Leopard Roars

Apple's Leopard launch was a success, with tens of thousands of people around the world gathering at Apple Stores and many more receiving their copy in the mail from home. Like with all Apple launches, lines oft stretched around corners, but unlike with the iPhone, the Leopard launch turned out to be quite non-eventful.

Although the stores would not open their door for Leopard until the pre-announced hour of 6 o'clock, lines for many of the stores started forming around midday. The more popular stores had hundreds of people waiting in line, even in locations where the weather was less than favorable, and outside the U.S., where Apple stores are fewer and further between, the number of people went as high as over 500. The new operating system first went on sale in Tokyo, Australia and New Zeeland, followed by Europe and the US, at 6 pm local time.

While the vast majority of people gathered were there to get their hands on a copy of Leopard, this was not the sole reason why people congregated at the Stores; after all, one could have just as easily received a copy in the mail. The real reason why so many were gathered in queues was the experience of the launch. While Leopard may be nothing more than software at the end of the day, the new big cat marks another definite step forward, and brings people as Mac users, regardless of their personal differences. For those waiting in line outside the stores, Leopard was more than just a lot of code, it was an experience.

Various stores around the world also saw customers dressed in ways that were suggestive of Leopards, or Macs, with some going further than others. Apple also had other goodies for the first people to buy Leopard, including Leopard T-shirts, which many wanted, either as a memento or for their collectable value.