[Buckaroo]

Hi,

Has anyone read if they will get a free Panther upgrade if they buy their G5 now?

Or will Apple charge a $30 fee?

If so, I'll just wait for Panther before I buy.

[osxisfun]

No one knows.

That's why i have not ordered my dual 2 gig.

[scottiB]

I highly, highly doubt it. Buy a G5 now, and pay $129 for Panther.

As an aside, where did this notion orginate? I've seen this written on the boards, and what differentiates a G5 from an iBook or eMac purchased today, tomorrow, or next week?

Just curious.

[kcourt]

The Apple store told me that Panther will not be released before the end of the year. I don't think Apple will honor a free Panther system. That is why I am waiting for my dual G5.

[Mr. Blur]

this has been said a hundred times already in countless threads (mostly in the os x forum) - apple has *not* announced any upgrade options (free or otherwise) for 10.3...but if past releases are anything to go by, people that buy os x or an apple computer *after the official shipping date* has been announced will be eligible for a copy of 10.3 for the cost of shipping.

[SillyMe]

Three big fat daddies for a dualie G5, and no free upgrade coupon. Pretty damn shitty if you ask me.

I've said it all along: It never pays to be an Apple early adopter!

[Cadaver]

Originally posted by SillyMe:
Three big fat daddies for a dualie G5, and no free upgrade coupon. Pretty damn shitty if you ask me.

I've said it all along: It never pays to be an Apple early adopter!

Dude, again, if you want to wait until Apple includes 10.3 with the G5s, then go ahead. I ordered my G5 with the understanding that it is configured with MacOS X 10.2.7.

So someone who drops three grand on a G5 should be entitled to an upgrade no matter when Panther comes out? How about the guy who picks up a $999 iBook tomorrow?? Should he get a free copy of 10.3?? How about the guy who bought a G4 the day before the G5s were introduced? Should he get his order bumped to a G5 instead?

Exactly what should the cut-off system purchase date be for a free copy of 10.3? A month? Three months? Six? I mean, really. If you want to wait, fine. Wait. If your machine ships after Apple releases 10.3, Apple honors the MacOS up-to-date program. There has got to be a cut-off point, or Apple would be giving copies away to everyone. Unless you're the kind of guy who thinks the dude who bought Quake II a month before Quake III was released should have gotten a free upgrade, too?

[skyman]

Originally posted by SillyMe:
Three big fat daddies for a dualie G5, and no free upgrade coupon. Pretty damn shitty if you ask me.

I've said it all along: It never pays to be an Apple early adopter!

Ditto!

Spend $3K for a dual 2GHz G5 and no free panther upgrade. What a friggin JOKE!

[blueshift]

I swear....the one thing I can't stand about the Apple community is how cheap SOME of y'all are...

I don't see any reason why you guys feel entitled to a free copy of panther.

It's not that expensive....it IS worth $129 on it's own...

After all apple fans, by buying a copy of Panther you are supporting the company we all love.

[moox12]

The thing is that the G5 is 64 bit machine. Current OS doesn’t support that, only Panther. Panther is specially designed to be used with the G5. The G5 only get’s it’s full potential, as advertised (faster than a Xenon Pentium) with Panther. So all owners must get at least a discount.

But if you own Apple stocks, you think different.

[jclarkv]

I chose to think about it this way. I have three other Macs that will need Panther, so I'm going to be buying Panther anyway. I went ahead and got my G5.

[Jupeman]

I also believe it is a little ridiculous to expect a free upgrade to an OS that isn't even released yet. Should folks buying outgoing 2003 car models be entitled to free 2004 models when they eventually come out? Hey, why not, they know the 2004s are coming!

[I Me Mine]

These $129 seem to be mounting up a bit each year though.

[proton]

Originally posted by moox12:
The thing is that the G5 is 64 bit machine. Current OS doesn’t support that, only Panther. Panther is specially designed to be used with the G5. The G5 only get’s it’s full potential, as advertised (faster than a Xenon Pentium) with Panther. So all owners must get at least a discount.

But if you own Apple stocks, you think different.

