Apple Archive

Another Year, Another OS X Update - How About a Price Break?

- 2004.05.14

You know what I love? I love how Apple frequently updates its operating system in order to add new features and fix bugs.

While Microsoft just sits there saying, "We'll add it in Longhorn, we promise!", Apple offers a new Mac OS X release roughly once a year in order to incorporate some much wished for features while adding two or three neat "unexpected" things. For instance, Exposé in OS X 10.3 (Panther).

That's what I love about Apple - they never seem to quit fixing bugs and adding to their software.

But that's not what I really love. What I really love is how Apple proceeds to charge users of OS X another $129 every single time that they decide to upgrade their Mac OS.

If they decline to upgrade, "I'll wait until more people are using it," they get left behind. It doesn't seem to matter if the latest version of some critical app doesn't work with the older version of OS X you're using, because no matter what version it is, if it's not the latest - it's "too old," and if it's too old, then it's not worth supporting anymore.

It's not just Apple with that attitude. If you visited the Mac websites in the weeks after 10.3 Panther was released, far more articles were about it instead of Jaguar - new software for Panther, system hacks, and other little tidbits were coming out daily.

Articles about how to get the most with Panther, but what about Jaguar? It was but forgotten. I can't blame Apple for this - after all, they have to push 10.3 sales if they want to make a profit off of the software. They are a business, after all.

As far as the Mac Web goes, it's natural for people to be curious about the newest version of the Mac OS. Of course they'll want to play with it and write about their experiences, and that pushes sales in a way, too.

Pushing sales is fine, because OS X upgrades generally offer some good features that make upgrading worthwhile.

But if you buy every single upgrade, it starts running into money fast. Some of us have already spent several hundred dollars buying OS X plus the upgrades from 10.0 or 10.1 to 10.2 and then to 10.3. We'll probably buy 10.4 as well. What's another $129?

What Apple ought to have is a policy for frequent upgraders. If you have bought a certain number of OS X upgrades (maybe two), you should be able to get a discount on the next one. The more upgrades you've bought, the better discount on the next version. It's sort of a loyalty scheme to reward those who upgrade their Mac OS and stay up to date.

After all, it ensures that they have the most recent and (hopefully) less bug-ridden software, and it helps Apple by selling another copy of the OS. Fewer bugs and more features for the consumer, more profit for Apple. It's win-win, the way I see it.

Apple makes some pretty good products, and I like to see that consumers are receiving one of their Mac OS updates positively. However, I would really like software upgrades available on more affordable terms for Mac users, especially those who have supported Apple by frequently buying their products in the past.

Yes, Apple is a business and needs to make money, but I think it could make more money if it decided to give an incentive for people to upgrade from an older version of the Mac OS by allowing loyal customers to purchase the latest version at a slightly lower price.

Join us on Facebook!

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac IIfx, introduced 1990.03.19. This 'wicked fast' 40 MHz Mac trumped the 33 MHz DOS world.
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Apple Archive articles copyright ©2000-07 by Adam Robert Guha. Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay