04-13-2007, 06:15 AM
Disappointed, but there's a bright side (and possible explanation).
The truth of the matter is that Leopard will be functionally complete and almost ready for release by WWDC. What has changed is that Vista has met with REMARKABLY HIGH resistance among PC consumers. This means Apple can give itself more time to a) integrate the iPhone/Apple TV/future non-computer Apple products and Leopard better than it would have in June ("more later"), and can give itself time to take those "secret features" (which were intended to turn heads disaffected by Vista) and REALLY make them turn heads from Windows users disaffected by Vista.
In the short term, this will make Mac users unhappy, since the company gives the impression that it's spending too much time chasing the Windows dollar -- but face it, that's the low-hanging fruit to market expansion. The Apple TV and the iPod and iTunes and the iPhone and the Airport Extreme (and Express) all have one thing in common -- they condition mostly non-Mac owners to work, think and like Mac OS X's style.
In the long term, it continues our at least two-year-long (and counting) run of "told you so -- we are cooler" and the mass market is forced to agree. By October Vista will have only JUST finally become the dominant OS on recent computers, and here comes Leopard with (not presently known) features that make it look quaint. By October PERHAPS ms will have gotten out a Zune that works right, or possibly even a Phone+Zune thing -- and the iPhone will be into its second quarter of record setting sales, and perhaps even the iPhone 2 (or other variant models) will be out by then. And by then, Apple will have probably opened up a third front leveraging AppleTV or some future product.
We'll have had nearly five months of leaks from WWDC regarding Leopard. Appetites will be whetted. Who says Apple doesn't learn anything from MS?
I wish they'd get it out earlier -- I wouldn't have been so disappointed if they'd said August as October, damn that's a long time to wait. But ultimately it will probably pay off, and on top of that letting people know NOW was the right thing to do. The rumour that Leopard was being delayed to be more Vista-compatible turned out to be the bunkum I thought it was -- it's a case of wanting to be more Vista-COMPETITIVE. Hoo hah!
PS. C(-)ris, you are wrong in your conclusion that "people got pulled off Leopard to cater to the smaller audience of the iPhone." According to Steve, OS X's base is 35 million users. It has taken Apple SIX YEARS to build it to that number.
Assume that iPhone meets its first-year target of 10M, and does 15M the second year, and 15M the third year (2009), all VERY conservative IMHO. IOW, by 2009 the installed base for Mac OS X and the installed base for the iPhone will be the same, and the iPhone will have done it in 1/3rd the time.
Steve's reasoning starts to make a little more sense now, no?
The truth of the matter is that Leopard will be functionally complete and almost ready for release by WWDC. What has changed is that Vista has met with REMARKABLY HIGH resistance among PC consumers. This means Apple can give itself more time to a) integrate the iPhone/Apple TV/future non-computer Apple products and Leopard better than it would have in June ("more later"), and can give itself time to take those "secret features" (which were intended to turn heads disaffected by Vista) and REALLY make them turn heads from Windows users disaffected by Vista.
In the short term, this will make Mac users unhappy, since the company gives the impression that it's spending too much time chasing the Windows dollar -- but face it, that's the low-hanging fruit to market expansion. The Apple TV and the iPod and iTunes and the iPhone and the Airport Extreme (and Express) all have one thing in common -- they condition mostly non-Mac owners to work, think and like Mac OS X's style.
In the long term, it continues our at least two-year-long (and counting) run of "told you so -- we are cooler" and the mass market is forced to agree. By October Vista will have only JUST finally become the dominant OS on recent computers, and here comes Leopard with (not presently known) features that make it look quaint. By October PERHAPS ms will have gotten out a Zune that works right, or possibly even a Phone+Zune thing -- and the iPhone will be into its second quarter of record setting sales, and perhaps even the iPhone 2 (or other variant models) will be out by then. And by then, Apple will have probably opened up a third front leveraging AppleTV or some future product.
We'll have had nearly five months of leaks from WWDC regarding Leopard. Appetites will be whetted. Who says Apple doesn't learn anything from MS?
I wish they'd get it out earlier -- I wouldn't have been so disappointed if they'd said August as October, damn that's a long time to wait. But ultimately it will probably pay off, and on top of that letting people know NOW was the right thing to do. The rumour that Leopard was being delayed to be more Vista-compatible turned out to be the bunkum I thought it was -- it's a case of wanting to be more Vista-COMPETITIVE. Hoo hah!
PS. C(-)ris, you are wrong in your conclusion that "people got pulled off Leopard to cater to the smaller audience of the iPhone." According to Steve, OS X's base is 35 million users. It has taken Apple SIX YEARS to build it to that number.
Assume that iPhone meets its first-year target of 10M, and does 15M the second year, and 15M the third year (2009), all VERY conservative IMHO. IOW, by 2009 the installed base for Mac OS X and the installed base for the iPhone will be the same, and the iPhone will have done it in 1/3rd the time.
Steve's reasoning starts to make a little more sense now, no?