I know "before the end of the year" is still 3 months to go. But the way development seems to be evolving, should't Panther be released within the month?

So should I wait bying a new PB or is there perhaps a free / at reduced price Panther upgrade included in the current PB boxes?

Don't bother waiting. The extra months you'll get with your new PB are worth what Panther will cost IMO. You've got to jump in at some point. And I think after new hardware has just been released is a damn good point.
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post #3 of 14
9/21/03 at 11:56am
I don't think you should wait either if you have an immediate need for your new PB,

BUT...

I think the non-announcement of a Panther shipping date at Paris is evidence that it will actually be released very soon. If 10.3 is coming out sometime in October, then Steve wouldn't have been able to breathe a word of it during his Powerbook intro.

"New Aluminum Powerbooks available today, but Panther's coming out Oct 17th."

Nobody would have bought one right away of all they had to do was wait less than a month to get 10.3 pre-installed. I know I wouldn't have ordered mine if Steve had given me a firm, near-term date for Panther.

Bottom line: Panther's coming soon.
Attention Internet Users!

"it's" contraction of "it is"
"its" possessive form of the pronoun "it".

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Attention Internet Users!

"it's" contraction of "it is"
"its" possessive form of the pronoun "it".

It's shameful how grammar on the Internet is losing its accuracy.
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post #4 of 14
9/21/03 at 12:20pm
I debated this before ordering a new 17" PB on Friday. The cost and hassle of installing Panther on the one side, the waiting for months on the other side. Even if Panther is released in October, it'll probably be at least a month after that until you can be sure the computer you buy will have it pre-installed. I'd been waiting for a new PowerBook long enough and decided I can deal with the upgrade price and install later.
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post #5 of 14
9/21/03 at 12:21pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Pandoering
I know "before the end of the year" is still 3 months to go. But the way development seems to be evolving, should't Panther be released within the month?

So should I wait bying a new PB or is there perhaps a free / at reduced price Panther upgrade included in the current PB boxes?

As for your second question...I hope there's some kind of upgrade coupon.
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post #6 of 14
9/21/03 at 12:35pm
I was debating the same question. I gave myself until the Paris Expo, but now I'm goining to go ahead and order a dual G5. I'm just looking were I can get the best deal (MacConnection looks best for me, no CA sales tax and rebated RAM-any thoughts out there?) I think Panther is going to be Apple's answer to a stocking stuffer. I rather have my machine for the 1 or 2 months (who knows when it will ship) and pay for Panther later. It would be nice if Apple gave an upgrade price, but I'm not counting on it.
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post #7 of 14
9/21/03 at 12:37pm
I'm waiting for Panther to ship installed before I get my dual G5.
Mainly because:
- I don't really need a new machine now (but really want a G5).
- I want to wait until duals are plentyful so that I can walk into an Apple Store and grab one.
- I want to see if this first rev has any problems.
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post #8 of 14
9/21/03 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Cake
I'm waiting for Panther to ship installed before I get my dual G5.
Mainly because:
- I don't really need a new machine now (but really want a G5).
- I want to wait until duals are plentyful so that I can walk into an Apple Store and grab one.
- I want to see if this first rev has any problems.

I agree or at least understand reasons #1 and #3, but why #2? CA sales tax adds a lot to a purchase. My apologies to the state of CA, but if I can avoid sales tax then why not? While typing this, it occured to me that there is some strange, usually ignored law, about if you use it in CA then you should ship a check to Sacramento for your sales tax. Hmmm. I heard about because they dinged some guy for tax on his yacht that he brought up from Mexico to keep it safe from a storm. I think this applies to other pruchases as well but I'll bet 99.999% of the people don't pay it. If they want to tax internet purchases from out of state then they will have to pass a law and do it directly from my point of view. Until then, I'll save some bucks and buy online (without guilt).

BTW, I'm working on a beige G3 desktop, so the urge for a new G5 overpowers #1 and #3 in my case.
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post #9 of 14
9/21/03 at 1:14pm
I doubt they'll give any discounts or rebates on Panther for anyone who has purchased a computer recently (myself included). I speak from experience; I bought a 500MHz Ti on 2/17/2001 and just over a month later OS X came out (3/24). I had to pay full price for this, but luckily I am a student and was able to get OS X for $69.

I'm still a student so I'll get Panther for $69 as well, but you are correct, these OS update charges are getting pricey. I paid $69 for 10.0, $19.95 for 10.1 (wanted dev tools, they didn't give that away with the free update packs), and $69 for Jaguar.
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post #10 of 14
9/21/03 at 1:39pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Carson O'Genic
I agree or at least understand reasons #1 and #3, but why #2?

Because when I'm ready to buy instant gratification takes over and because I can write-off the G5 on my taxes.

I'll probably buy it through PowerMax and avoid the taxes like I did my last tower, but at any point I might just go to The Grove and drop the cash as I did with my 12"PB.
Who knows! It all depends on my mood.
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post #11 of 14
9/22/03 at 12:03am
I didnt wait, don't understand why you would? I'd rather get the 2nd or 3rd revision of a new OS in case it's a bit messed up.
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post #12 of 14
9/22/03 at 12:16am
Quote:
Originally posted by Ensign Pulver
I think the non-announcement of a Panther shipping date at Paris is evidence that it will actually be released very soon. If 10.3 is coming out sometime in October, then Steve wouldn't have been able to breathe a word of it during his Powerbook intro.

"New Aluminum Powerbooks available today, but Panther's coming out Oct 17th."

Nobody would have bought one right away of all they had to do was wait less than a month to get 10.3 pre-installed. I know I wouldn't have ordered mine if Steve had given me a firm, near-term date for Panther.

Bottom line: Panther's coming soon.

I think the opposite is true. With Jaguar, it was previewed on July 17th, and the release date was announced with the disclaimer that a 10.1 -> Jaguar update would be available for all Macs sold between the announcement and the ship date for $20.

With Panther, they haven't even announced a ship date. Do you think they'll do the same thing again or something different? I really don't know. Maybe Panther is different enough from Jaguar that Apple really doesn't want people doing update installs (which is what the updater CD is for).

So, I don't know if it's a sign that it'll come out soon or late, I'm just throwing in an observation. Personally I think it'll still be a couple months but maybe I'm just cynical.

Quote:
Originally posted by 666
I didnt wait, don't understand why you would? I'd rather get the 2nd or 3rd revision of a new OS in case it's a bit messed up.

What? It's easy to update the software in case there are problems, that's why everyone is on 10.2.6 or 10.2.7 and not 10.2.0. It's not so easy to update hardware for problems.
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post #13 of 14
9/22/03 at 5:28am
Quote:
Originally posted by Luca Rescigno
With Panther, they haven't even announced a ship date. Do you think they'll do the same thing again or something different? I really don't know. Maybe Panther is different enough from Jaguar that Apple really doesn't want people doing update installs (which is what the updater CD is for).

Maybe with Jaguar Apple had a sales slump until it was released, so they said nothing this time?

Barto
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Self Indulgent Experiments keep me occupied.

rotate zmze pe vizspygmsr minus four
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post #14 of 14
9/22/03 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally posted by Barto
Maybe with Jaguar Apple had a sales slump until it was released, so they said nothing this time?

Barto

Add to that the new powerbooks. Who would buy a new powerbook knowing that after one month or so Panther is coming?
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