1 day to go...

I'm all excited about the Leopard launch... despite some things that I dislike regarding the way Apple markets Leopard, like giving the false impression to customers that it's a big major upgrade, but in actual fact, it's just a bloated "service pack". But whatever it is, it's still something for us Apple users to look forward to, and I'm excited because it's something new from Apple. You'd probably have noticed, I'm always excited about new products from Apple, even if it may not be flawless.

For the record: here's the countdown currently:

Also, tomorrow, iShop will be holding a special Leopard arriving party event at iShop, level 3 Orchard Cineleisure at 6pm. I should be there just for the fun of it, should have some freebies, and it should probably tempt you to part with $238 for a copy!

Leopard: The anticipation

Leopard: Thoughts before release

Is it just me or do you also think that the countdown timer on Apple’s homepage seems to fuel more excitement and urge you to pre-order a copy of Leopard?

Haha… Just before the ferocious Leopard is revealed to the world in about 9 days time, I have one thought which I would like to share with you.

Presonally, I feel that this release couldn’t have arrived at a worst time than now, frankly, considering the unpleasant recent series of events with the iPhone and update 1.1.1, which I believe has inflicted a certain amount of damage to Apple as a brand name, and with the current shaky reputation it has, Leopard might not be so well-received initially until consumer confidence restores back.

I mean, although those who jailbroke their iPhone may be a small community of users, but Apple must not forget that these are the “tech geeks”, the true genuine Apple supporters who will very willingly buy the next thing that Apple releases, so now that their trust in Apple has been shaken, it would affect their overall impression of Apple. And they aren’t going to keep quiet about everything, these guys have a voice, and if their unhappy, their gonna make some noise, and the rest of us users will be convinced to adopt a similar negative impression of Apple, well at least temporarily. And so, with this teetering situation Apple is in right now, involved in iPhone lawsuits, and even with the recent attack by environmental group Greenpeace on the environmentally unfriendly iPhone, the release of Leopard would take place against a less-than-ideal backdrop, and this may have implications on the initial adoption of Leopard.

Do you share the same sentiments?

Leopard: It's OFFICIAL!

It's on the Apple website this very moment I'm typing, it's official:

26 Oct is the beautiful day for Leopard release!

Thanks Weng for telling me!

Countdown! 10,9,8,7...

Apple has kinda dropped the veil of uncertainty, though not officially. The release date for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard as according to an article on MacNN based on details from Apple retail stores all agree that THE date is 26th October 07. Nope, not the 23rd or 27th.

That's a close 10 days more! (Aren't you tingling in excitement?) According to the article on MacNN, "Apple has reportedly scheduled a series of launch events at 6 pm on the day of its release and plans to keep stores open until midnight as part of its launch, according to ifoAppleStore. "

The article continues, saying that it is uncertain if Leopard has been declared GM (golden master), the Apple equivalent of the Microsoft Windows RTM (release to manufacturing), but I speculate that GM should be out very soon.

I doubt that this release would be as grand as the iPhone launch, and I suspect it won't draw as big a crowd outside Apple stores as did the iPhone, for the simple fact that this isn't version 10.0. But nonetheless, Mac addicts would patiently queue up just to take home the new 64bit operating system which has been delayed by about half a year (don't worry, not 5 years).

I've been so patiently awaiting this moment to arrive, I waited past the Core 2 Duos to come out, the new iMac, Windows Vista, and now that Leopard is shipping in 10 days time, it's now the sweetest time for me to purchase a new desktop replacement, an iMac running Vista of course.

Countdown, today is 10 MORE DAYS TO LEOPARD!