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Mac OS X Tiger Accidentally Shipped Early

boarder8925 writes "Engadget reports: 'In many places around the world, Mac fans and Apple distributors received a shipment they weren't quite expecting: Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger arrived at the door a full eight days ahead of schedule for some lucky folks who pre-ordered. Vendors PCMall/MacMall and ClubMac gave pre-order customers a treat by unleashing the OS ahead of schedule, quickly followed up by a 'recall' of the copies from PCMall.'"

52 of 540 comments (clear)

  1. Oh come on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful
    They're telling customers the Tiger copies that shipped out early will not be supported by Apple, and that users will have to return the boxes and get new copies shipped next week
    What a bunch of jerks, they should just suck it up and admit they dropped the ball. There is no way that this boxed up and shipped version is going to be any different then the one they send a few days from now.
    1. Re:Oh come on... by Timesprout · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey this is Apple, clearly this is a new and innovative shipping concept, designed to be aesthetically plesing to the user.

      --
      Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
      What truth?
      There is no dupe
    2. Re:Oh come on... by TWX · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I've got one better...

      If I were a customer, I'd insist that they ship me the supposedly legitimate one and pay for my return postage before they get the other one back, seeing as how it was their mistake, not mine, and that I should not be liable for their cockup. If they want it right, they have to do the work to make it right, not me. If they won't support the product then the credit card company gets called and the charge is revoked, as I as a consumer haven't been given what I've paid for.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    3. Re:Oh come on... by Michalson · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Don't joke about that. I've seen a review of Office for Mac where the guy used most of the time to go on and on about how the cardboard box the product came in wasn't as good as the previous versions packaging.

    4. Re:Oh come on... by NormalVisual · · Score: 4, Informative

      I wouldn't even worry about it. If you're shipped an illegitimate version, then that's not the item you ordered. Under Federal law you have no duty to return an item you didn't order, and the supplier is still on the hook to deliver the merchandise you've already paid for.

      If they want to be jerks about it, then do as you mentioned and dispute the charge. If Apple does in fact figure out some way to identify and exclude the early users from the support they're owed, they'd best make sure those people get a totally legitimate copy. Otherwise, they just grabbed the biggest shovel in the shed to dig a very public hole around themselves.

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
    5. Re:Oh come on... by eric76 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't know about citations, but I was told that back in the 60s.

      My understanding is that there was a major problem with people shipping unordered merchandise through the mail and then billing for it. So a law was passed that made any such treatments something like a gift.

      About 15 years ago, someone started sending me issues for some lame business newsletter that I did not order. There was also a calculator and some other cheap things that glitter in the first package from them. That was about January or February that year.

      The issues looked like they went through a few of the more popular business magazines and summarized the first paragraph or two of some of the articles until they had three or four pages worth of summaries. If you read Business Week the week before, you would have already seen just about everything in the newsletter. And in pretty much the same order.

      After about a month they sent me a bill for something more than $100 for a year's subscription. Since there is no requirement that I pay for unordered merchandise, I threw them away.

      After a couple of months, they started sending me letters demanding that I pay them the subscription price. I threw them away.

      About November, they turned my delinquent account over to a collection agency who started sending me letters demanding that I pay up. I threw them away.

      At some point the collection agency even doubled the amount they claimed I owed. I threw them away.

      After that, I didn't hear from them again.

      About two years later, they started my "subscription" again.

      This time I went over to the local post office and talked to the postmistress. She suggest that I just write "Forward to the Office of the Postal Inspector" on the envelopes along with a brief explanation and put them in the mail. No postage required.

      So every time I received anything from the scammers, I sent them on to the postal inspector.

      After about two months, they sent me a very indignat letter telling me that they are not crooks. Other than that, I never heard from them again.

      Later, I was working at a software development company and I was using a cow-orker's computer for testing one day while they were on vacation. Right in the middle of their desk was something from the very same company.

      I had already figured out that what that company seemed to be doing was sending subscriptions to business addresses figuring that most of the time it would be turned over to accounts payable without a glance.

      So I told the president and the owner of the company about the scam. They immediately canceled the subscription. When the cow-orker came back from vacation, he was a bit irked because he had intentionally signed up for the subscription!

      For another example, my mother is in her 80s and is more easily confused. One time she answered an ad for a free gift of some books. She received the books and then about a month later she received an invoice for the books. I had her send the invoice along with a note explaining the situation to the Postal Inspector's Office. The Postal Inspector's Office appears to have had a quick talk with the company involved because she received a letter cancelling the invoice within a month. And the company who sent her the ad for the "free books" hasn't sent her any more such ads.

