Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Apple Archive

Less Frequent Major OS X Uprades: Good or Bad for Mac Users?

- 2004.05.21

Apple has just announced that they will reduce the frequency of major Mac OS X updates. Perhaps they are responding to critics of the $129-per-copy pricing (and I still say that a discount is in order), or perhaps it's the software developers who are complaining.

Regardless, this is both good and bad news for Mac users.

On the positive side, it gives Apple more time to work out the bugs in current versions of the Mac OS - the small security issues, as well as the extremely annoying hardware/software integration issues that the Mac OS sometimes has with newly released Apple hardware.

Having fewer OS updates also will allow third party developers to spend more time making sure their software is compatible with the current version of the OS. After that, instead of trying to make it compatible with a new version they can spend the extra time adding features and otherwise improving the product.

Another potential positive: Apple hardware will now be able to be up-to-date a little bit longer. Since newer versions of the Mac OS often drop some hardware (10.0 dropped pre-G3 Macs, and 10.3 dropped the beige G3s and WallStreet PowerBooks), if the Mac OS is updated less frequently, older hardware will remain in use with current OS for longer.

There is, however, still no word of a discount for people who have upgraded OS X in the past. Many have spent hundreds of dollars on Mac OS X software updates - and what do they get now? Fewer updates, but at the same cost. Perhaps it's more affordable, but don't forget, the updates aren't yearly like they used to be.

There's always the possibility of being behind when it comes to features. If something new comes out in Longhorn that Apple doesn't immediately add to its OS, people will be very quick to say, "You can do this in Windows, but you can't on a Mac." Fast user switching was an example of this: XP has had it since it's release in 2001; it took Apple two years to add it to OS X.

I guess it really remains to be seen what effect, if any, Apple's announcement will have on consumers, software developers, and even Apple itself. My guess is that it will ultimately lead to a more secure, less buggy Mac OS because Apple will be able to do more product testing before the software's final release.

As much as I love seeing new Apple software (and especially OS X) releases, what I really like is when that software is for the most part bug-free, reliable, and useable right away - unlike, for example, Mac OS X 10.0. Other consumers appreciate this, too. It means fewer updates for them to install (especially those wonderful, 60 MB updates that seeming to take forever to download even on a broadband connection), and less for them to worry about from day one.

And wasn't security supposed to be one of the Mac advantages to begin with?

Recent Apple Archive articles

iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
More in the Apple Archive index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Power Mac G5/2.7 GHz, Apr. 2005 - The fastest G5 CPU Apple ever used, this model included a 16x SuperDrive and shipped with 'Tiger' (OS X 10.4).
Group of the Day: MacBook List for those using a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
March 12 in LEM history: 01: When should I replace my Mac? - 02: Who stole my domain? - Happiness is a new Power Mac - 03: USB for wireless networking - 04: PowerBooks have some room for improvement - 07: 11 ways to optimize Mac performance - Finding older software for Macs - Booting PowerPC Macs from USB - Installing Leopard from an Intel Mac
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best iPod classic Deals, 03.12. Used 20 GB, $119; 40 GB, $139; 60 GB, $159; 30 GB video, $129; 60 GB, $159; 80 GB, $169; refurb 120 GB, $189; new, $214; 160 GB, $228 shipped.
Best G3 iBook and AirPort Card Deals, 03.12. 366 MHz 12" clamshell, $89; 466, $125; 500 white CD, $100; 600, $199; 800 Combo, $239; 14" 900, $225.
Best Xserve Deals, 03.12. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $499; 2.0 dual G5, $599; 2.3, $749; refurb 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,499; new, $2,699; 8-core, $3,449; refurb 2.66, $4,299; new, $4,799; more.
Best iPod touch Deals, 03.11. Refurb 8 GB, $149; 16 GB, $199; 32 GB, $249; 64 GB, $339; new 3G/8 GB, $184; close-out 2G/16 GB, $229; 3G/32, $270; 64, $355. Shipping included.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 03.11. "Leopard" one user, $180; upgrade from 10.4, $150; 5 users, $400; Server, 10 users, $493; unlimited users, $600.
Best 17" MacBook Pro Deals, 03.11. Used 2.33 GHz, $1,099; 2.5, $1,349; refurb 2.66, $1,949; 2.93, $2,199; new 2.8, $2,249 after rebate; 3.06, $2,749.
Best iPod nano Deals, 03.10. Refurb 4G/8 GB, $99; 16 GB, $119; 4G/8 GB, $129; 16 GB, $139; new 5G/8 GB, $134; 16 GB, $160. Shipping included.
Best 15" PowerBook G4 Deals, 03.10. 1 GHz Combo, $400; 1.25 GHz, $460; 1.33 GHz SuperDrive, $539; 1.5 GHz, $550; 1.67 GHz, $589; hi-res, $800.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, 03.10. New 3G/2 GB, pink, $53; other, $55, 4 GB, blue, $71; other, $73. Shipping included.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Apple Archive articles copyright ©2000-07 by Adam Robert Guha. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2010 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.