“On April 12th, Apple announced that Mac OS X 10.5, Leopard, will be delayed from the original ‘Spring 2007’ ship date. Now it won’t ship until October,” John Martellaro writes for The Mac Observer.
“Considering that Apple had until June 21st (1806 UT) to ship Leopard, this is only a four month delay. In terms of OS releases, in general, this is no big deal some have said,” Martellaro writes.
“Well, yes it is,” Martellaro writes. “It’s actually a big deal because Apple had it within its power to avoid this setback.”
Martellaro writes, “Apple could have avoided this Leopard delay with good old fashioned management leadership. They could have allowed themselves to grow and mature a little. They could have empowered their key VPs to figure out what it would take to ship Mac OS X/Leopard on time, with excellence and exercise some authority. Unfortunately, many of Apple’s key VPs aren’t Lieutenant Generals. They’re Lieutenant Colonels.”
“Alas, Apple’s psychology and operating style is trapped in the $6B Valley of Death syndrome and not moving into a 21st century consumer electronics company that’s poised to move from $25B to, perhaps, $40B in just a few years,” Martellaro writes. “To get there in good shape, Apple will have to spend some money on something besides a half billion dollar new campus, forget the ghosts of the Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio eras, empower their VPs, and let their VPs become responsible for their own products, staff and OPEX.”
Full article – highly recommended – here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “LinuxGuy and Mac Prodigal Son” for the heads up.]
Martellaro, as usual, makes a lot of sense. Obviously, Jobs knows what he’s doing, but nobody’s perfect. The bottom line is that the failure of Leopard to ship when promised is a failure. Perhaps it’s a minor failure, maybe just a one-time failure, but it’s a failure nonetheless.
Related articles:
Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard delay is a (somewhat) big deal – April 16, 2007
Apple buys 9 more acres in Cupertino – April 14, 2007
Apple’s latest Mac OS X Leopard build shows unified interface, buh-bye brushed-metal – April 14, 2007
eWeek’s Morgenstern: Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard delay is no big whoop – April 13, 2007
InformationWeek blows it again: reports second delay of Leopard this year due to Vista compatibility – April 13, 2007
Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Piper Jaffray: Use Apple’s Leopard delay as buying opportunity – April 13, 2007
Analysts unconcerned over Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard delay – April 13, 2007
Apple delays Mac OS X Leopard until October 2007, blames iPhone – April 12, 2007
Latest Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard build still accompanied by lengthy bug list – April 12, 2007
RUMOR: Apple to release Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard in June – April 02, 2007
Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard to feature ZFS? – March 29, 2007
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard’s top secret ingredient: 3D everywhere, including new 3D Finder? – March 27, 2007
Apple to delay Leopard? Digitimes.com’s poor Apple rumor accuracy – March 23, 2007
Apple to postpone Mac OS X Leopard until October in order to support Windows Vista? – March 23, 2007
RUMOR: Some Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard ‘top secret’ features leak out – January 26, 2007
RUMOR: Apple Mac OS X Leopard to replace ‘Aqua’ with ‘Illuminous’ – December 11, 2006
Apple confirms ‘resolution independence’ and more coming in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard – October 23, 2006
Cost of Apple’s second 50-acre Cupertino campus could top $500 million – April 25, 2006
Video: Steve Jobs meets Cupertino City Council – April 22, 2006
Transcript: Apple CEO Steve Jobs addresses the Cupertino City Council – April 20, 2006
Apple CEO Steve Jobs plans new 50-acre campus in California – April 19, 2006
As VISTA is obviously a failure, why hurry with 10.5? As that pressure is gone, I prefer to see it well or better done for fall. And as the iPhone could hit like the iPod has done – well there’s a lot of potential switchers out there.
Yes on MDN’s take. Its still a relatively minor failure in the broader scheme of things, but the market’s tolerance and the consumer’s tolerance are now officially pushed to the edge, and I think that Apple has used up it’s “Brownie Points” for the year. Apple needs to be much more cautious from here on out about its pre-announcement timing. I would even suggest that they stop pre-announcing entirely for this year, and only announce releases as they’re completed and ready for market.
Apple’s got a potentially hazardous little cycle going early on this year, and it goes something like:
1) Long drawn out rumor of new device or software.
2) An official pre-release announcement.
3) Wall Street gives Apple lots of positive press.
4) We wait.
5) When release is imminent Apple announces a delay.
6) Wall Street says its not worried.
7) We wait, and hope.
This harkens back to the early and middle 90’s when Apple was becoming infamous for announcing new product and then not being able to deliver on time or in quantity.
