[NeXTLoop]

Here's the link...

eWeek

And here's a newer article...

There's been a lot of speculation and questions, but this seems at least somewhat reliable.

[-Q-]

I don't know if I'll have enough time to save money for Panther after getting my G5 in August.

If Apple can make both those deadline (have my G5 in my hands in August and Panther in september) I'll eat my hat.

[JLL]

The article is four months old.

I don't think we'll see Panther in a month.

[ckohler]

I'm not sure how much faith I'd put in an article written four months ago but here's hoping they knew then something we don't know now.

[Developer]

Originally posted by -Q-:
I don't know if I'll have enough time to save money for Panther after getting my G5 in August.

Then why don't you just wait a little until Panther is released?

[TheIceMan]

NeXTLoop:
Thanks for the link. It should be pointed out that this article was written April 2, 2003...over 4 months ago.

[EDIT:] Sorry, the others beat me to it.

[NeXTLoop]

I edited my original post to point out a newer article that was written just a few days ago. It was actually a follow-up to the original eWeek article. The second article, by Microsoft-Watch, basically states that Apple's internal development schedule has not slipped significantly, thereby making Panther still on track for mid-September.

Sorry for including the wrong link originally.

[Art Vandelay]

Maybe he meant this link. It is a current article reiterating a September release.

[NeXTLoop]

Originally posted by Art Vandelay:
Maybe he meant this link. It is a current article reiterating a September release.

Yep that's the one. You beat me to it Art. The link has also been added to my original post as well.

[JLL]

Originally posted by NeXTLoop:
I edited my original post to point out a newer article that was written just a few days ago. It was actually a follow-up to the original eWeek article. The second article, by Microsoft-Watch, basically states that Apple's internal development schedule has not slipped significantly, thereby making Panther still on track for mid-September.

Sorry for including the wrong link originally.

Please note that it's written by Nick from Think Secret.

But I still think that Panther is more than a month away - there are way too many bugs in there.

[awaspaas]

Originally posted by -Q-:
I don't know if I'll have enough time to save money for Panther after getting my G5 in August.

If Apple can make both those deadline (have my G5 in my hands in August and Panther in september) I'll eat my hat.

Won't Apple do an up-to-date program again, where if you buy a computer after the new OS has been announced you get a free (or cheap) upgrade?

[-Q-]

Originally posted by Developer:
Then why don't you just wait a little until Panther is released?

Wouldn't that require waiting? As I recall, my parents never ordered the 'patience' option when I was requested.

[-Q-]

Originally posted by awaspaas:
Won't Apple do an up-to-date program again, where if you buy a computer after the new OS has been announced you get a free (or cheap) upgrade?

They probably will. I was joking that after spending the money on the G5, I wouldn't even have the $20 to scrape together for that. Guess the next time I'm joking I should try and be funny, huh?

[KidRed]

Maybe 10.2.7 is to be released in Sept. I just don't think Panther will be ready by Sept.

[DBvader]

apple insider is also saying that it looks like panther will ship relatively soon. From what it looks like, the builds are becoming increasingly stable and that most of the feature sets are in place.

[OpenStep]

I find it hard to believe that Panther will be ready to rumble by Sept. The G5's in Sept. are going to ship with 10.2.7, right? Doesn't make much sense if they are gonna ship Jaguar on them when Panther is according to eWeek just a month away.

[JLL]

Originally posted by OpenStep:
I find it hard to believe that Panther will be ready to rumble by Sept. The G5's in Sept. are going to ship with 10.2.7, right? Doesn't make much sense if they are gonna ship Jaguar on them when Panther is according to eWeek just a month away.

Plus Apple will likely announce the release date at least one month before release.

I expect that the release date will be announced at Apple Expo Paris.

[Art Vandelay]

Originally posted by DBvader:
apple insider is also saying that it looks like panther will ship relatively soon. From what it looks like, the builds are becoming increasingly stable and that most of the feature sets are in place.

They're wrong. Several features haven't even been implemented yet, most notably FileVault. Also, the recent builds aren't stable. The OS is, but most of the apps are quite unstable.

I do think a September release is possible. Compared to last year's build schedule, we are one month behind. The current builds of Panther do feel more advanced than the equivalent builds of Jaguar last year.

[Superchicken]

File vault isn't even there?

Anyway the 17 inch iMacs shipped with X.1 last year even though they were announced when Jaguar's ship date was announced.

[Art Vandelay]

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
File vault isn't even there?

Anyway the 17 inch iMacs shipped with X.1 last year even though they were announced when Jaguar's ship date was announced.

The 17" iMacs shipped before Jaguar was done, so of course they shipped with 10.1. Even some Macs that ship after a new OS starts shipping may have the previous OS installed. However, they usually will have the new OS CDs included for the user to install themselves.

[DaGuy]

Steve said it was due by end of year. He could have said Fall or late Fall but he didn't. If I were Apple, I would not put out the OS early given that I set expectations for it to be delivered by Dec. 31, 2003 11:59:59 PM. It doesn't make any business sense to rush it.

