Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, WWDC, Apple, Apple History, Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard: Party like it's 1998
On October 17, 1998 Apple released Mac OS 8.5, the first operating system that ran solely on Macintoshes with PowerPC processors. As far as system software upgrades go, this was the end of the line for any Mac built before the Power Macintosh 6100, introduced in March 1994. Earlier Macs ran on some variation of 680x0 processors and were supported mostly via emulation in a PowerPC environment. Emulation works, but it also slows things down. By 1998, Apple decided it just couldn't support 680X0 emulation for a number of reasons, but chiefly among them was speed.
What happened was just what you would expect. In user groups, USENET and the Internet (which was only starting to explode), apoplectic non-PowerPC Mac owners threatened class action lawsuits and the rending of garments. Of course, most Power Mac users loved the newfound speed introduced in Mac OS 8.5, thanks to code optimized for PowerPC processors and jettisoned emulation support.
It took Apple only four years to introduce the PowerPC chip and make any Mac without it obsolete. Technology moved on.
In September Apple will release Snow Leopard, which will only run on Intel based Macs, thus cutting off PowerPC support. This time it took eleven years from inception to extinction (well, three for the Intel transition), but even so I can hear the hue and cry machine cranking up. Once again, the major reason for dropping legacy support is speed. Technology has moved on.
Whenever something like this happens there is a potential for a marketing meltdown, but this time Apple is doing something brilliant. It is going to sell Snow Leopard for $29. When I saw this on the video stream of the WWDC keynote address my jaw dropped, my eyes glazed and only later did it start making sense to me. Apple first introduced Mac OS X in 2001, and excluding the free update to Mac OS X 10.1 from Mac OS X 10.0, a new version of the OS has been released roughly every 18 months, always at a price of $129. The sales pitch is always the same: with each new version, OS X gets new features and an "enhanced computing experience" which largely depended upon how much you like the new features.
Mac OS X 10.6 will be the fifth major release in eight years, and some users are complaining about feature overload. There will always be users who want four ways to do the same thing, but for others, feature-laden releases are overwhelming and the glimmer and excitement of a new OS X release has faded. What a perfect time to work under the hood, set up the core of the operating system for the future and stabilize what's already there! But of course you can't make everyone happy. I would expect a large group of users to not be mollified by a nicer QuickTime and an improvement to Stacks. In effect, where's the beef? The beef is under the hood this time.
This goes against the grain of Apple's position of not wanting anyone to worry about what the little man behind the curtain is doing since 'it just works.' This time it's all about speed and how much better it works. But perception is everything and many will not see the immediate value of the improvements focusing instead on a lack of new whizzy features. The answer: just give it away, or nearly.
While Snow Leopard may not have been cheaper to develop than previous releases (although one imagines that dropping the burden of coding, QA and support for the legacy PPC platform has created some economies), Apple has decided to lop $100 off the usual price; this tradeoff of OS sales profit for increased adoption shows Apple is taking the long view, something the company sometimes skips. Apple is setting up the platform to do amazing things in the future without being bogged down with legacy code.
The speed and solidity of Snow Leopard will sell a ton of new Macs, while existing users will benefit from the same things at a price that is insanely low. Want a comparison? If you bought OS X for $129 when it came out in 2001 it would cost well over $150 in 2009 dollars. If you buy Snow Leopard for $29 in September, it would cost less than $24 in 2001 buying power. Not too shabby at all.
Apple is taking a gamble here, but I believe it's one that's going to pay off nicely, just not immediately. This autumn will be a fascinating time for the Apple community and I, for one, am really intrigued to see how this all plays out. My guess is that it will turn out very well for both Apple and Mac users alike.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
AriX said 2:49PM on 6-15-2009
Uhh, no? When PowerPC processors were introduced, most of the system software was run on PowerPC computers via emulating the 680x0 architecture. Gradually, more and more system code was ported to PowerPC, until the system was completely there. The 680x0 computers never emulated PowerPC.
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JTL said 1:21PM on 6-15-2009
Really looking forward to 10.6 OSX my only question is how the 64bit OS. On older Intel's that aren't Intel Core 2 Duo's they are 32bit. I know that IC2D are basically 64bit processors? Does 10.6 OSX come in 2 versions? 32 and 64 bit respectively?
