Apple's Mac OS 'Tiger' Ready to Pounce

Events are being planned ahead of today's launch of Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" across Apple's 105 retail stores worldwide and in participating resellers such as CompUSA beginning at 6 p.m. At that time, Apple will unleash the new version of its operating system, said to include some 200 new features.

Reviews thus far have praised Tiger as being worth the $129 USD it will cost users to upgrade. Apple itself has pointed to additions such as Tiger's Spotlight desktop search and Dashboard widgets - features that will not be available on the Windows platform until Longhorn launches late next year.

The events at Apple's retail locations will run from 6 p.m. to midnight and will include demonstrations of the added features within Tiger, as well as workshops to help users understand how the new Mac OS works. Stores will also run promotional giveways, offering iPods, PowerBook G4s and other items as prizes.

Retailer CompUSA will run a promotion starting at the same time, offering a $30 mail-in rebate on Tiger for purchases over $400, as well as giving away a 1GB iPod Shuffle in all of its stores. CompUSA also has a 10 percent discount on all Apple and third-party Macintosh software.

"Features like Spotlight and Dashboard will change the way millions of people use their computers," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Our competitors will be trying to copy Tiger's more than 200 new features and innovations for years to come."