[Kenneth]

Even though Steve said "end of the calendar year"...Apple may ship it earlier when Panther is ready for prime-time.

[DaGuy]

We can only speculate. My guess is the last Saturday of October. That would give them the rest of August and September to fix bugs and then send it to printing the first week of October.

Someone should start a pool; the prize being a copy of Panther.

[PubGuy]

The new G5's are already being built and packaged, thus they will have 10.2.7 on them. More are being built now. Panther hasn't been declared GM, so the G-5's HAVE to ship with 10.2.7. There is NO WAY Apple was going to delay the introduction of the G5 systems to wait on an undetermined time for the release of Panther. Remember, Apple makes it's margins off of Hardware.

And, BTW, when Steve said "end of the year", he could also have meant FY, not necessarily CY.

[RooneyX]

The builds released to developers are usually a couple of weeks older than the builds being worked at that time of release. So ignore whatever bugs you see. They might not exist anymore. Also, bugs come with gold masters too!

[alex_wlu_82]

Originally posted by RooneyX:
The builds released to developers are usually a couple of weeks older than the builds being worked at that time of release. So ignore whatever bugs you see. They might not exist anymore. Also, bugs come with gold masters too!

how many weeks was jaguar announced before it shipped? i remember preordering it at least a few months in advance, or maybe i'm losing my mind..

I'm getting worried that it's not even available for preordering yet.. I'm terribly impatient when it comes to new and shiny things.

[JLL]

Originally posted by alex_wlu_82:
how many weeks was jaguar announced before it shipped? i remember preordering it at least a few months in advance, or maybe i'm losing my mind..

Jaguar was announced July 17 and released August 24.

[Matt OS X]

AHhhhh!!!!!!!!! I'm hoping that it'll come out during Paris Expo next month or I'll DIE!!

[alex_wlu_82]

Originally posted by Matt OS X:
AHhhhh!!!!!!!!! I'm hoping that it'll come out during Paris Expo next month or I'll DIE!!

if that's because of jaguar, you're out of luck legally:

"the apple software is not intended for use in... life support machines or other equipment in which the failure of the apple software could lead to death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage"

sorry.. too much time on my hands

[derekn]

I hope they take their time for once and put out Panther so it's stable and useable right out of the box. I read a comment on Macintouch regarding Jag when it came out and the comment was that Jag needed another 5-6 months of work before it was ready for release. Looking at the free updates until 10.2.6 that person was right. Those updates just got bigger and bigger with each one.

I don't care if Panther get pushed back to MWSF, they need to do it right.

Reminds me of another thing. Anyone remember when Steve came back to Apple? OS 9 was due to be released and it got pushed back or something and Steve said publicly, in an interview that Apple didn't want to rush things. That they needed to take their time and test it out and make sure it worked, comments to that effect. Guess that only applies to 9 and not X.

[hew]

Originally posted by derekn:
I hope they take their time for once and put out Panther so it's stable and useable right out of the box. I read a comment on Macintouch regarding Jag when it came out and the comment was that Jag needed another 5-6 months of work before it was ready for release. Looking at the free updates until 10.2.6 that person was right. Those updates just got bigger and bigger with each one.

I don't care if Panther get pushed back to MWSF, they need to do it right.

Reminds me of another thing. Anyone remember when Steve came back to Apple? OS 9 was due to be released and it got pushed back or something and Steve said publicly, in an interview that Apple didn't want to rush things. That they needed to take their time and test it out and make sure it worked, comments to that effect. Guess that only applies to 9 and not X.

I don't know, I found 10.2 to be quite stable and usable when it released myself. In fact, I haven't had any problems with OS X since Public Beta in 2000 and even that problem was quite minor. While mine wasn't the same case for everyone, I think you're going to have problems with almost ANY new release of an operating system. Especially with the type of upgrades Apple offers with OS X.

But I do agree that Apple should wait until near the end of the year and give themselves time to work on it more. We shall find out soon enough if those articles are correct or not.

[PubGuy]

How long is long enough?

Apple has been working on Panther for a long time now in parallel with Jaguar. A lot of the "under-the-hood" changes will make a significant positive impact to users and people waiting for any one of these 100's of new features and enhancements. That equates to more hardware sales for Apple.

You can test, test, test software forever and still find bugs or incompatabilities with specific hardware configurations. Business wise, you have to have specific guidelines so that you can get product out the door.

Apple is getting feedback from its seed developers. The other people legitamately testing are also providing feedback and unique configurations that Apple probably doesn't have in-house. Once Apple is satisfied that Panther is more stable than Jaguar, then they will declare GM and go. Anything else that comes up after the release will be dealt with with 10.3.x updates.

If they're ready in September...then I say BRING IT ON!

[OptimusG4]

Originally posted by JLL:
Jaguar was announced July 17 and released August 24.

Yea but even Steve said it would be released 'late summer 2002', not 'by the end of the year'.

[alex_wlu_82]

Originally posted by OptimusG4:
Yea but even Steve said it would be released 'late summer 2002', not 'by the end of the year'.

good point... i was just curious how long it was between the announcement and the ship date.