It appears that some Mac owners who buy OS X may be waiting longer than they initially anticipated to get their copy of the new operating system. MacCentral has received several e-mails from the Apple Store forwarded by readers — the e-mails suggest that the Apple Store is experiencing a backlog for orders placed for the new operating system.
“We appreciate your recent order for Apple products and apologize for the delay in fulfilling it,” said the e-mail from the Apple Store. “Unfortunately, one or more of the items ordered is experiencing a greater backlog delay than originally anticipated. Our goal is to get your order to you as soon as possible, but if you wish to cancel or change the order due to the delay, please contact us as soon as possible.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this delay has caused and appreciate your business,” the e-mail concluded.
Mac OS X, Apple’s next-generation operating system, is scheduled to be released on March 24th. The software was first made available publicly in the form of a public beta sold by the Apple Store beginning last fall. At Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed during his keynote address that the new software would ship in March.
Users who have pre-ordered from the U.S. Apple Store expect to receive their copies within a few days of the release; the company sends packages via United Parcel Service at no charge, or via the faster Federal Express package delivery service for an additional charge.
Many Mac users have placed pre-orders as soon as they could to take advantage of a special $30 discount available to users of the Public Beta. It’s possible that the e-mails are being sent automatically, since in some cases the orders have been queued up for a month or longer. A representative from the Apple Store could not confirm that the system software’s delivery would be delayed any longer than the original March 24th ship date, and Apple PR was not available for comment as we went to press with this story.