I received this letter from a viewer of CrankyGeeks..
Dear Mr. Dvorak:
I think all of you TWIT guys are off the mark on why Leopard is late. I’d like to give you my perspective on this. I’m not affiliated with Apple, but I do have a lot of experience managing large software projects for NASA (see book about me on Amazon.com) and creating new software concepts (see my patent on Artificial Intelligence.)
First of all, I’m sure it’s not news to you that software is notoriously hard to manage, and that would include any project that requires more than one programmer. Because of this, any sane manager, when confronted with something size of OS X, will create a large margin against unexpected problems. In the planning stages a project is broken down into self-contained pieces and responsibility is assigned to managers who estimate times to completion during various stages of the project until the final code assembly.
But there are two major obstacles of unusual difficulty that have to be overcome with Leopard:
(1) Most modern software is object-oriented; that is, code is broken down into subunits that have self-contained functionality. For OS X,wwws to be tailored for the individual requirements of the device , a fact that introduces additional complexity to the problem explained in (1).
Regards,
Henry M. Harris
related link:
Mac OSX Leopard Sneak Peak
The last paragraph seems incomplete
Before the letter writer could get to (2), Steve Jobs’ goons broke down the letter writer’s door and hauled him off to the Ellen Feiss Institute of Thinking Different.
Wha? Basically this guy writes a letter saying OS X is late because writing software is complicated. He has no inside info, nor did he claim to. Why did you post this?
Hello, the reason why Leopard is delayed is Apple wants to make ZFS work inside, out, upside, down on a bootable partition!!!!!!!!
Have you tried to run Photoshop on a UFS partition? You will know what I mean.
#3 – Tom
“Why did you post this?”
To paraphrase a famous comic, “Three little words: Troll Bait.” 😉
pedro & Angel will be along presently…
#4
Yep
And the “new” OSX is late because it’s Vista-esque.
The real reason is: apple is trying to squeeze john c. dvorak into a os-x box as a surprise, that will be a super secret feature. But they still didn’t manage to squeeze him into the box.
The reason its late is not any of the above.
Its because Leopard is going to be simply an overlay theme on Vista’s kernal.
I can’t tell you the reason for this, its too important to Apple, Google and Microsoft. There are bigger plans in the works and the big news is not Apple and Google, but MS + Apple and Google.
2008 will be amazing.
Bob Wilson
#3
Why?
Because it gives John a plausible pretext to spin out a thread that will grow up to 40 or 50 comments and he can also put a link to crankygeeks.
Win win.
PS.
Leopard is delayed because M$ is dead (if you listen to TWIT or Cranky you know what I mean) and consequently Apple is dead too.
Apple is no more focusing on Computers. Hint: Apple inc. instead of Apple Computer. iPod, iPhone, iTunes instead of iMac
Next gizmo sweepstakes:
Will it be a large TV set? will it be the return of the Newton?
(psst! Joao! Mac sales are going up every month – and the rate of growth is increasing… sorry to have to break it to you) 😉
Bla bla bla. I don’t know why you are posting this, it contains no interesting information except a wrong definition of “object oriented”, which says something about the author. Moreover, the save held for Tiger and previous major releases, which were not late.
Lauren:
I’m referring to the death of the PC as it is perceived now.
And Apple is aware of this. That’s why it changed it’s focus. It’s obvious.
Apple knows that it’s moneymaker is not th PC (personal computer). It’s the iPod, the media (iTunes, iTV), communications (iPhone).
My opinion is that Apple is just a step away to move from the “den” (as Steve aptly mentioned) to the living room.
I’ve said it time and time again:
Apple is becoming the American SONY.
I love it how apple bashed Vista for being late…PWNED
Um they are too busy making all those stupid commercials. How many of those have they made at this point? Hi I’m a loser, and I’m a bigger loser. Wait dont talk to me, I’m busy duct taping a video camea to my head.
15…I like the comment about a syntax error. Very timely.
In 1987.
Apple is working very very hard to make OSX Leopard do the two things it does best:
1) Make sure it would run smoothly on every mac.
2) Ensure it will 100% incompatible with third party software (specially if the applications you bought for OSX Tiger are worth $200 or more.)
17#
Wow Angel… sounds like Vista…
Meanwhile, Apple told you why it’s late: Programers are working on the OS on the iPhone.
Try not thinking so hard, kids. You’re no good at it.
#13 – Joao
“I’m referring to the death of the PC as it is perceived now.
And Apple is aware of this. That’s why it changed it’s focus. It’s obvious.”
It’s also why they changed their name… but what I’m saying is, the impending death of the PC-as-we-know-it is so far a bunch of hype.
Manufacturers are indeed shipping fewer units – the phenomenon is known far and wide as ‘market saturation.’ They’re going to have to deal with the fact that just about everyone who wants or needs a PC has one by now. They’ll have to live off of replacing the ones people already have – and the dismal reception of Vista shows that it’s gonna be an uphill battle.
On one side, you have people with Windows PCs. Most are fairly content with what they have right now, they see no compelling reason to buy another Windows box. But those who do want to move on are now faced with the decision: Vista? or OS X? And every day, more people decline to blindly follow where Microsoft wants them to go.
(Their tagline, “Where do you want to go today?” should be modified in light of the Truth In Advertising laws: “Where do you want to be dragged, kicking and screaming, today?”)