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Joshua Ochs said 1:28PM on 6-15-2009
Snow Leopard comes in one edition, which runs 32-bit or 64-bit depending on your platform.
Brian said 1:31PM on 6-15-2009
No, one version. Unlike Microsoft, who can't figure out how to switch between 32 and 64 bit modes without separate binaries and operating systems, OS X simply switches based on your hardware.
JD said 1:55PM on 6-15-2009
Brian,
Actually, Snow Leopard will work like Vista x64: Vista x64 supports both 32 and 64 modes simultaneously. Remember that Microsoft has to have a 32-bit mode only for older machines, something that Apple does not need to worry about anymore.
Byrdman said 2:27PM on 6-15-2009
Actually JD, as the original poster said, they do still need to support 32-bit mode as the original Core-Duo processors were not 64-bit. So when you go to install it, it will automatically install the correct version.
Jagger said 1:21PM on 6-15-2009
I think this is a really good choice for Apple. Hopefully in future Leopard updates they'll make one last optimization for the PPC users left out there.
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Jim Dovey said 1:34PM on 6-15-2009
As a developer, I can't really explain too much about this, but in terms of already-public information I can say that the things Apple have done under the hood in terms of concurrency and locking (or rather, removing the need for locking) really makes a difference. Disk accesses have been sped up a lot by analyzing how standard operations access all the file and metadata information required, and optimizing for those usage patterns (net result: disk gets accessed once instead of 30 times).
Overall, the new system really does feel a lot more streamlined and 'snappy'.
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David Winograd said 1:41PM on 6-15-2009
Tom,
I don't think so.
Each time Apple has come out with a $129 release it was listed as an upgrade. If you think about it, you have to upgrading from something since your Mac came with version of system software :)
Tom said 1:34PM on 6-15-2009
Keep in mind the $29 price is an upgrade only price. It will be $129 for anyone holding out back on 10.4 Tiger. Intel Macs started shipping January 2006, Leopard didn't come out till October 2006, so there is still a good chunk of people who may have to pay more. Though for those people, they will get all the new features of Leopard, and the improvements in Snow Leopard.
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WalrusCP said 1:41PM on 6-15-2009
Leopard was released in October 2007, not October 2006.
brian said 1:34PM on 6-15-2009
Does anyone know if Apple will continue to sell 10.5 in stores alongside 10.6? Or do you need to hurry up and buy it if you've got a PPC Mac you've been meaning to upgrade but haven't?
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IvanP91 said 1:44PM on 6-15-2009
As soon as the Leopard 10.5 stock runs out they will no longer sell it. If i were u id go any buy at as soon as it is convenient. Snow Leo is coming in september so u still got time.
Maxwell Ash said 2:39PM on 6-15-2009
Of course it will be available on eBay for ever.
puhsitch said 8:54PM on 6-15-2009
@IvanP91: Do you know this for sure? I know that's what Apple did with past 10.x releases, but I wonder if they'll keep 10.5 for sale for a while longer due to the unique circumstances.
korywesterhold said 1:39PM on 6-15-2009
Isn't the $29 just an upgrade price for current Leopard users? I thought they said at the keynote that if you're upgrading from a previous iteration it's still $129. Or maybe I'm wrong.
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Martin said 1:42PM on 6-15-2009
I thought it was $29 for Leopard users as well. Otherwise they are selling a beefed up Leopard for $100 less than Leopard itself.
WalrusCP said 1:42PM on 6-15-2009
Yes: $29 for Leopard users, regular price ($129) for everyone else unless you get a new mac now with 10.5 ($10 for shipping 10.6 for those users).
Johnny said 3:05PM on 6-15-2009
Interesting. So there will be two boxes sold? A Leopard update and an earlier version update?
That seems un-Apple as much as it makes sense. Apple has always been slack on securing OS installations. They don't use license keys (at least not that the user can see or I know anything about). I'm not sure if I ever remember a boxed Apple product titled as an 'update', either. The only restriction I remember on an Apple OS installer (as far back as I can remember with system 7) is if you're previous system is too old to upgrade and you have to do a clean install.
Eric said 3:48PM on 6-15-2009
I imagine there will be two boxes sold, just like there are Leopard and Box Set Family Packs being sold now, despite there being no difference in the software. It's the honour system.