    6. Re:Oh come on... by nettdata · · Score: 4, Funny

      And then the 5lbs block of Cocaine shows up, and you're screwed. :P

      --



      $0.02 (CDN)
  2. 201 new features by ehack · · Score: 5, Funny

    Feature 201: It's early !

    --
    This is not a signature.
  3. who would return it? by jshaw001 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I just want to know who were the people that returned the copies, so I can laugh at them. somethign like that.

  4. Amazing true fact by SYFer · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you are located within 50 miles of Cupertino and listen very carefully (I actually had to turn off my computer to cut the fan noise), you can actually hear Steve Jobs yelling!

    --
    "...all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness..." yada yada
    1. Re:Amazing true fact by UWC · · Score: 4, Funny
      I have a G5, I didnt need to turn off my computer

      Does it make the screaming noise for you or something?

  5. But Longhorn will average it out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But Microsoft will ship Longhorn...oh...just a wee bit late, so on average...the world is OK

    1. Re:But Longhorn will average it out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well if Longhorn shipped 8 days early I would live in fear for those 8 days. With no autoupdate who knows what terrible exploits would surface in 8 days...

  6. Torrent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Torrent please

  7. Other early resellers... by The+Amazing+Fish+Boy · · Score: 5, Informative

    At least one other "reseller" has received legal threats, but apparently they think they are immune.

    1. Re:Other early resellers... by FidelCatsro · · Score: 4, Funny
      Whats amusing about this legal threat is at the bottom it states
      This message and any attached documents contain information from the law firm of OMelveny & Myers LLP that may be confidential and/or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not read, copy, distribute, or use this information.
      Now for the love of god ... Who puts a warning about not being aloud to read something at the bottom .. you know the bit you um read last .
      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    2. Re:Other early resellers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Arrogant to no end"

      It is arrogant for some American companies trying to enfore American laws in foreign countries... .

    3. Re:Other early resellers... by ricotest · · Score: 5, Funny

      ":)" says:

      Hello, I'm mister quotes! When put around certain words, I imply that my use of the word is not 100% correct!

      For example, you are a very "clever" person!

      Bye!

    4. Re:Other early resellers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think the case law in Sweden firmly supports what thepiratebay is doing, especially since they are just a torrent tracker.

    5. Re:Other early resellers... by bani · · Score: 4, Informative
  8. It's ok by Realistic_Dragon · · Score: 4, Funny

    It turns out that ut's not an 8 day early copy of OS X, it's a 1 year 8 day early copy of Longhorn.

    --
    Beep beep.
  9. No idea how it works in that industry, but... by LewsTherinKinslayer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I used to work at a video game retailing store, and we used to get shipments of products in well before their offical release date. They would be in plain brown unmarked boxes that would have red tape on them with the offical release date on it. Anyone who even openned the boxes early could be fired. We had Halo 2 the day before the release, and believe me, it would have been nice to start calling up the preorder people and telling them to come get it.

    Anyways, my point is, doesn't Apple (or other software companies,) have a similar policy regarding the release of their product and preorders? If not, perhaps they should.

    1. Re:No idea how it works in that industry, but... by hazem · · Score: 4, Funny

      Anyways, my point is, doesn't Apple (or other software companies,) have a similar policy regarding the release of their product and preorders? If not, perhaps they should.

      I think the issue is that no OS companies are USED to shipping early. It's a contingency they're not prepared to deal with!

    2. Re:No idea how it works in that industry, but... by pla · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Anyone who even openned the boxes early could be fired.

      Perhaps only tangentially related, but I've found that some stores very regularly start selling products before their official release. One that immediately comes to mind, Blockbuster usually starts renting movies about a week before the actual release on DVD.

      I wonder, do these "release dates" actually have any legal teeth behind them? Obviously a distributor could refuse to sell anything to those stores that don't cooperate, but such a threat against companies like Blockbuster or WallyWorld amount to cutting off their nose to spite their face - WallyWorld might just respond with "okay, bye", instantly halving the available market for that product.

  10. Re:Old News? by The+Amazing+Fish+Boy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Three days old is now "old news"? I'm not sure you understand how Slashdot works. The editors don't break stories, they repost stories and the users comment on it.

    Oh, and Steve wears New Balance shoes.