Look, small set backs are not the make-or-break scenarious that they would have been even a few years ago for Apple, but the patience of the market place has already been worn thin in the tech sector as it is, and if huge companies like MS have to pay the piper for long and repeated wait times, then you can be sure it will be potentially worse for still-up-and-comings like Apple. The iPhone is going to rock, Leopard is going to rock, but lets not allow hasty announcements to blow the wind out of the sails – please.
For those who insist that “APPLE FAILED!” because they missed their deadline by four months, how many of you actually work in the software business? Please, a show of hands. Here’s a little something about me — I do. I’ve personally seen schedules slip by years, and you know what? The way most software houses run is that they set a date, work on the full feature set up to the mid-point, and then start cutting features to meet the date. (Yes, this happens even with detailed schedules). The result? BAD PRODUCTS. Apple has put quality first instead of schedule first. Doing this means they’ll take flak from the sea of ignorant armchair estimators (who know everything), but whose opinion really counts for squat. I’m talking to most of you.
Software engineering is an imperfect science. Scheduling it is even more of an imperfect science. I don’t care what kind of predictive genius you are — things come up that no-one can anticipate, especially when you are on the cutting edge. Are you honestly saying that you have a way to anticipate and accurately estimate the impact of unknowns? Again, if you do, you need to set up a psychic hotline fast and make some real dough, instead of wasting time touting your intelligence on MDN.
This article and MDN’s take are right on. The delay is a blunder, the magnitude of which will not be realized until later this year. It was Apple’s golden opportunity to checkmate Microsoft with a vastly superior OS that will set the bar to an unattainable height. The oppotunity is mostly gone. It’s all about timing, and Apple’s OSX GARFIELD (aka Leopard) let everyone down. Check that, Apple’s leadership, or lack thereof, let everyone down. Anyone touting the OS delay or justifying Apple’s decision to pull resources from Leopard to the iPhone as good things is a blind optimist. This was a leadership debacle of the highest order. Nuff said!
Keeping that same military scenario. Battle is a fluid situation. It’s not expected to work totally as planned. Your opposing troops might not be where your spies and other intelligence have predicted, and it’s how you manipulate your troops into position for that situation that wins the battle, not being lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Apple is doing the best that they can with what they’ve got to work with, and the battle is not over yet.
I don’t see how this is a ‘major blunder’. If it finally comes out in October, Vista will be nothing if not more detested.
Now might have been better, but Oct. isn’t too late.
It’s not Microshaft or M$ or even Micro$oft, it’s Micros**t
Micros**t Micros**t Micros**t
Everyone remember that.
actually, Apple could make that a saying
Vista gets detested,
Leopard gets retested.
So, let’s be realistic…. Apple is no longer a company that can be controlled and run by a single person. It is high time that all VP’s, Directors and Managers be given additional authority and accountability for their areas of expertise. Apple will not be able to make the jump to hyperspace without a full crew. Steve is a great CEO, but he needs help from the chosen people who occupy the big $$$ positions. It’s time to let the company spread it’s wings and soar.
Based on results, Apple has nothing to be apologetic about. Apple’s software and design engineers are operating 20 years ahead of the curve. The complexity of what they have accomplished ought to be appreciated. Instead we continue to see this type of FUD from a bunch of loser, backseat drivers, whose $$$pockets are fed in obscene/obscure ways by Microshxt.
I’m as disappointed as anyone, but I want a bug-free OS that I can count on. But I do demand to see all the secret features…the people waiting are owed that and now the new OS need something to hype about featurewise to smoke over being a little late. With however many billion in cash reserve, I don’t like the mobile backpack of excuses blaming resources being called elsewhere. Don’t make excuses, just say we are late and want to get it right. The iPhone is not a good excuse, as one is computer hardware and one is consumer electronics.
Bottom line…I really need to be impressed at this 3 hour keynote for my wallet to vibrate.
“the sky is falling” Chicken Little, 1934
I’m just amazed because I don’t think I’ve ever heard MDN agree with criticism of Apple before! I was expecting MDN to issue some uber-sarcastic criticism of Martellaro.
But maybe our MDN is growing up…
Maybe there is some strategy in this. Has anyone thought of that?
“Shipping something before it is ready is a failure. Having the courage to slip a ship date knowing you will catch a lot of flack is leadership.”
Making sure that measures and resources are in place to prevent a delay is good leadership. I’m not saying that Steve isn’t a great leader, but Apple dropped the ball this time. When the marketplace and millions of people are watching your moves every day, you better understand your team, your load, and your deadlines. If you foresee a strain in any of those, then you MUST put in place solutions to resolve them. Pointing to another company’s failure does not make your own failure any better (two wrongs make a right?). This doesn’t mean that Steve Jobs should be fired but somewhere in the leadership totem pole someone wasn’t proactive in allocating and managing resources/time.
