Tiger in April?? NOOO!

Well I just switched froma PC to an iMac G5 a couple days ago, and I just found out that Tiger will be coming out in like the next month. This is so depressing... well anyway, is there a way to keep the Office 2004 I have and not buy another one if I upgrade my OS to Tiger? I think I should have waited a couple of more weeks before buying this iMac... and is it bad if I don't upgrade to Tiger? Can I just stay with Panther? What will be the downside with having an OS that is old????? Please help me! neye:

Panther will continue to be just as good after Tiger comes out as it is now.

I don't see why Office would not work just fine on Tiger, MS has access to the Tiger beta builds just like all the other Mac developers.

The only down side you have to face is that if you stay with Panther you don't get all of the cool new features that Tiger is going to have, otherwise, no problems.

what new features will it have? i have to say that this bums me out too. whats the OS turnover rate for macs?

Watch this stream to watch Tiger's features in action with Phil Schiller. Definitely watch this stream, because Phil goes through most of the great feature in this stream:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/expo04/

Or you may want to watch the video stream below of Tiger's features with Steve Jobs:
http://stream.apple.akadns.net/

Watch them both. The first one is the best, you'll have to seek a bit to get to it!

Edit: This preview of tiger below is better than the first one:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/wwdc04/

chances are that apple will allow a tiger upgrade for new macs bought with in the past few months for like 19.99, thats what they have done in the past.

When I was talking about Microsof Office, I was asking if there was a way to use the Microsof Office I have that I activated with a serial number, or would I need to buy new serial number?

It should work fine and the same goes with anyother software on your mac. But if there are any issues, the software manufacturers should be able to fix them.

Graphite said:

chances are that apple will allow a tiger upgrade for new macs bought with in the past few months for like 19.99, thats what they have done in the past.

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whats better, buying Tiger and doing a fresh install or getting the upgrade or doesn't it matter?

EDIT: Wiped original post because it was largely pointless.

An upgrade should be fine. But if you do not have much on your system yet I prefer doing a fresh install. I plan on installing to a FW drive and migrating settings from my internal. If everything works out well I will CCC he firewire drive over the internal one.

i just watched the presentation on Tiger and i have to say it doesnt seem like a big deal. i wouldn't buy and then have to install and recustomize my mac for what i just saw. doesn't seem worth it.

I agree to a certain extent, though keep in mind you can upgrade your current install. I am just cautious by nature and have a butt load of hardware.

Tiger has some nice features and performance improvements but if you are content with your current OS there is no pressing "must have" feature in Tiger. I will get it because I am a junkie and because I really like the new XCode modelling features.

whats the mac os turnover rate? how long until theres another one?

JRV said:

whats the mac os turnover rate? how long until theres another one?

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16-18 months? I believe Apple's release cycle target is 18 months but I have nothing to back this up.

kind of quick isn't? whats tiger gonna cost if i want to buy a full version?

Hehe, new iMacs are also coming out the same time Tiger is. enjoy!
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

JRV said:

kind of quick isn't? whats tiger gonna cost if i want to buy a full version?

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I commend Apple for this. Unlike Microsoft, you aren't limited to the same OS years after it is released. For example, I was on Windows 2000 well into 2003 because XP had issues...same issues you get whenever you see a new OS from MS.

I like the 18 month turn around. This, in my opinion is another reason to use Mac.

i think its too fast, you have to upgrade every year to stay current.

I don't think it is too fast, though it is a little expensive considering the turn around. Best guess on Tiger cost is $129 for a single license or $199 for a 5 license family pack.

And Apple continues to support older versions with security fixes so upgrading is not a requirement. There is no requirement to upgrade. The Apple fashionista police will not confiscate your Mac, really they won't.

i will eventually upgrade but not right away.

JRV said:

i will eventually upgrade but not right away.

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A wise choice. I think the world of Apple's developers but I am sceptical of Tiger going gold on April 1 given the state of the last developer release. It is reasonably stable for a beta but there are issues that would need to be resolved prior to release. April 1 would be a tight schedule to get everything fixed and tested by.

If it does go gold on April 1 and hits the shelves on the 15th I would recommend that everyone wait at least a month or two while the more foolhardy among us stress test it.