Apple prepares surprise Leopard release for WWDC
By Triston McIntyre
Apple has informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that both the iPhone and Leopard have achieved “technological feasibility,” meaning they are near ready for a public release; is Apple planning a surprise full release of its groundbreaking operating system?
Jeff Gamet at the Mac Observer said, “When a product reaches the technological feasibility state, Apple typically ships it shortly thereafter.”
That being said, if both items, as Apple said, are “technologically feasible” and Apple is on schedule for its June release of the iPhone, couldn’t Leopard see an earlier release?
What if Apple was planning all along to postpone the release, only to shock the world by throwing an amazing release of iPhone after displaying the final production of Leopard at WWDC?
That would only reinforce all the marketing Apple has been doing of late to display its superiority to Microsoft; its not too far of a stretch to think the next wave of “I’m a Mac” commercials will be based on, “Look, Apple even beat its projected release of its next operating system; what went wrong with Vista?”
Apple has already announced it would be released a near-finalized version of Leopard at the WWDC for developers to play with. Between friends (and the Apple community, I think, constitutes friends), what’s a final version, eh Steve?
After the shady notification that Leopard would be delayed, and with no condolensces to the grieving Apple community, I for one can say I felt the situation was a bit…off. Even now there has been no public statement surrounding the delay, save for a brief notification that it was due to diverting resources to the upcoming iPhone release.
This may sound far-fetched, but Steve has always been known for his flares of grandeur and pomp. Apple certainly isn’t tired of twisting the sword in Microsoft’s side, is it?
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May 10th, 2007
Very unlikely, given the current state of Leopard developer seeds.
This cat needs a little more time to cook.
Also: developers are going to need a little time to tweak their apps to be savvy with Leopard’s jaw-dropping new UI.
May 10th, 2007
Ever heard of a thing called a Beta?
May 10th, 2007
[…] Now, the Macalope himself has sniffed a little Leopard glue in the past. But he’s been clean and sober for four months and he’s here to scare MAC.BLORGE.com’s Tristan MacIntyre straight! Jeff Gamet at the Mac Observer said, “When a product reaches the technological feasibility state, Apple typically ships it shortly thereafter.” […]
May 10th, 2007
Love betas :). Quit familiar with them actually.
May 10th, 2007
Please go back and actually read what Apple said in announcing the Leopard delay: To ensure a quality release of both products, they are borrowing some Quality and Assurance resources from Leopard and applying them to the iPhone. Apple also said the would provide developers with a “feature complete” version of Leopard at their developers conference. So everything is square and adds up just as Apple said. They won’t ship Leopard to customers until it has been tested and they’ve had time to fix bugs that the beta brought to their attention. Quit trying to create a story where analysis doesn’t support one.
May 10th, 2007
Jeem,
Thanks for your comments; I follow Mac news very closely and am aware of the specificities of the announcements made. However, I chose to speculate on a few unknown outcomes regarding Leopard, and that took the form of a post here. Speculation isn’t illegal, nor is voicing hopes or ideas. I’m quite aware what Apple has said on the issue, and thanks for the traffic!
May 10th, 2007
[…] Now, the Macalope himself has sniffed a little Leopard glue in the past. But he’s been clean and sober for four months and he’s here to scare MAC.BLORGE.com’s Tristan MacIntyre straight! Jeff Gamet at the Mac Observer said, “When a product reaches the technological feasibility state, Apple typically ships it shortly thereafter.” […]
May 10th, 2007
Do they always have to inform the SEC when they are ready to ship a product? I’ve never heard of that before.
May 11th, 2007
Tim: “Do they always have to inform the SEC when they are ready to ship a product? I’ve never heard of that before.”
Apple must follow generally accepted accounting principles, in this case FASB pronouncement #86.
http://tinyurl.com/37usuq
Quarterly report filed December 29, 2006, note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.
Software Development Costs
Research and development costs are generally expensed as incurred. Development costs of computer software to be sold, leased, or otherwise marketed are subject to capitalization beginning when a product’s technological feasibility has been established and ending when a product is available for general release to customers pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 86, Computer Software to be Sold, Leased, or Otherwise Marketed. In most instances, the Company’s products are released soon after technological feasibility has been established. Therefore, costs incurred subsequent to achievement of technological feasibility are usually not significant, and generally all software development costs have been expensed as incurred.
In 2004, the Company began incurring substantial development costs associated with Mac OS X version 10.4 Tiger (“Tiger”) subsequent to achievement of technological feasibility as evidenced by public demonstration in August 2004 and the subsequent release of a developer beta version of the product. During the first nine months of 2005, the Company capitalized $29.7 million of costs associated with the development of Tiger. In accordance with SFAS No. 86, amortization of this asset to cost of sales began in April 2005 when the Company started shipping Tiger and is being recognized on a straight-line basis over a three-year estimated useful life.
Jeem: “Quit trying to create a story where analysis doesn’t support one.”
Quoted for truth.
May 11th, 2007
What would be the point of shipping a new operating system if developers hadn’t yet had a chance to use it to build products which take advantage of the new OS features?
May 11th, 2007
Apple won’t sit on the OS if, and I say “if” the OS gets completed early. If the iPhone issues were resolved sooner than expected, and if the developers were able to finish up the OS sooner than Apple would certainly ship the product. A release date substantially sooner than October is certainly possible, but I’m not holding my breath. I always believed the October date was a date that gave Apple a lot of latitude with finishing up the OS.
May 11th, 2007
Summer’s focus is for boating, waterparks, vacations, etc., etc., not for focus on getting Leopard. An October release is just after school starts and the weather is cooler and the focus is more on indoor productivity. An October release makes sense, as it also doesn’t muddy the waters of the iPhone release in June.
May 11th, 2007
Not to mention that October would be around the time for the targeted release of Service Pack 1 for Vista. It the OS doesn’t ship before MS fixes the Vista bugs, they may lose a big chance to gain a lot of “switchers”.
They already lost me to Vista, though, I hope to return the Macintosh again in the future (I will continue to watch with great interest as a stockholder in AAPL).
May 11th, 2007
Triston, it’s OK to delete off-topic posts to keep discussions focused.
May 14th, 2007
Posse, I have to say your argument is quite confusing…although your first notes about summer activities are enjoyable, from a business perspective it wouldn’t be advantageous for Apple to wait until school had started to release the new OS…additionally, if the new LED displays which are supposed to surface are to be integrated in the next quarter or so, it would make sense to include this at the same time as leopard. As college kids worldwide are switching to Macs (and if you’re not on college campuses, I can tell you they are; one because they’re better, but two because there’s a certain image that Mac users have that others covet…everyone wants to be that “I’m a Mac and I’m generally smarter, cooler, and more attractive than you” guy), delaying leopard to October is already creating a negative buzz in the community for those who were considering switching. For those kids that are going off to college, many won’t wait for the new OS or new improvements (though honestly, the image isn’t linked to owning Leopard..its linked to just owning a Mac). I sincerely doubt that summer boating and fall relaxation are the main reason Apple will hold its October release
June 26th, 2007
The Beta version is available…. and i have it…. i got it when i searched in google….