You know, it’s probably smart to spread out your income growth opportunities.
iMaki said
“This article and MDN’s take are right on. The delay is a blunder, the magnitude of which will not be realized until later this year. It was Apple’s golden opportunity to checkmate Microsoft with a vastly superior OS that will set the bar to an unattainable height. The oppotunity is mostly gone. It’s all about timing, and Apple’s OSX GARFIELD (aka Leopard) let everyone down. Check that, Apple’s leadership, or lack thereof, let everyone down. Anyone touting the OS delay or justifying Apple’s decision to pull resources from Leopard to the iPhone as good things is a blind optimist. This was a leadership debacle of the highest order. Nuff said!”
Whatever…. Why does every Apple critic want to classify this slight delay as a failure? Copeland, Pink, and Taligent were failures. Those efforts never saw the light of day. What about Vista? a 5 year delay, and when it finally showed up most to all of the ‘major features’ were MIA, security was a joke, it has been panned as a ‘must skip’ upgrade.
Leopard, when it ships, will be the right OS at the right time. Its feature set will be complete. It will not have to share the spotlight with the TV, or iPhone. Frustration with MessySoft Vista will be at an all time high, with people willing to put down $$$ for Apple products and Leopard at the beginning of the critical Holiday Consumer Retail Spending Season.
Not only will Leopard not have to share the spotlight with TV and iPhone, it will capitalize on their success, and that of the 6G widescreen/touchscreen Video iPod if such a beast actually shows up this fall for back to school.
Regarding Apples’ chance to checkmate Vista with a vastly superior OS being gone, maybe you should check again. As Mossberg and others have already pointed out, the Vastly Superior to Vista OS X 10.4 Tiger is ALREADY HERE! It has been for like 18 months before Vista hit PC builders.
MW soon… as in “Oct is soon enough”
Everybody knows how Apple should be run. Where were they with their assh…ur…opinions when Apple was on the brink?
Hey TowerTone, how’s Iraq going for ya?
iMaki writes, “This article and MDN’s take are right on. The delay is a blunder, the magnitude of which will not be realized until later this year. It was Apple’s golden opportunity to checkmate Microsoft with a vastly superior OS that will set the bar to an unattainable height. The oppotunity is mostly gone. “
sigh…
1) The opportunity is NOT gone. Most of the people who are thinking of migrating to Vista are waiting for the inevitable Service Pack 1.
2) It surprises me how personally people are taking a business decision. Apple does not know you personally (at least in most cases). This was a business decision. We may not like it. Apple probably does not like it. But like any good management team, they examined the choices and made a difficult one. Further, they announced it 3 months before the revised release date.
3) Management is the balancing of resources.
Could Apple have hired more engineers? Yes.
Would it have avoided this situation? Maybe.
Would it have decreased Apple profit margins? Yes.
Remember Apple is a business and needs to make money. And bringing additional engineers onto the team late in the game may have resulted in little additional productivity.
the other Mark: “Remember Apple is a business and needs to make money. And bringing additional engineers onto the team late in the game may have resulted in little additional productivity.”
– Obviously you did not read the article. Go back and read the article and then you can comment on it.
Failure – too strong, blunder – too strong, oversight, maybe about right.
The article seems to be written from a conventional business point of view, that point of view that produces crappy Microsoft software, crappy Dell computers, autos that use polluting fuel, food that is full of poisons and has decreasing essential requirements and the massive list of most products produced by conventional business. All these products cost far more in the medium to long term than good quality products but the bean counters want more beans now and can’t see that more beans now is less in the future.
Apple does very well in a marketplace and total environment obsessed with cheap shit by striving to make as good as they can that will be acceptable to enough people to keep the everyone (customers, employees, investors) happy. No one gets it right 100% of the time, the mistake was announcing the date rather than missing it.
When talking about control freaks it is The Street that is prime candidate. They were asking for more forward visibility on new products, they get it and they throw a strop when things don’t pan out as predicted, that’s the nature of prediction folks.
It’s a blip, move on already, no one is harmed by this delay.
He makes zero sense. None at all. One four-month delay does not a management collapse make, and his inferring that it does is ludicrous.
In fact, the decision to get iPhone out the door and delay Leopard in the process is what a kick-ass management team would do. Microsoft and most other companies would have thrown temps at the issue and either shipped crap or delayed them both.
A smart management team knows that you do not staff for peaks. It would be stupid to hire 250 more developers and try to throw them at the problem (mythical man-month and all that), so you make the hard decisions and move forward. It’s a shame that actually seeing good management in action blinded him to the process.
Yes, Leopard being delayed is a failure. No question about that. But this article is the height of knee-jerk reaction. Sheesh.
G-Spank-
Mind your manners.
Al Gore-
If the left wouldn’t give him so much to complain about, maybe he could….
Global Warming is clearly a myth. The ice caps are not melting. Everything is fine. Let’s watch Survivor.