Apple’s Leopard beta eludes software pirates
By Triston McIntyre
One of the first things done surrounding Windows Vista was releasing all the betas to the public in mass; it is very well known that any savvy user can obtain a full working copy of nearly any Microsoft operating system via bit torrents or other means. However, such is not the case with OS X Leopard, as there are no copies of the near-complete OS circulating the internet; could this be due to a more unified and progress-minded user base in Apple fans?
I am not one to utilize the base means of software “sharing” with torrents, newsgroups, and p2p clients, but I was alerted by a close friend of mine that he searched the internet up and down for a working copy of the Leopard beta, and to his (and my own) surprise, no such copy could be obtained.
I found this completely ironic, as a multitude of Vista builds can be found on nearly any torrent site, and that operating system is in need of a serious overhaul (just after launch), whereas OS X Leopard is virtually complete and has been heralded as the greatest operating system to date…but no beta copies to be found outside the hands of approved developers.
Anyone familiar with the nature of piracy knows that when people want something (in the software or media realm), with enough work it becomes mass-available. If that is the case, why hasn’t Leopard made it into pirate hands? Here is my reasoning for why Leopard could theoretically stay safe until official release:
1. Apple has done an admirable job of distributing software to those that should receive it. Unlike Microsoft’s vast casting call to all who would beta-test Vista, Apple is aware Leopard is well-designed and not in need of mass testing to iron out bugs and quirks.
2. The developers who received Leopard share a truly vested interest in the success of both Apple and Leopard; not akin to the free-for-all, every man for himself mentality existent within the Windows community, developers do not wish to detract from the success of Apple (what a novel concept!).
3. Apple users are not (on the whole) a bad community looking to take advantage of Apple. The beauty of the Apple community is that it appreciates what Apple provides, and identifies itself with Apple products; as such most of us aren’t trying to exploit Apple at every turn. There really aren’t many users looking to pirate Leopard, as many are willing (and eager) to spend the meager sum of $130 for the next greatest operating system; additionally, many understand the work Apple is putting into Leopard and are willing to wait until October to see it in its final glory.
To sum up, the reason Leopard hasn’t made it into pirates’ hands is because developers and users both want Apple to succeed, and are ok with its decision to delay Leopard until October. Talk about corporate-consumer synergy!
Related:
Entry was posted
on Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 at 8:59 am
under 
Print This Post
Read more entries by Triston McIntyre.
Stumble It!
June 23rd, 2007
Except for the fact that it is available on many torrent sites. Just do a search of the top 3 torrentspy.com, thepiratebay.com, isohunt.com and a copy can be had.
June 23rd, 2007
thanks for the comment michael; I noticed that as well but if you read in the comments, people say the file is a dud and isn’t a working copy…
June 23rd, 2007
Microsoft releases beta software for a very good reason. There is a huge number of hardware components that the software needs to be compatible with. Apple uses a relatively closed hardware platform, and as such, needs less testing. The fact that Microsoft has millions of people that voluntarily test the software for free is impressive “corporate-consumer synergy”.
While I appreciate that Apple users like to congratulate each other on being elite and superior because they are in the minority, it’s seems they are incapable of using search engine: http://www.theapplepress.com/?p=249
By the way, I only use M$ when forced.
June 23rd, 2007
no, it is a working copy, u are not up to date.
June 23rd, 2007
and it’s been there for 3 days.
not on torrentspy, but on isohunt.
June 23rd, 2007
Nevermind that it can also be had on Oink (according to PC-World). While Apple does indeed trot the lawyers out at all and any provocation, this one appears real. So much for that theory.
June 23rd, 2007
Pretty much every torrent in the universe has a commenter on it claiming its a dud. Either because people don’t install it right and that’s the first thing they assume, or because people are just happy to screw with other people (or even hired to do it). ALMOST EVERY SINGLE TORRENT has comments like these claiming its a fake. Yet almost none of them are. Where have you been?! Not on BitTorrent, that’s for sure. Perhaps you should not try to invent opinions about topics with which you apparently have only a passing acquaintance.
June 24th, 2007
It does exist on the web. It does exist on torrent web site. You can download a working version.
Downloaded over two nights and running it on my G4.
You are wrong.
June 24th, 2007
you are right in your comments as a apple user I would rather wait until leopard comes out and pay for it so that the apple and it’s developers are supported for their efforts as well as any other third party developers as well, to continue to build great app’s.
June 24th, 2007
I downloaded it from PirateBay (took two days though). Works like a charm. Been using it as my main system for a couple of days. Works fine so far. There’s a few issues, but nothing I haven’t been able to work around.
As far as the comments regarding paying for it rather than stealing it … It’s one thing to download a pirated copy of something that you can buy (aka stealing), it’s another thing to download a beta of something that’s not available. Given that, I do plan on buying a copy when it’s available for sale.
June 24th, 2007
if you make any money at all from the software you use even if it be a penny. BUY IT DAMNIT don’t steal it.
June 24th, 2007
Here’s an article on the piated copy of Leopard making it to the internet.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,133298-c,macos/article.html
June 24th, 2007
This article is retarded.
The “real thing” has been posted to Usenet already, for crying out loud. No worries about Apple lawyers monitoring torrent peer IP addresses.
June 24th, 2007
Actually, Apple has a policy of not following up pirated software as they know users are already paying for hardware, so unlike M$ there is no complete loss on pirated software, however they seem to have a problem with users exploiting beta copies for whatever reason.
June 24th, 2007
Whatever the reason, this apple user is prepared to wait for the newest version of OS X whenever it may be available. Mac has been good to me and why should I ruin that karma with a premature download? You need to treat a good OS like a well engineered Ferrari, and budget for it like a much anticipated necesstity. As always I will spend hard earned cash on Apple’s best quality flagship, its OS.
June 25th, 2007
Not only the latest WWDC 2007 build is available, but all of the previous builds since WWDC 2006 were available as well via bittorrent. However I find the discussion quite retarded, it’s really not a matter of news. Otherwise we could also discuss the fact that Adobe CS 2 was available on BT before it started to be sold.
July 19th, 2007
I think that this article is written from an “elitist” perspective.
to quote: “Apple users are not (on the whole) a bad community looking to take advantage of Apple.” this is a ridiculous thing to say, the fact that so many people are telling you that the iso on torrents is or isn’t a dud tells you that people are looking to “take advantage” of apple. Judging a community based upon what computer they buy is probably the most absurd thing you could say, its like stereotyping all people that drive a Mercedes into being stuck-up when, in fact, the only thing it proves is that they bought an expensive car.
While I respect you trying to justify why the product has not been leaked, you could use some technical details, for example: Microsoft releases their betas to anyone and everyone because the same audience is allowed to make certified hardware that is compatible with their OS. Part of the reason why an Apple is so stable, is because the hardware company is the same as the software company. Most of their hardware tests are internal and thus do not require testing on a wide array of hardware. Basically you cannot buy hardware for an apple that integrates with the kernel. If you do, you are invalidating your support anyways, and apple frankly doesn’t care if their OS works or not with your configuration.
Anyways, I am impressed that Leopard is more “difficult” to obtain than windows, but your reasonings for explaining this phenomenon are absolutely ridiculous and strictly opinion.