Apple's published tests (the ones done by VeriTest) were done using Mac OS X 10.2.7. Download the VeriTest Report. Mac OS X 10.2.7 is as much as 64 bit OS as Panther is anyway, neither are fully 64 bit operating systems, and neither need to be. Only certain things take advantage of 64 bit processing, and those that do will be updated as appropriate.

- proton

[Eriamjh]

Just because the operating system isn't a 64bit app doesn't mean that applications can't take advantage of the 64 bit processors. Why doesn't everyone understand that? This isn't as big a deal as when the Mac OS was still running mostly 68K code when the PPC chips were over 2 years old.

Doesn't Apple give you coupons with every OS, either purchased separately or with a machine? Usually they are good for 30-60-90 days for a $19.95 upgrade if a new OS comes out.

Exactly how long should Apple offer "free" Panther upgrades to G5 owners? If Panther comes out November 30 (almost 3 months from now) should you get it free? If it comes out 4 months from now? What about 6 months from now? I think 30 days is the typical. And that should be from the date shipped/received not the date ordered.

[herbsman]

not surprised by the reaction. lots of apple users are a bunch of whining babies

[osiris]

Originally posted by herbsman:
not surprised by the reaction. lots of apple users are a bunch of whining babies

Yep. And we usually get what we want. We are that picky, and deserve the best because we are paying for the best (at least in theory).

Think of this board as Feedback for Apple Inc to read.

[GeoMac]

if it's that big of a deal, show a little patience and wait to order the G5 until Panther is out. You won't see me whining when you guys have your G5's before me (ok, maybe a little ), so don't whine cause I'll get panther for free and you'll pay $129...

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by SillyMe:
Three big fat daddies for a dualie G5, and no free upgrade coupon. Pretty damn shitty if you ask me.

I've said it all along: It never pays to be an Apple early adopter!

It never pays to be ANYONE's early adopter.

[rlmorel]

Look. You get what you buy. If something does not have what you want, don't buy it and wait for something that does.

Really...nobody is twisting your arm to buy a new G5. If it means that much to you, then do not buy.

It did not mean that much to me, so I bought my new G5. Do I wish I didn't have to purchase Panther? Absolutely.

Does that mean Apple must give it to me? No.

[SillyMe]

Believe it or not, I'm actually sticking up for you pre-order willies.

I think the sentiment is if the machine is released close to the release of Panther, the machines should run the latest OS. Apple should have a 30-60 day free update policy for hardware purchased near an OS update. It's just good business.

Had the G5 not slipped, I don't think an upgrad coupon would be appropriate. However, it's VERY POSSIBLE that Pather could hit shelves BEFORE you get the G5 that you ordered MONTHS ago. Once you open your box, it's already outdated.

But then again, what's another $129 plus tax after you just plopped down three big ones?

[Hydra]

Originally posted by SillyMe:

But then again, what's another $129 plus tax after you just plopped down three big ones?

I agree. I ordered a CTO dual 2.0 full well knowing that I may have to buy 10.3. Do I want to drop another $129 on Panther? No. Will I ASAP? Yes but it would be nice to get it for free I've just been operating under the assumption I will have to pay full price for it and if Apple offers a nice upgrade price even better.

-Jerry C.

[michaelb]

Obviously no one here has bought a Mac close the shipping of a new OS.

Last year I bought an iBook about a month before Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar was released.

I was eligible to buy it through the Apple Store at $19.95.

Why should this year be any different?

[Mr. Blur]

Originally posted by michaelb:
Obviously no one here has bought a Mac close the shipping of a new OS.

Last year I bought an iBook about a month before Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar was released.

I was eligible to buy it through the Apple Store at $19.95.

Why should this year be any different?

you must have bought *after* the official release date was announced, but before 10.2 shipped - that is what made you eligible for the shipping cost only upgrade (as i said earlier in this thread.....)

[Cadaver]

Originally posted by moox12:
The thing is that the G5 is 64 bit machine. Current OS doesn’t support that, only Panther. Panther is specially designed to be used with the G5. The G5 only get’s it’s full potential, as advertised (faster than a Xenon Pentium) with Panther. So all owners must get at least a discount.

