Briefly: Apple on Vista, Leopard, retail windows
Apple's Leopard operating system is taking aim at rival offerings from Microsoft. Meanwhile, Mac OS X developers get their hands on Leopard beginning Monday. And the announcements coming out of WWDC will reportedly spur display changes inside Apple retail store windows.
Apple rips Vista
We've been telling readers that Apple has had its sights on Redmond and Vista, and judging by the latest banner photos (below) coming out of San Francisco, the company isn't keeping it a secret.
A banner on the second floor of the Moscone West -- the host venue for this week's World Wide Developers Conference -- reads, "Mac OS X Leopard -- Introducing Vista 2.0." Similarly, one on the opposite end of the floor says, "Mac OS X Leopard -- Hasta la Vista, Vista."
Each banner features a partial shot of a black and grey Mac OS X optical disc, presumably Apple's Leopard retail CD design. The same disc was featured in photos of an earlier WWDC banner.
Developers to receive Leopard
On a similar subject, Mac OS X developers on Monday will begin to receive the first pre-release builds of Leopard, AppleInsider been able to verify.
WWDC attendees will be the first to receive their copy of Leopard. It will come in the form of a "Leopard Preview" disc. Soon thereafter, Apple will begin seeding the same build of the operating system to other developers through its online distribution system.
Apple partners and major software companies will be first in line for online distribution of Leopard. Apple Developer Connection availability is expected to follow, likely with first priority going to higher-tier members.
New retail window displays
Within the two weeks following WWDC and its associated product announcements, Apple will be updating its retail store windows with new promotional items, tipsters have also told AppleInsider.
Photo Credit: www.poetsch.org
Photo Credit: www.poetsch.org
Apple rips Vista
We've been telling readers that Apple has had its sights on Redmond and Vista, and judging by the latest banner photos (below) coming out of San Francisco, the company isn't keeping it a secret.
A banner on the second floor of the Moscone West -- the host venue for this week's World Wide Developers Conference -- reads, "Mac OS X Leopard -- Introducing Vista 2.0." Similarly, one on the opposite end of the floor says, "Mac OS X Leopard -- Hasta la Vista, Vista."
Each banner features a partial shot of a black and grey Mac OS X optical disc, presumably Apple's Leopard retail CD design. The same disc was featured in photos of an earlier WWDC banner.
Developers to receive Leopard
On a similar subject, Mac OS X developers on Monday will begin to receive the first pre-release builds of Leopard, AppleInsider been able to verify.
WWDC attendees will be the first to receive their copy of Leopard. It will come in the form of a "Leopard Preview" disc. Soon thereafter, Apple will begin seeding the same build of the operating system to other developers through its online distribution system.
Apple partners and major software companies will be first in line for online distribution of Leopard. Apple Developer Connection availability is expected to follow, likely with first priority going to higher-tier members.
New retail window displays
Within the two weeks following WWDC and its associated product announcements, Apple will be updating its retail store windows with new promotional items, tipsters have also told AppleInsider.
Photo Credit: www.poetsch.org
Photo Credit: www.poetsch.org
Comments
"Introducing Vista 2.0"
Nice.
Edit: Actually it might say "You've come to the right platform" or something similar. I see "We" and "come" but no "L".
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...7241438&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gernot/...n/photostream/
Fingers crossed! (Or I'm holding my thumbs as we say it here in Scandinavia
but the hasta la vista thing......
all I can make out is a line starting w/ an M and ending with a D.....
am I mussing something here or am I looking in the wrong place....
either way for now I call BS on the hasta la vista thing...
I agree with Palegolas. I think it's rather petty to poke at Microsoft. Can't they see that they are hurting?! It's mean to kick someone when they are down.
Poor, poor Microsoft. Did mean Mr. Jobs make that nice Gates boy cry??
"While your photocopiers were running..." (Fill in the blanks)
Calling your product, essentially, 'Trainwreck 2.0' isn't a good idea.
This is, really, the advertising they should have been doing all along. "Tantalized by future feature X in Vista? Come have it for real, now."
Also, what lepton said, this is the rallying of the troops, not a general ad campaign. They'll get some press from it sure, but it'll stay as an insiders thing.
I agree with Palegolas; I'm not a big fan of "lashing" advertisement. Findof like the SanDisk :iPod sheep" campaign. Apple doesn't win any goodwill this way, they just renew the impression of Apple as the zealot option.
<nod> Its the tiny third grade kid on the playground threatening to beat up the 11th graders. (you laugh at first, but then you get kinda nervous... what's that kid packin?)
But yeah, it would not increase Apple's credibility that much with Windows users. UNLESS.... Leopard really does kick so much butt that it leaves windows users with weak knees and skid marks in their trowsers.
So, will it be the smack talking weenie, or the kid with a secret?
Find out on monday.
MS is going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising Vista and the average consumer will just assume that it's "good". By directly comparing Leopard to Vista as much as possible, Apple rides that publicity wave for free. Every newspaper review and news story on Vista's launch and features will mention the Mac alternative and the general message to the public will be "Vista is good, but Leopard is better". All without Apple spending a dime.
Oh, and "Hasta la vista, Vista " is sheer brilliance.
There is ZERO downside to associating Leopard with Vista and/or attacking Microsoft.
MS is going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising Vista and the average consumer will just assume that it's "good". By directly comparing Leopard to Vista as much as possible, Apple rides that publicity wave for free. Every newspaper review and news story on Vista's launch and features will mention the Mac alternative and the general message to the public will be "Vista is good, but Leopard is better". All without Apple spending a dime.
Oh, and "Hasta la vista, Vista " is sheer brilliance.
i totally agree.
I agree with Palegolas. I think it's rather petty to poke at Microsoft. Can't they see that they are hurting?! It's mean to kick someone when they are down.
I think it's all in good fun. Remember, this is a conference for developers of OS X. By Apple, for Apple folk. It would be another thing is this was say, a trade show where OS X was by far the minority and trying to show off Xserve or something competitive. Can't we have a chuckle behind closed doors? I love it!
Hmm...
I think it's all in good fun. Remember, this is a conference for developers of OS X. By Apple, for Apple folk. It would be another thing is this was say, a trade show where OS X was by far the minority and trying to show off Xserve or something competitive. Can't we have a chuckle behind closed doors? I love it!
ahh, good observation!
I wonder what the official Leopard X will end up looking like?
Hmm...
<sigh> too much X. I'm up for MASSIVE OS revisions and moving on up to XI. My ADD can't take the same OS number for more than two years in a row!
If Apple don't use the Spinal Tap 'Our amps go up to 11' skit, they'll have missed out on a major bit of humour. Perhaps they'll replace brushed metal with black and black controls.
it's perfect... people don't care much about comparisons, it's all about BRAVADO