[X_X]

yeah so i think i've made up my mind up after using my friends 12" ibook that 12" is a big enough screen for what i'll be doing, that and its soooo small *joy* that and i can just output to a bigger screen if needed (i'll be getting a 12" PB btw not an ibook) though i was sad to see that i couldnt up the 64meg GFX card to 128 on the 12" *sniff*
anyway, i now need to decide if i get my PB now...like in 2-3 weeks or if i wait god knows how long for tiger to come pre-installed.
i mean i know nothing about tiger, is it even worth it, whats new? and how would just upgradeing to tiger when it comes out rather then waiting go? (i'm dying here...i..need...PB..now.. lol)
having never upgraded a mac os is it better to do a fresh install or does the upgrading work ok?
thanks for any info

[Noel]

If you wanna buy the computer now and then shell out another $129 for Tiger later this month (probably), then by all means, go ahead.

Personally, I'd wait for Tiger. Spotlight is gonna be invaluable.

[Brad]

If you can wait 2-3 weeks, wait. Pretty much everyone is still expecting Tiger to be released some time this month. You'll hate yourself later if you don't get Tiger. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther is a really good system, but 10.4 Tiger will bring all sorts of improvements to even your general workflow.

Here's a brief list of some changes in Tiger.

Besides the new OS-wide features and updates and bug-fixes you'll get with Tiger, don't forget that some new software titles will start requiring you to run Tiger, just as some titles today require Mac OS X 10.3 or higher.

[mers]

I'm waiting for the announcement, calling Apple to make sure I get the reduced price, and ordering a Powerbook. If they say it won't be preloaded for over two weeks, I'll order right away and upgrade Tiger myself.

I've heard that upgrading is child's play. I imagine installing from scratch isn't too hard if you're used to jumping through the hoops in Windows and Linux, but I don't have first hand knowledge of that. What I'd like to know is if I lose any preinstalled applications by doing so? Could someone help answer X_X's and my questions in this regard? Cheers.

[RobM]

What most of us do before installing a new OS is to use Carbon Copy Cloner or some other clone app and back up your existing system to another disc (either internal or external), not a partition. That's your fall back to boot off in case you have probs with the new OS.

With that step out of the way and tested. You are then set to either go the upgrade path with the new OS or to wipe your existing boot disc (erase and write zero's) and go the fresh/clean install path. Yeah you have to reinstall all your apps and plugins etc; but at least you can be sure that you have a squeaky clean OS.

I opt for the wipe and clean install method, unless you go buy a spanker new disc and throw tiger on that, not an issue if you're working on a tower. On my PB I'll have to clone off to a FW drive, boot off that - wipe the internal and then install tiger.

Hope it helps, cheers

[mers]

Thanks RobM.

Do you think the wipe and clean install method is overwhelming for someone new to OS X? Configuring Tiger shouldn't be bad, but I wouldn't know where to start installing the applications that came by default with Panther. Heck, I don't even know what applications come with Panther. And I'd be afraid of not discovering programs I would have discovered had I just upgraded.

[RobM]

1) Nope you shouldn't have a prob - after you've cloned all you have to do when you restart is hold down the option key on the bong. Choose which disc you want to boot off and your cloned OS will load. Test it to make sure you're happy that all is ok.

Then go to apps>utilities>disc utility. Choose your disc you want to erase and click options> choose write zero's. Then erase.

2) Tiger installer will install all the Apple apps that come with the OS if you choose easy or basic (I forget) - all yer iLife stuff, Mail, QT Safari etc and forever. The apps you'll have to install will be things like Photoshop, FCP whatever.

The Tiger installer will create a folder at the root of your drive called Applications and throw the apps in there. All your manually installed stuff should go into that folder as well.

[mers]

Sweet. That makes life simpler. On a related note, does Backup only work with .Mac? I don't understand why people should need to pay $100/yr to backup their own settings to their own drive .... or am I missing something?

[X_X]

Thanks for the replies guys, so let me see if i got it right. Tiger is expected to be announced this month, so considering i'm planning on buying my PB in about 2-3 weeks and of course factor in the usual last minute time waste as i organise everything (student discount/tax free etc...all the ol' tricks in the book) so lets say 3-4ish weeks. so by then Tiger will/should/we all want it to be announced/released?
if so then i'll wait cause seems Tiger is worth waiting for

[RobM]

X_X, if you're buying in 2-3 weeks I'll guess and say you'll be right in the zone, no need for wriggling and squirming, lol.

Unofficial word is the 15th, just before NAB.

Apple Preps Release of Mac OS X 'Tiger'
By Ian Betteridge, eWEEK

Apple is due to launch the next major release of its flagship operating system, Mac OS X 10.4, aka "Tiger," by the middle of April, according to sources close to the company.

Sources told eWEEK.com that Apple plans to make copies of Tiger available in its own retail stores as well as through independent dealers by April 15, with the official announcement of the product coming earlier in the month. On Friday, a report on the Think Secret Mac market news site predicted the announcement would fall on April 1, the 26th anniversary of Apple's incorporation.

An Apple spokesman declined to confirm the timing of the update's release, saying only that it would be "released in the first half of 2005."

Although Apple revealed in February that this June's Worldwide Developers Conference will focus largely on Tiger, industry insiders understood that the company wouldn't wait until the summer to release the final product.

Tiger is likely to be the biggest software release of the year for the company; it gained its initial public airing at last June's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.

In his keynote speech last year to coders, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the product would include over 150 new features and compared Tiger directly with Longhorn, Microsoft Corp.'s next-generation operating system due next year.

"This is years ahead of Longhorn," Jobs said, while banners around the conference took potshots at its main competitor by proclaiming, "Redmond, start your photocopiers."

Tiger features numerous improvements aimed directly at users, including a new desktop search engine dubbed Spotlight, revamped versions of its key applications such as Mail, and a new "widgets" application called Dashboard. The update also adds a new application called Automator for visually scripting the operating system and some of Apple's other applications.

Potentially of more importance to the future of OS X, however, are architectural improvements designed to expand possibilities for developers, especially for content creation and scientific-technical applications.

In the core of the operating system, Apple will expand support for the 64-bit PowerPC G5 processors used in the Power Mac G5 and iMac G5 lines. Apple said previously that the changes will deliver faster math performance for all applications.

Also included in the Tiger update is Core Image, a new graphics architecture that should let developers more easily build content-centric applications and take advantage of the latest graphics processors.

Expected along with Tiger will be QuickTime 7, a version of Apple's multimedia architecture which adds support for the H.264 video codec, used in both the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray DVD standards, allowing live resizing of clips during playback and higher-quality streamed video.

Apple has yet to indicate whether QuickTime 7 will be available separately for earlier versions of OS X.

Original story: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1776012,00.asp

but who knows fer sure ?