Wrong. Panther is not a 64-bit OS. There little to no more 64-bit code in Panther than there is in Jaguar. The G5 will run just fine on 10.2.7 (with which the G5 is shipped). Apple's advertised benchmarks are based on 10.2.7.

Panther should provide a speed boost for all Macs, not just G5.

Apple has never provided free OS upgrades to people who buy machines before a new version is formally released. If you buy the machine after a new OS is released (but it did not come with it in the box; i.e., you bought/received old stock), Apple will provide it for you for "free" (plus $19.95 for S&H).

This has always been Apple's policy. Right or wrong, it's nothing new. If you want Panther with your machine, just wait until it's out before buying a new Mac. At the rate they're shipping (not), everyone's Dual G5 may just come with Panther installed anyway.

[Link]

Originally posted by Cadaver:
So someone who drops three grand on a G5 should be entitled to an upgrade no matter when Panther comes out?

Yep.

How about the guy who picks up a $999 iBook tomorrow?? Should he get a free copy of 10.3??

Maybe. If they had advertised with the powerbook you'd get a huge speed boost with panther, or panther advertised it'd be great with the g5.

How about the guy who bought a G4 the day before the G5s were introduced? Should he get his order bumped to a G5 instead?

F*** YES!

[michaelb]

Originally posted by Link:
Originally posted by Cadaver:
So someone who drops three grand on a G5 should be entitled to an upgrade no matter when Panther comes out?

Yep.

That's like saying someone who buys a HDTV / Plasma screen should be entitled to free cable for a year.

(Don't tell me, someone will say that's exactly what they got! Okay, so maybe there are special promotions.)

The point is that you should make your buying decision on what is advertized at the time, not on what you feel you should be morally entitled to. Apple is a business that has to make money from software upgrades, just like Adobe, Macromedia, or Microsoft. Selling both the hardware AND the software doesn't make any difference.

I'd recommend those feeling outraged by a policy of having to pay for an upgrade later on top of their pre-order to cancel now and re-place the order after Panther is formally announced with the "machines from now on get it for $19.95" condition.

You'll probably still get it at much the same time, and Apple deserves a kick in its pre-order backside anyway for the delaying tactics.

[Cadaver]

Originally posted by Link:

Maybe. If they had advertised with the powerbook you'd get a huge speed boost with panther, or panther advertised it'd be great with the g5.

Where is Apple advertising the PowerMac G5 with Panther?? I'm looking at the PowerMac G5 web pages right now, and I don't see Panther mentioned anywhere. In fact, the specs pages specifically mention MacOS X 10.2 "Jaguar" as the system software.

When has Apple stated that Panther is necessary for the G5s? If Apple has said that 10.3 was necessary for the G5s to function at an acceptable level, then I would expect Apple to include 10.3 with them. But this isn't stated ANYWHERE on Apple's website or in their G5 literature distributed to their dealers (CompUSA, etc). Do you think it would have been better for Apple to have waited until perhaps December before releasing the G5s so they could be sure to include Panther (shipping delays not withstanding)?? I don't. When you buy a G5, you are buying it with OS X 10.2, as specified in the tech specs. When the specs say otherwise, I'll expect my machine with 10.2. Hell, I may not even want 10.3 right away if my important software doesn't work on it (say, Word, EndNote 6, Keynote, The Missing Sync for PocketPC, Spell Catcher X, plus several other mission-critical applications).

So, perhaps Apple should just include a free copy of Panther to everyone who buys a Mac in the month of September because they're good guys, huh? Maybe Adobe could give away a free Photoshop 8 upgrade to everyone who bought Photoshop 7 in 2003 (like me).

I just don't understand you people. Panther isn't even out yet, and may not be for 2-3 months ("by the end of the year"), and yet people are bitching that a computer you buy TODAY doesn't include it. Geez. Just because Apple makes the hardware doesn't mean you're eligible for a lifetime of free software upgrades.

If you want Panther free, wait until it's out before ordering your new machine (even a $999 iBook).

Nuff said. Flame me if you want, but I won't be returning to this thread. It's a waste of time.