  11. Maybe... by SnowCrashed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe Microsoft could have something that closely resembles this feature in Longhorn =)

  12. Well, that spoiled the buildup. by zapfie · · Score: 5, Funny

    So.. this must be how my girlfriend feels when I.. uh.. arrive ahead of schedule. :|

    --
    slashdot!=valid HTML
    1. Re:Well, that spoiled the buildup. by FidelCatsro · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey , for a simmilar reason the ladies call me Longhorn ,First time ever that I don't mind being compared to an MS product.

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  13. This was a mistake?! by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I'm one of those lucky persons who received Tiger early. Actually, I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to receive it. Heck, I pre-ordered, so I thought the April 28 date was just the final date, when it was guaranteed to be available at any location.

    Anyway, I installed it already, and oh man, it is everything I thought it was going to be. Actually, those ten improvements (Spotlight, Dashboard, Automator, etc.) that everyone's talking about are all pretty cool, but the OS really is significantly faster and smoother than 10.3.x. And a lot cool stuff is changed under the surface. Check the man page for cp, etc., and you'll see what I mean.

    I have to say, I really am impressed with this release. Every previous upgrade has been a big surprise and a big improvement, and I was skeptical that Tiger would be anything to jump up and down over, but I really have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised with this one.

    And no, I'm not sending it back!

    1. Re:This was a mistake?! by ljaguar · · Score: 5, Informative

      I actually did a diff on the cp man page between panther and tiger. There is no significant different. maybe 4 lines or so changes outlining legacy mode for options -i and such.

      But there is however a significant changes from panther's cp to tiger's cp.

      Apple's website outlines it this way: http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/unix/
      HFS+ CLI file commands
      Use command-line commands safely on HFS+ files. Utilities such as cp, mv, tar, rsync now use the same standard APIs as Spotlight and access control lists to handle resource forks properly.

      This feature... is so huge. It made the upgrade to tiger worth it just by itself. Previously, unix CLI progs such as cp and mv didn't respect certain features of HFS+.

      There are flags on HFS such as hidden, bundle, and custom icons. Also (most importantly) cp didn't respect HFS+ resource forks. This broke a lot of stuff when you tried to manage files with cp. You had to use stuff like CpMac and ditto which were piss poor lacking in features. (couldn't handle symlinks. when it got to broken symlinks, it would just die...)

      New cp and mv and even rsync (yes!) uses different API now that respects everything and then some. (first class citizens again!)

      Even further than just handling HFS+ correctly, this new cp will invoke Spotlight so that spotlight db is correct always no matter how you manage files. This is totally sweet. /cartman

      Also this API will respect the new ACL functionality in tiger as well.

      A few other notable features of Tiger for me are Xcode 2.0, GCC 4.0, new PDF support for forms and encryptions and such.

      All that and ACL and the new CLI utils are less hyped but more important to unix users like me than Dashboard (which runs less than spectacularly on G3 600mhz iMac.)

    2. Re:This was a mistake?! by daviddennis · · Score: 5, Informative

      You've gotten some pretty good responses, but if you're not using a Mac I fear they are pretty obscure. So let me take a shot at it.

      Before MacOS 10, the Apple file system split files into two segments: A data fork, which looked basically like a conventional DOS/Unix file, and a resource fork, which was a sort of mini-database letting you structure your file contents. This was particularly useful in executable programs; the resource fork would contain icons, menu definitions and the like. It would also contain the program that created the file (the "creator code"). When you double-clicked a file, the system would look at the creator code, find the corresponding application and start it up. This was a much slicker system than file extensions because the file could be called anything you wanted and the association with a program was automatic and unchangeable unless you were familiar with system internals.

      A program called ResEdit let you change these definitions and you could do things like define different keyboard shortcuts by playing around with the menu definitions.

      This was also used by programs to create data file formats. This was very nice, because if those files contained information in standard Apple formats, it could be easily read and modified by ResEdit and similar programs. So the movie files created by Final Cut Pro, for example, had a lot of the information in the resource fork which made debugging and reading these files a lot easier than the alternatives.

      MacOS X attempted to get rid of this entirely, because of a significant problem: Resource forks don't exist in the Windows or Unix world, so copying Mac files to other operating systems was a bit of a non-starter. So in MacOS X, we have file extensions, just like in Windows and Unix, instead of creator codes in the resource fork. You can argue until you're blue in the face by saying resource forks are a much more elegant way to deal with the situation, and you'd be right. But at the same time it hardly matters since most people need to exchange data with Windows computers.

      Naturally, MacOS X retained support for the resource fork so that applications such as Final Cut Pro could continue to use it. However, they discouraged use of resource forks in future applications.

