iDaft iExcuses of our iTime
APPLE HAS confirmed what we have been saying for ages: it is going to delay its next version of OS-X with the codename Leopard.
Apple originally said that the operating system would be with us in Spring, but as the equinox appeared and passed, some of us got a bit cynical and said it would be late. We pointed out that to be on time Apple would have to clear several beta versions in a month, which was not feasible.
Of course we got shedloads of mail saying that we couldn't prove it and Apple would deliver its operating system on time and your humble hack would have to "eat crow". Well it looks like the rare Bulgarian Corvus is safe from ending up in any pie.
According to an official Apple statement, it has had to pull engineers away from working in Leopard so that it could get its iPhone out on time.
Industry observers stroked their beards over the fact the delay is because Apple is such a small outfit that it cannot manage two big projects at once. However there is more to it than that. It means that when it comes to products, Apple is not giving priority to its previous flagship OS and hardware. Instead the money is being spent on making entertainment gear and other gizmos.
Ironically, this is also happening just as Windows is losing a lot of its shine and a more aggressive Apple could expand its PC operations to take advantage of the fact.
As
Mercury News points out, in choosing the iPhone over Leopard, Apple is favouring an unproven product that will compete in a very challenging industry.
The last version of OS-X was released two years ago and boosted software sales by 50 per cent. Outsiders had expected Leopard to manage a similar result.
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