[fjdouse]

If you haven't forked out for Tiger, don't. That's my honest advice, it's not worth it - really. Stick with Panther which (if you haven't got it) you can pick up at ever cheaper prices.

This 'must upgrade' ethos is something which certainly was not in the Mac user world when I got my first PowerMac 5500/225, it felt like a far more relaxed way of computing. When I was literally forced back into PC (Linux) usage, I remembered how nice Macs were and wished for something which didn't REQUIRE updates every week. Sadly, since coming back, that world has gone and even I feel the pressure to update this or that, it's a filthy habit from the PC world which has polluted Mac use IMHO. Perhaps Macland is occupied by more PC-esque users than before? Sure, you can justify the "upgrade or die" neurosis however you want - whatever helps one sleep at night, but the net effect is, you're constantly paying out for minor improvements - or as in the case of Tiger 10.4, a step backwards. More often than not, the real beneficiary is the recipients bank balance.

Yeah, I know where you are coming from, it yanks my chain! Damn, it's vexed me! I want my purchases to be WORTH something, an investment, especially when some of these greedy, fat-cat profiteers are charging hundreds of pounds for 1's and 0's! Short product lifecycles are an insult to the intelligence and investment of the users, we're not all on fat salaries or have a capacity for justifying the (immoral?) waste of finances.

ooh, I'm getting all bolshy now! ;-)

Rant over... ;-)