      The problem was that they didn't tell the Unix utilities like cp about the resource fork. Instead, the utilities would copy all the data fork but not the resources. So if you had a Final Cut Pro file using the resource fork, you could cp it to another folder and the file would not work when you tried opening it.

      So in Tiger they have fixed this problem, and the resource forks are now retained, so I can feel free to use cp et al to copy all Mac files, including those with resource forks.

      This is, of course, a major victory for people like me who like to use the Unix utilities for file management.

      D

    3. Re:This was a mistake?! by azuroff · · Score: 4, Funny

      Check the man page for cp, etc., and you'll see what I mean.

      I CAN'T "check the man page for cp" for another 8 days, you insensitive clod!!

    4. Re:This was a mistake?! by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 4, Funny
      Check out this article that I wrote some days ago. You know what else happened to me with Windows? I had to install SP4 of a Windows 2000 machine, because SP3 has a bug that prevents it from starting up. Something about services.exe starts at the same time as logon.exe, and some retarded registry key doesn't exist, so the system halts immediately and doesn't give you the ability to fix it.

      It's basically a timing error. Well, Microsoft's own website explains, on a page devoted to this bug:

      1. This bug will prevent Windows 2000 from starting up.
      2. In order to fix it, you have to install SP4.
      3. In order to install SP4, you must be able to get Windows started up.
      In other words, you can see that Microsoft is really looking out for you. Sons of bitches.
  14. We've had Tiger for months by Lapsed+Catholic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...where I work. We get prerelease CDs from Apple regularly and we send back bug reports regarding their JVM. We always make sure to destroy the CDs by the proper dates. I suppose we should be more careful with them to avoid turning into a Slashdot story like this one.

    Most of the stupid JVM bugs specific to OSX that we run into aren't reproducible on the machine running Tiger. Java seems to be really improved in this release.

  15. Question by thesupermikey · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Does anyone know if computers order from apple before next firday come with 10.4 installed?

    or does one have to wait to the release date for new macs do have 10.4?

    --
    Mikey
    I've always been the kinda guy to fall for the girl dressed like an eskimo.
  16. No worries... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Duke Nukem Forever will average everything out when it finally goes gold.

  17. Re:build number by outZider · · Score: 4, Informative

    8a428.

    --
    - oZ
    // i am here.
  18. Re:I wonder... by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Interesting

    while they sue themselves for leaking Tiger? Sunny must be pissed as hell right now.

    You know, it's just amazing to see you and everybody else fall for the old accidental "leak" trick.

    This "leak", just like that one is a classic PR trick to get press time. It works, as you can see. Did you even wonder why the "leaks" came all boxed-up (just like the final version) to select individual and companies able to make noise about it?

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  19. Legal status of unordered merchandise by Kufat · · Score: 5, Informative

    Cornell's law site backs him up; unordered merchandise belongs to the recipient. (Interestingly, I had that link handy because one of the free stuff sites accidentally sent me two iPod shuffles instead of one, and I wanted to know my legal status with regard to the second one.)

    1. Re:Legal status of unordered merchandise by bleckywelcky · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But morally, hanging onto both shuffles would be wrong. In the Tiger case, people are trying to jerk them around, so they could keep their current copy until the release and exchange it for a "legit" copy and have a clear conscience. But with the shuffles, if the company realized their error and scheduled a pre-paid pickup, you should give it back. It's not actually your property, but by law you can keep it if you want - that doesn't mean it's right. If a $20 bill falls out of some guy's pocket and you pick it up, legally you could keep it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it back.

    2. Re:Legal status of unordered merchandise by ari_j · · Score: 4, Informative

      There's a difference between sending merchandise you didn't order and sending the wrong merchandise from what you ordered. The Uniform Commercial Code, which is the law in most states, has provisions for when you order one thing and get something else, and saying that you can just keep it and still demand the original item you ordered isn't precisely the legal truth at all times.

      From the US Code section you linked to, "(d) For the purposes of this section, "unordered merchandise" means merchandise mailed without the prior expressed request or consent of the recipient."

    3. Re:Legal status of unordered merchandise by squeee · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If a $20 bill falls out of some guy's pocket and you pick it up, legally you could keep it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it back. In the U.K. it is a crime to find and keep money off the street, known as "theft by finding", legally the proper course of action is to hand it into the nearest police station, and if not claimed with a certain time period, then you can keep it.

    4. Re:Legal status of unordered merchandise by Damiano · · Score: 4, Informative
      Actually, you're incorrect. This isn't unordered merchandise, it's what is known as non-conforming merchandise. He did order something, but received the wrong item. If he decides to keep it he will need to pay for it.

