But most of the releases up to leopard were around 1.5 years apart I agree that performance and stability upgrades should be free, but in terms of schedule this is more of a return to the norm than a change.
macgasm Yeah, that's probably my relatively new to the mac opinion coming through there. The first os I used was Tiger, so the time between Tiger to Leopard is probably adding to my bias a little. I never got to experience the Puma -> Jaguar -> Panther -> Tiger progression.
The Panther through Leopard releases all seem to have some pretty huge additions to functionality, but it seems like Snow Leopard is going to fall short of those releases. It's more of a cheetah to puma release.
I think the Apple TV is the way to go since the Take Two update. It probably wasn't worth it prior, when it was more expensive for less of a feature set. Apple has set a bit of a new trend for themselves with the iPhone and the Apple TV, they have upped firmware features on the existing model instead of making customers go out and buy a new model (like they have always done with the iPods), and I expect there will be further improvements to the Apple TV.
The Panther through Leopard releases all seem to have some pretty huge additions to functionality, but it seems like Snow Leopard is going to fall short of those releases. It's more of a cheetah to puma release.