Apple Slows Mac OS X Rollouts

Amid internal concerns over the quality control of recent OS updates, Apple Computer Inc. has pushed back the release date for the next significant revision to Mac OS X, sources said.

Mac OS X 10.2, the upgrade code-named Jaguar that was originally slated to arrive at Januarys Macworld Expo/San Francisco, has been delayed until early summer, they said.

According to the sources, the move is intended to address concerns that recent updates have been pushed out the door too quickly to address outstanding bugs. The as-yet-unannounced release is being timed to provide additional momentum to the important education-buying season.

More interim updates

Instead of jumping directly to Jaguar, Apple will reportedly offer at least two interim updates in the coming months.

Mac OS X 10.1.2, slated to arrive in the first weeks of December, will nail a variety of bugs, including an inability to mount Windows NT volumes under the Finder, FireWire and Ethernet connectivity glitches, and compatibility problems with some device drivers. It is also tuned to support the Mac hardware upgrades that sources said are due to ship at Expo.

At least one more “service upgrade” to the Unix-based OS is slated to ship in early spring.

Mac OS X 10.1, which shipped at Septembers Seybold conference in San Francisco, included a slew of enhancements, such as interface refinements, performance tune-ups, and DVD playback. A minor update released this month introduced many new issues, however, including interface glitches and erratic system crashes for some users.

According to sources, the company also continues to hone the performance of its Classic OS, which plays an important role as the compatibility layer for legacy Mac software running in OS X. The company is reportedly on the verge of releasing Mac OS 9.2.2, an update release that includes various bug fixes as well as support for new Mac hardware.

Apple declined to comment on the reports.