iblog

Recent reports suggest that Apple’s new operating system OS 10.5 – known as Leopard – may well slip to as late as October this year, with compatibility issues with Windows Vista cited as the probable cause. The key addition of BootCamp in Leopard – a program which allows users to run Windows natively on a Mac – seems to have caused the problem, and so the postulated March release date now seems unlikely.

The new OS – originally thought to be launching in Spring 2007 – is seen by Apple as a key incentive in their attempt to entice PC users to switch to Apple Macs instead of upgrading to Windows Vista. As the Apple website declares: “Why upgrade to Vista when you can upgrade past it?… Why go through all that hassle when you can just get a Mac.” Whilst the hope is that Windows users feel they can still run Windows-only programs using the BootCamp software, Apple conveniently negates to mention on this page that this would involve the purchase of the Windows Vista operating system as well, increasing the overall price. Now, somewhat ironically, it seems the release of Apple’s own upgrade has been put back due to compatibility issues with the Vista software.

However, some analysts believe this to be a minor setback -since this is a slow time for PC sales anyway – and believe that a few more months achieving compatibility with Windows will help ensure Apple a larger market share when Leopard finally ships. Still, this is yet more time for Windows Vista to cement itself in place of the aging XP system. The real battle will come when Leopard finally squares up to Vista on the shop floor, though when that will be is not yet clear.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 24th, 2007 at 11:27 pm and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.