[Godzirrah]

I'm about to make Apple alot of money as I'm upgrading my 1st gen. 20" iMac to a new 24" iMac AND I'm buying my wife a new Macbook Pro (duo2) when it comes out, but it bothers me that I'm going to have to pay another $100 bucks or so (x2) for the Leopard upgrade when it is finally released. So my questions for the group are:
1) when is Leopard supposed to be released?
2) Does anyone know the upgrade pricing strategy?
3) Does Apple have a purchase protection policy, for example, do I get a free upgrade if Leopard comes
out 2 weeks after purchase
4) I won't even start on the speculation of the Macbook Pro duo2 release date as that is a well covered topic with no good info

The good news is that I can probably get between $800 - $1k for my 2-year old, 20" on ebay or craigslist. Of course my computer is in great condition, but tell me one other computer maker that has that sort of resale value. It's incredible and worth the upgrade (I need to use a few windows based programs for work.)

[iFerret]

I'll try to answer your questions:
1) Early/Mid next year seems to be the general consensus.
2) No, at least I don't- but I'd guess it would be the same as Tiger
3) I'm not sure, but they probably would
4) Don't even go there- no-one really even knows

Is your iMac an iMac G5? If so then that resale price sounds quite reasonable I think.

Hope I could help, and have fun with your new 24"er!

[Godzirrah]

Originally Posted by iFerret Is your iMac an iMac G5? If so then that resale price sounds quite reasonable I think. !

Yes it's a G5 but still, I remember buying top of the line Gateway (prior to my G5) and couldn't give it away 3-4 years later. I figure with some upgrades to the 24" I'll be paying around $2300 total. Minus the $800 - $1k for G5, I'll be getting the 24" for $1500, which in turn will keep it's value for a few years to come should I ever need to upgrade to the 42" Imac intel 80 core with HD iTV capabilities...Yes I'm a wanna be technophile

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by Godzirrah Yes it's a G5 but still, I remember buying top of the line Gateway (prior to my G5) and couldn't give it away 3-4 years later. I figure with some upgrades to the 24" I'll be paying around $2300 total. Minus the $800 - $1k for G5, I'll be getting the 24" for $1500, which in turn will keep it's value for a few years to come should I ever need to upgrade to the 42" Imac intel 80 core with HD iTV capabilities...Yes I'm a wanna be technophile

You have the greatest screen name ever, but if you ever compare Gateways to Macs ever again, I'd hate to see what people would say about you.

Macs retain resale value at a much higher rate than PCs. I have no doubt you can get $800 for it. $1,000 might be a bit much, since yours isn't even Front Row enabled, but you should be able to pull down 800.

[nato64]

Originally Posted by Godzirrah it bothers me that I'm going to have to pay another $100 bucks or so (x2) for the Leopard upgrade when it is finally released.

You make it sound like Leopard is a membership fee. You know, you don't have to upgrade. That's why it's called an upgrade. It's also why some people like apple. They make OS releases every 1.5 or 2 years. Everyone I know that doesn't have to be at the "cutting edge" buys every other OS update and wait a while after they're released.

I understand your logic that you want the best computer possible at any given time, and upgrading to Leopard is an awesome way to do that. I just thought it the way you worded it was misleading and made Apple seem like they were doing you a disfavor.

[Godzirrah]

I admit, I was a little fustrated when I bought my 1st gen G5 iMac and 2 or 3 weeks later they came out with the Tiger upgrade. It would be unreasonable for me want an automatic upgrade, say 6-months later but I don't think 2 or 3 weeks is unreasonable. Many companies have limited pricing garuntees.

That is what I was asking in my initial question but apparently Apple doesn't have such a policy as far as this forum is concrened...

Listen, though I'm only two years back with Mac after a long hiatus, I've been an early adopter and supporter (Hey, Mac stocks are paying for my new toys...). I even got my department with the Federal Government to buy macs before our corrupted IT department no longer allowed it).

My point is, it's a little diesengenuous to sell a top of the line operating system when one knows there is an upgrade ready to be released... Wouldn't it be better business to have even a 2-week garuntee on the OS? This makes great business sense, especially around x-mas as folks will no longer have to wait for purchases as they will have a garuntee...

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by Godzirrah My point is, it's a little diesengenuous to sell a top of the line operating system when one knows there is an upgrade ready to be released... Wouldn't it be better business to have even a 2-week garuntee on the OS? This makes great business sense, especially around x-mas as folks will no longer have to wait for purchases as they will have a garuntee...

Well, it sounds like they won't be releasing 10.5 within 2 weeks of Christmas so it probably wouldn't matter anyway...

I was thinking of waiting to buy a Mac until 10.5 came out, but then I realized that I wanted it now and, looking at the features revealed for 10.5 so far, there's nothing in there that I'll need to get immediately when it comes out. So I'll probably wait until 10.5.1.

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by Godzirrah I admit, I was a little fustrated when I bought my 1st gen G5 iMac and 2 or 3 weeks later they came out with the Tiger upgrade. It would be unreasonable for me want an automatic upgrade, say 6-months later but I don't think 2 or 3 weeks is unreasonable. Many companies have limited pricing garuntees.

They used to have a 30 day Upgrade Coupon for exactly that situation - if, within 30 days of your purchase of your Mac, they came out with a new major OS version, you could get it for a reduced rate. $29.95, I think. Do they not still do that?

[washington mac user]

Leopard will probably be released at Macworld. Apple Loves telling people a later date and then delivering early and if they introduce it at Macworld, it will be right before the release of Vista. Apple usually says a later date than actually scheduled to surprise customers. Just like they said the intel transition would take a couple of years to do and now they are already done. Ya, so plan on Leopard being released at Macworld.

[Godzirrah]

Originally Posted by Kickaha They used to have a 30 day Upgrade Coupon for exactly that situation -

That would do it for me! Now I just have to wait until jan 7th for the MBP upgrade release...

[chucker]

Originally Posted by washington mac user Leopard will probably be released at Macworld. Apple Loves telling people a later date and then delivering early and if they introduce it at Macworld, it will be right before the release of Vista.

I still remember how, in late 2004, many were convinced 10.4 Tiger would be released at MWSF, and when that didn't happen, they said "by the end of January". Apple had said "1H 05", and guess what? It was released right about in the middle of 1H 05, namely in late April.

There is no reason to believe that Leopard will be released early. Apple is in no rush. Vista poses no immediate threat. It'll be a long time until Vista actually gets any reasonable amount of market share. One only has to look at XP adoption numbers to see why.

[LudwigVan]

According to a post dated March 17, 2005, at this site that I conjured up via Google:

If past experience is any indication, free upgrades would be available to anyone who bought a Mac (or Panther) between the day on which the release date is announced and the release date itself. (So, for example, if Apple announces on April 15 that Tiger will be available on May 15, any purchases between those dates.)

[World Leader Pretend]

Originally Posted by Godzirrah I admit, I was a little fustrated when I bought my 1st gen G5 iMac and 2 or 3 weeks later they came out with the Tiger upgrade. It would be unreasonable for me want an automatic upgrade, say 6-months later but I don't think 2 or 3 weeks is unreasonable. Many companies have limited pricing garuntees.

I got Leopard for free after buying my iMac < 30 days before Tiger was released. I just walked into the campus store, showed them my receipt and a little card and walked out with Tiger the day it was released. Maybe the official Apple stores have similar policies? Probably worth asking...