The Mac is increasingly a viable alternative to people who previously never had Apple on their radar; and Steve & Co, flush with the iPod & iTMS success, are still far from turning their back on the machine that built the company. The 8-core Pro will be, I can safely predict, be followed Real Soon Now, as J. Pourn sez, by a 16-core Xserve, which will further ratchet up it’s rapidly growing popularity. As I have a pretty good track record with such predictions, just watch and see. I’ll be the first to apologize if I prove to be wrong – but I think it highly unlikely I’ll have to make good on that promise.
The future for PC manufacturers, it must be admitted, is murky – but the situation facing Windows boxes is far less relevant to the Mac.
– – – – – – – – – – –
And don’t forget – before this time next year, I say you will see iChat over IP on the iPhone!
Murky. One cannot say that lightly.
Market growth is flattening out, so the market is confined to replacement PCs… that’s a cut throat price driven market and the big companies are not going to play it.
Apple could be the next Dell or HP but it’s a doomed market. The next big company will be Lenovo or another one, most probably from china, that can put together a basic rig for 199 bucks…
No, Apple sees ahead and is going for the higher value market. Gizmos, that sells, and keeps on selling. How many people you know that have almost every iPod ever sold? And from those how many have the CD but bought the iTunes mp3 just because it was too much hassle to rip it (or just plain didn’t know how to…)…
That’s the market Apple goes after. That’s why it won’t be just another PC seller. That’s why they ditched computer and put an inc.
You are contradicting yourself, Joao.
You don’t seem to realize that Apple computers are are an “higher value market.” Because Apple does not try to compete with every version of PC computers, it can prosper even as developed country computer market saturation occurs.
There is a second reason Apple will continue to sell computers well. Laptops. As laptop sells surpass desktop sells, Apple is in a great position because its laptops are such an attractive proposition in regard to both value and design. People live with their laptops in a way they don’t with their desktops, so computers they actually like are going to become more important. Wait and see.
#20
“The future for PC manufacturers, it must be admitted, is murky – but the situation facing Windows boxes is far less relevant to the Mac.”
YOU DON’T NEED A $1,750 MAC TO BALANCE YOUR ACCOUNT.
As the Podperson sez, laptops are what it’s increasingly about – and Apple makes laptops even Mac-haters lust after.
In not-too-many years, general-purpose computers too large to take with you will be as obsolete as paper-tape storage, but in the meantime, the homebound PC is evolving – or ‘converging,’ if you will – into the media hub of the household, optimized for AV plus the internets and IP telephony. And that’s the sort of thing that desktop Macs are best at. Which may have something to do why the Windows-box makers’ sales are slowing while Mac sales continue to grow…
So, Angel, you’re right – people who want to balance their checkbooks don’t need a Mac to do that, in fact, they don’t need a new PC at all. (and what’s this $1750 bullshit, Willis? $600 gets a Mini, $1k gets an iMac)
But the exploding market segment of people using hi-res digital still cameras and HD videocams are much, probably most, of the market for new PCs. And since Vista has proven to be far from the irresistable draw that Gates & Co. thought it would be, more and more people are willing to spend a little extra for an OS X box that, should it be necessary, can run their Windows apps too. ‘Best of both worlds’ I think they call that.
Serious users (as opposed to checkbook-balancing AOLers) want and need to upgrade, and many of them are getting tired of MS and their whole schtick. They don’t want to hitch their wagons to a sinking ship…
#24
That was the price of a Mac I saw years ago.
Just for the record, when XP came out, everybody was talking the same BS they are doing right now for Vista, the same rants on how M$ is dying, the same rants on how bad XP is and the same Macheads whining on how their overpriced (and underpowered) Macs can outperform an XP computer.
So to me it’s Deja Vu all over again.
P.D. That thing you say that Macs will take over the world? IT’S 20 YEARS OLD.
Angel, Dell has decided to go back to selling computers with Windows XP installed. It is not just the Mac faithful who perceive Vista as much ado about
nothingvery little.Personally, I don’t mind Microsoft remaining dominant with Windows and Office. The objective I would have for Apple regarding computers is to regain the position it had in the pre-meltdown ’90s, with from 10 to 15 percent of computer market share. (Admittedly, if it somhow rose to 20-25 percent, I would not complain.) That would assure a longterm future for Apple as a computer maker and OS X as an operating system. If the lower projection is achieved by the end of this decade, I’ll be pleased. I’m guessing 2012, though.
What was the second reason?
Funny you guys are raving about Apple laptops…
It was precisely an Apple laptop that made me steer away from Apple.
I bought several macs over the years, but it was just when I bought the iBook, It really hit me. It was so expensive and so underpowered…
And then I realized, that the years before when I was a MacHead, I had bought two of the lousiest Macs ever… (a powerbook with a 117mhz G3), and I just didn’t see the overpriced crap I was so gullible to buy. I just couldn’t see the money pit…
It is maybe the usage pattern I have with my computers. I use photoshop, freehand, illustrator, and a occasional 3D app and video encoding (not editing). I use them at work and at home. I just don’t have the need for a laptop, and neither there’s a laptop that would suit me.
What I do on PCs can be accomplished on a 1000 bucks machine, and since I don’t have the need to show fancy “designer” computers, I have no need (and no money) to shell out major bucks for a machine that will not accomplish nothing more (if not less) for my usage.
Sorry guys, Laptops are out and Macs are out too.
But that’s does not stop me to appreciate good design and marketing cleverness.
#22, I was not contradicting myself. I was just stating the obvious. Apple goes for the value added market, and I don’t have the need for the “value” they add. Simple.
Correction:
Did I said an 117mhz G3 ?
NO, it was a 177Mhz 603e… remember those?