question for Mac owners

[cellio]

I've searched Apple's site for this and done some googling, and near as I can tell Apple hasn't published an answer to my question and it's all speculation. But I might not be looking in the right places -- and certainly don't know the relevant history -- so I'll appeal to my friends for insight.

A relative has Jaguar and is eyeing Panther. He's also eyeing Tiger, which (officially) is being released in the first half of 2005 (but some people seem to be skeptical about that). It costs $129 to upgrade from Jaguar to Panther. No Panther-to-Tiger price has been published.

My question: would an upgrade path that goes through Panther cost appreciably more than a direct upgrade from Jaguar to Tiger when it comes out? Or, by buying Panther, does one get a better price toward Tiger later? If we spend $129 to get him an upgrade now, are we just buying six months' worth of joy or are we doing more for him?

Comments

[mrpeck.livejournal.com]

You won't find an official answer on something like that until the product is pretty much released. I'd advise just waiting for the next one unless the relative needs something in the current version. When Apple gives an update discount, it is often just to those who purchase the previous product at a time very close to the release of the new one.

[cellio]

Thanks! I guess the next thing for me to find out is: is this person going to jump onto Tiger as soon as it's available, or will he likely hang out with Panther long enough for this to be a reasonable end state? He told me he wants Panther, but he might not be paying enough attention to the release schedule. Hmm.