Apple's Tiger unleashed in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO--Mac fans let out a collective roar Friday night, with thousands of eager shoppers turning out at Apple Computer stores across the globe to scoop up Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, the latest version of the company's operating system.

At Apple's downtown store here, where Tiger went on sale at 6 p.m. PDT, 200 or so people lined up for more than a block. Among them was Austin Liu, a freelance Web designer and student. Liu, who admits to being "caught up in the whole 'Cult of Mac'," said there is something undeniably cool about all things Apple.

"Microsoft could never get a crowd like this," he said. Liu took a swipe at Microsoft, joking that far fewer will show up "when Microsoft finally releases Longhorn or Longtime or whatever it is," referring to the next version of Windows, due out next year.

Library supervisor A.J. Real turned out with two friends to snag a family pack of Tiger, a $199 version of Tiger that can be used on up to five computers in a household. Single copies of the OS, which features improved searching and other features, sell for $129. Real and friends found themselves about 35 people back in the line, which began forming around 4 p.m.--two hours before Tiger went on sale.

"We got here at 3," Real said. "Then we got hungry."

By the time the doors opened, the line stretched for a block down Stockton Street, past storefronts for Benetton, Fossil, Armani Exchange, and Crate and Barrel.

At the front of that line was Mario Ortiz, a graphic designer for the Gap.

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"I hope I win something," said Ortiz, who was trying to win a PowerBook or iPod, one of several prizes Apple was handing out to mark the big event. Ortiz had ordered a copy of the new OS on Amazon.com, which was offering a $30 rebate, but canceled the order to get his hands on a copy sooner.

James Rice, a freelance educator and part-time Starbucks employee, said he already ordered his copy of Tiger, but turned out, 12-inch PowerBook in tow, just for "the spectacle of it all."

Not everyone was impressed.

"What is a tiger?" asked one woman as she passed by the crowd. When someone informed her it was computer software, she shook her head and scurried past.

In addition to those lined up to buy the OS, a fair throng of gawkers gathered to see what all the fuss was about. Pizza maker Ivan Ochoa said he likes his Windows-based computer, but probably wouldn't line up to get a new version of the OS.

"It's like they are waiting for their favorite singer," he said, looking at the long line of Mac faithfuls.

The Apple stores were not the only place to grab hold of Tiger. A block away, amid some balloons but far less fanfare, CompUSA also put the new OS on sale, offering a $30 discount if buyers spent $400 on other purchases.

I feel sorry....

...for all of those on the Windowz side who can't get excited
about their machine. When (if) it finally ships, we will have had 1
1/2 to 2 years of appreciating a modern OS.

Tiger kinda makes XPee seem like '95. Snappy, secure, loaded
with nice things that take eye candy to a new level. For someone
(like me) that spends 12 or more hours a day in front of one of
these machines, it makes life so much better.

I just don't understand why a company like MS that has so many
resources can't produce a secure and intuitive OS. I guess they
just don't want/need to. Windows is just "good enough".

It (Mac OS X) won't cure cancer, but it will make work a bit more
enjoyable.

Dude

[ledzep75]

What did you expect?

It only happened in San Francisco!

RE: 200? No, MS sells by the millions

Of course they sold that many....every time someone brought a new PC MS gets a nice kick back. As for MicroSloth OS flying off the shelfs like TIgger is? Never going to happen

[lavacentral]

Apple and MS

I like apple operating system. But I will never use it because until today they only ran on apple computers. When I was at UCSD, their computers were primarily apple so I kinda grew up with apple and loved it. But when it came time to buy computers for my home, there is no way I was going to shell out over $2000 for an apple when I could get a PC for less than $1000 that had the same capabilities.

If you are rich, $2000 may seem ok to you. If you are an enthusiast, like the people who stand in line for play station or Xbox, then go ahead.. but if you just need a computer to documents/email, watch/edit movies, play games, there is no question about going with a PC.

It maybe more stable, it may have fewer crashes, but a PC is stil cheaper and MOST people cant shell out $2000 for a good computer.
I recently bought a Dell, 3.2Ghz P4, 1GB 533mhz RAM, 250GB HD, 19" LCD, DVDRW....for roughly around $1100. Try getting a mac for that with those features!

Apple may have quality but it is full of hype so you can pay them twice as much for the same thing.

[lavacentral]

additional software not counted

First to answer your question about configuration and price of the dell. The dell I got was from the small business section of dell website. They have from time to time (actualy quite often) Outrageous deals where they offer a pretty good computer with a free LCD display for roughly around 699 or 799.
The model number I got was a Dimension 8400. It came with a free 19" lcd. And the basic configuration was priced at 799. Once I upgraded the CPU to 3.2, memory to 1GB, DVDRW, it came out to 1100. Also from time to time, Dell comes out with special coupons that will take additional off. For instance this comming week, 5/2/05, they have a coupon that will take 300 off 999. So if you configure your computer to 1400, it will bring it down to 1100 at Dell Home systems.

Your point about Windows XP Home is probably true. I havent really compared them side by side to say which one is superior but You are probably right that Os X is superior to Home.
In fact If I could buy a mac with OS X and a computer with 1Gb memory and DVD RW for roughly around 1000. I would do it anyday over a dell. But when I look at apple prices that go upto $2000. Thats really pinching the the wallet. Thats a whole months paycheck for alottt of people not counting rent, CC paymnets, etc.
If you are rich and afford that, you can get that and feel cool and happy. If you are not, then you are stuck.

AS far as the software is concerned, they may or may not be worth it. In fact software is a whole different domain. If it is for an IT company or educational institution, they usualy invest heavily in software. If it is for personel Use, then software is really a mute point. Most people if they NEED the software will get it at a reasonable price or get shareware.
And the software you mentioned maybe some really mighty stuff, but becuase they are so exclusively apple, I havent even tested half the stuff. I dont even know what they are about.
My dell comes with Music juke box, some photo software, & some other junk. Nothing really worth mentioning.

If it is truely the software that gives apple the value it deserves, then I would love apple to Unbundle the software and sell some cheap computers so people like me can afford them without having to buy their software.

[System Tyrant]

Tiring...

I have to admit it's getting tiring to constantly read all the bickering between the loyalist.

Here is my thoughts. It's all good. Even the crap is good. Why? Because someone out their likes it.

The PC world could learn something from Apple. Apple could learn something from PC's. Windows could learn something from Linux and vice versa. Everyone could learn something from someone else.

Although I don't always agree with my own statements I still think they all serve a purpose. Most of the time that is hard to see from where we all stand. Even more it's hard to swallow just like pride. No amount of complaining ever got anything done, but it sure has turned a lot of people away.

[wildweaselmi]

Get your Tiger (grrrrr)!!

I don't blame everyone for lining up. People were exicted when Windows 95 came out, but that quickly faded as people found Microsoft isn't all what they promised.

You can keep that fire under a snails (windows) rear-end, it can only putter along so fast.

So if your a Microsoft user.... admire from a distance please... I don't want any of your drool on me.