[Robster1958]

As an after-thought, i forgot to inquire about the OS. I guess you never really know about inventory, but if i bought yesterday from CDW, will my new 12" w/SD come preinstalled with OS X.3.1 ??

also, is Keynote free with new PB's?....any more goodies??

also forgot to get the mini-dvi to VGA adapter; didn't forget the extra 512 MB ram chip though...or the airport card!

why did i save a few bucks and go for second day instead of overnight; cannot wait....

[Commodus]

I'll answer your questions in order:

Whether or not Panther comes preloaded depends on whether or not the PowerBook was already in stock at CDW before Panther started to be preloaded by Apple. You very likely won't get 10.3.1, so if you have any Firewire drives affected by that initial OS problem, you'll want to update the OS before you plug those drives in.

Keynote isn't free with new PowerBooks, but supposedly CDW gives you $50 off the price with a new system. There may be other deals too. Check Apple's PowerBook specs for what Apple includes.

Don't worry about not having ordered a mini-DVI-to-VGA adapter. Both that and the mini-DVI-to-DVI adapter are included in the box.

As for the memory and Airport Extreme card... the memory is cheaper if you buy it 3rd-party (be sure to order a major brand like Crucial or Kingston), and you can always get and install the Airport Extreme card fairly easily after the fact.

[Robster1958]

no Panther!!! (jaguar 10.2.7)

now what? return it? shell out $129? not fair.

[LfGrdMike]

Get Panther for 20 bucks or call apple about it because you should have Panther. Maybe the 20 dollar thing is over.

[sovereign]

Posted by Robster1958

no Panther!!! (jaguar 10.2.7)

now what? return it? shell out $129? not fair.

Or go to apple.com and download, fill out, and fax or send a copy of the panther up-to-date offer to the location provided along with payment of $19.95 + tax...

[jewing80]

I was a bit puzzled by the response I was given by the Apple Store in South Coast Plaza regarding Panther being preinstalled. I was told that I could request a machine with Panther pre installed, if they had any in stock they give me one. If they were out of stock I would have to fill out the mail in form and pay the $20. I then asked if they would deduct $20 from the price of the Powerbook, I was told that was not an option.

Interestingly I called the Grove store and they told me the same thing, however they said they would deduct $20 from the price. The employee I spoke to said it was store discretion and not a written policy.

I was fortunate enough to purchase my 12" with Panther pre installed from Fry's Electronics last Friday.

[NYCFarmboy]

My sister just ordered a 12" Powerbook from MacMall.

I had told her not to order it unless Panther was preinstalled.

So the sales guy at MacMall charged her 119.00 to install Panther over Jaguar on in-stock Powerbook.

They were supposed to have shipped it but called today saying it was delayed.

I told my sister to call and cancel the Panther part because she can just go to the apple website and pay the 20 bucks for a Panther upgrade that way.

MacMall really pissed me off on that one... charging FULL price to install Panther on a NEW laptop.

[surfimp]

I ordered a 12" PowerBook from my university's bookstore on 10/27 and it came with 10.3 preinstalled. They did not have it in stock, but rather ordered it for my as a BTO (built-to-order) system through Apple.com. I got a BTO because I had an AirPort Extreme card factory installed.

(In hindsight, I could've just as well ordered it myself from Apple.com, but I thought doing it through the bookstore would be useful. It wasn't really.)

So, if you're planning to purchase direct from Apple.com, I suspect you'll most likely get your system with 10.3 preinstalled. As for 3rd party vendors like MacMall--could be a toss-up. I can't believe MacMall was going to charge an additional $129 on top of a brand-new laptop purchase--that's amazing. I'd heard many, many bad things about them in the past, and that pretty much confirms the reputation they've earned in my mind.

Anyways, good luck.

[Robster1958]

thanks everybody.

$20 is ok.

[Guy Kuo]

My two week old, CTO PB 12 inch from www.applestore.com came with Jaguar installed, but Panther upgrade discs were also in the package. Like the others said, it depends on how old the stock is at CDW. If it's newer, you'll have Panther. If it's older you, need to order via the up to date program.

[fraeone]

Well, I doubt anybody noticed it, but CNET has updated their review of the 12" PB, to account for Rev B, and in that article they state that Apple won't have Panther preinstalled on all shipping computers until December 24 (!) The $20 up-to-date program ends at that time, so I imagine that's where they got the information.

That being said, it sounds like a lot of people are already getting Panther preinstalled, so there's a pretty good chance.

[solitere]

Originally posted by Robster1958:
no Panther!!! (jaguar 10.2.7)

now what? return it? shell out $129? not fair.

I ordered a PB 12" 31 oktober from Applestore Finland and i got the bundled 10.2.7 DVD and the in separate package 10.3 Panther discs.

[hardcat1970]

Originally posted by fraeone:
Well, I doubt anybody noticed it, but PC Mag has updated their review of the 12" PB, to account for Rev B, and in that article they state that Apple won't have Panther preinstalled on all shipping computers until December 24 (!)

That being said, it sounds like a lot of people are already getting Panther preinstalled, so there's a pretty good chance.

look at apple's site. They now listed panther is going to be the default system in the powerbook lineup. Don't know if it is preinstalled or not, but i guess if you order from apple online store now, you'll get panther.

You are not going to get panther from other retailers because those are the leftover items.

[Necrocool]

I bought mine a few weeks ago from Pasadena Apple Store, they deducted $20 for not having panther pre-installed.