      Realize that this law was to prevent people from scamming consumers by sending them items unordered and then billing them for it, hoping they'd pay, not to allow you to get free stuff because of a shipping mistake. (Scammers used to send out family bibles to people who had just died and then send a bill. The next of kin wouldn't realize it was a scam and pay the bill).

  20. Finally... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A feature that Microsoft can't copy!

  21. I think a better headline would be... by IdJit · · Score: 4, Funny

    OSX Tiger Came Prematurely

    See, that's what I like about Longhorn...He's Mr. Slow-n-Easy...Just like Barry White.

  22. Moral status of unordered merchandise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well as the "moore library issue" and "your information wants to be free" stories show. There's a large number who don't think like that. Todays motto is "what's in it for me?". That's until the consequences of such come home to roost. Then it's "all your fault for me being a bad person." Multiply this with each succeeding generation, and you see were societies heading.

  23. it's not just aesthetics by commodoresloat · · Score: 4, Funny

    The new edition will be much snappier.

  24. Re:Apple cut piracy on Tiger. NOT. by commodoresloat · · Score: 5, Funny
    This doesn't cut piracy, and apple knows it, for the reasons the other posters spelled out above. They put this on DVD so they could send you one disc instead of 5. This has nothing to do with trying to cut piracy.

    If Apple really wanted to cut piracy on Tiger, they would include a sticker on the disc that says "Don't steal Tiger."

  25. Re:Apple cut piracy on Tiger. NOT. by As+Seen+On+TV · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That's part of it, but you really want to know the real reason? Swapping CDs sucks. Seriously. That's the real reason we put Tiger on a DVD.

    Here's the one and only thing you need to know to understand Apple: Our goal is to make using your Mac a pleasant experience. Anything that takes away from that is our enemy. That's why we've historically even had an iffy relationship with some of our biggest software vendors. When Word 6 came out, I'm told that the level of anger around campus almost reached the point of violence. (That was before my time here.)

    Bottom line: When you're installing your new OS, having to swap CDs sucks. So we're shipping DVDs. Anybody who doesn't have a DVD drive -- which is something like three out of four Mac owners, believe it or not -- can get CDs from their local Apple store or from the Web site.

    (And don't think we didn't have long and heated conversations about whether it sucks more to have to swap CDs or to have to mail-order CDs. That one went back and forth a lot.)

  26. What good software or media has come out of Sweden by carabela · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well, let's go back some years to find swedish inventor Håkan Lans creating PC color graphics, a useable computer pointing device, safe flight control (through something resembling "P2P GPS") - who has tried to hinder his creativity? US government agencies and major US corps.

    Let's move on and find Ericsson software engineers creating AXE telephone switches, Bluetooth etc. Keep up, and we find Lavasofts Ad-Aware helping out most n00bs from getting the most out of skunkware. Pointsec, a swedish company producing the industry top class encryption sw (note: biggest customer is teh US military!). Yes, KaZaA and Skype are also created by swedes, ironic - isn't it!

    Oh, did you know who actually made most of super-US bimbo Britney Spears smash hits? A swede called Max Martin. Go figure!

    --

    The more you know, the less you need. [Admin added: from me.]
  27. Re:Apple cut piracy on Tiger. NOT. by As+Seen+On+TV · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, he's basically right. I mean, if you ignore the fact that he seems not to have actually read my comment. There are forty million Macs out there in active use, according to our market-research guys. Something like three out of four of those sold without DVD-reading drives in them.

    Now, something like three out of four OF THOSE can't even run Tiger anyway. It's not like somebody's going to go running Tiger on a Power Mac 9600. So it's not like we're saying that three out of four Tiger buyers will have to do the media exchange thing. Corporate tells us that they estimate it'll be closer to one in twenty. Which is fine.

    But it all boils down to this: We put Tiger on a DVD instead of four CDs because we wanted to. That's all there is to it.

  28. Re:Apple cut piracy on Tiger. NOT. by As+Seen+On+TV · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Basically, yeah. The reason people buy things rather than making them themselves is so they can trade money for convenience. Here at Apple, we've established a reputation -- mostly, but not entirely, deserved -- for making the right decisions. If you buy an Apple product, be it a thing or a piece of software, you can be pretty darned confident that it will have been done right.

    According to last quarter's financials, we're doing pretty well in the marketplace. Our year-over-year sales went up by something like 40%.

    You draw your own conclusions.