Panther on G5 in August?
At the company where I work, we had a Mac contract-support rep come in to service our Macs today. He was talking about what's coming with Panther and mentioned that it will be coming in August.
Having read otherwise, I assumed that he was thinking that Panther would come in August because the G5s were scheduled to arive in August.
So I chimed in, "I believe that Apple said that 10.3 would be out sometime in December" He said, "no, you will see it shipping with the G5."
I didn't want to get into a rumor debating match in front of all my fellow co-workers so I let it go.
Based on what we know now, am I right? Is this guy talking out his ass, or is there something to what he's saying?
Having read otherwise, I assumed that he was thinking that Panther would come in August because the G5s were scheduled to arive in August.
So I chimed in, "I believe that Apple said that 10.3 would be out sometime in December" He said, "no, you will see it shipping with the G5."
I didn't want to get into a rumor debating match in front of all my fellow co-workers so I let it go.
Based on what we know now, am I right? Is this guy talking out his ass, or is there something to what he's saying?
Comments
So basically, your opinion is based on official facts, which are right, unless plans are changed.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Panther has a good amount of stability and polish right now.
What ever gave you that idea?
He could have been confused, or misinformed, or over-enthusiastic...but take it for what it's worth. Panther in August is a definite possibility.
-DCQ
Also, I sort of doubt that Apple would release something to developers that lacked major features that will be in the final release, should that final release only be a couple months away.....
What ever gave you that idea?
oh...the reports seemed fairly positive.
I am not sure about Jaguar but I remember for Puma they had a PR stating that the GM was going to the pressing plants...
Steve said "before the end of the year." I think if they had an earlier date planned he would have said "this fall." If Panther were far enough along, they would not have done a special build of 10.2 just for the two months when no G5s are shipping anyway.
Panther will ship late enough that Apple will feel justified in charging all of you who are now preordering G5s another $129 to upgrade. When Apple announces a ship date for Panther, they will also announce that anyone ordering a Mac as of that date will get it for $19 or whatever.
Essentially, what the developers got would be what will ship in August with the G5. Come November, it will be the full panther release.
I would feel kindof disapointed if my G5 didn't come with at least some of the features that WWDC demonstrated.
As for the "expectations," Steve was as clear as he could have been that the features demo'd would ship with Panther, not the G5, and that people who purchased a G5 would get a coupon good for an upgrade to Panther - which wouldn't be necessary if the G5 shipped with it! Along those lines, and in lockstep with every other Apple system release, I expect that Panther will enjoy exactly one feature-complete general release. There won't be an "80%" version for G5 owners. There will be Sméagol.
Originally posted by BrunoBruin
Steve said "before the end of the year." I think if they had an earlier date planned he would have said "this fall."
Well take this for what it's worth...
At the WWDC pre-intro of the G4 when asked when a G4 based PowerMac would be available Apple's reply was "The G4 will be shipping in Apple boxes this time next year - as in May 2000"... Now, after hearing that comment every mac user was pissed ... that is, until Aug of 1999 when Apple intro'd the PowerMac G4... Did Apple lie?
Nope... WWDC 2000 the PowerMac G4 was indeed shipping...
Sometimes Steve / Apple sandbag on shipping dates, sometimes they don't... Trying to guess the validity on a specific date is foolhardy without some form of insider insights.
Dave
Originally posted by Amorph
There will be Sméagol.
It's worth pointing out the the OS guys do their thing, and the hardware guys do their thing and the presence of a 10.2 build for the G5 suggests in no way that the G5 will ship before 10.3.
Anyone care to check how many cars are in Apple's parking lot right now (8PM)?
ssentially, what the developers got would be what will ship in August with the G5. Come November, it will be the full panther release.
I would feel kindof disapointed if my G5 didn't come with at least some of the features that WWDC demonstrated.
Get over the disappoint early, cause Panther ain't gonna ship with the G5 as a partial release, if only to spare the tech support people the inevitable whining. Most of the G5s will ship to people who ostensibly work for a living using computers. Apple, wanting to stay in business, will not ship an OS that is not production ready with the pro machines.
Panther is/ a developer preview. Barely a beta is you want ot think of it that way. There are too many bugs and missing pieces to be considered anything more than a test bed.
Originally posted by Amorph
As for the "expectations," Steve was as clear as he could have been that the features demo'd would ship with Panther, not the G5, and that people who purchased a G5 would get a coupon good for an upgrade to Panther - which wouldn't be necessary if the G5 shipped with it!
i dotn remember/forgot he said this...i was hoping i wouldn't have to buy a copy of panther...thats awesome!
I think this is brilliant. The G5 and Panther are not tied to each other, they both have their own manufacturing/shipping schedules, yet they could actually be delivered on the same day.
-Snowster
Originally posted by Moogs
I kinda hope it doesn't ship in August. That would mean what we see now is pretty much a feature-frozen release and what remains is stability work.
Panther was feature-frozen a couple of months ago. It is not an insider's knowledge; it's the way all large projects go. Firstly, planning. Then deciding on main features for a couple of future releases. Then coding. Then testing and debugging, possibly adding some quick enhancements. However, 95-100% of features are guaranteed at the second stage.
Also, I sort of doubt that Apple would release something to developers that lacked major features that will be in the final release, should that final release only be a couple months away.....
Why? A modern OS is divided into hundreds of small projects which separate groups of developers are busy with. So, for example, if they found that piles crash Finder too often right now and their new metadata-driven file system is too slow, they might take them from the developer preview. Easily. After all, it is a developer preview. In other words, it is intended for developers to test their apps with it because Apple believes that omitted features will not interfere with apps compatible with the DP, and that the OS in its DP form is indicative enough for developers as to what to expect from GM.
Jaguar last year was "before the end of Summer." Jaguar shipped in August.
Also, Panther is in about the same state or less complete than Jaguar was at its similar WWDC preview, which was later this year. That is, Panther is unstable, rough around the edges, missing libraries, and my app doesn't work on it .
Conclusion: Panther will arrive November/December.
The G5 will ship in August (we hope!) with 10.2.7 aka Sméagol.
Then Panther will arrive a few months later and Sméagol will be cast screaming to his death into the fiery depths of Mount Doom. (Sorry if I spoilt Return of the King for you - now you don't have to see the movie. Use your Cheesegrater instead.)