“I’m sure Apple is probably spending as much in developing 10.6 as they’d routinely invest in a standard feature upgrade, and some of its new capabilities may be far more meaningful in the areas where it counts, and that’s being able to get your work done faster, with greater stability,” Gene Steinberg writes for The Mac Night Owl.
“I don’t think Apple is going to suffer severely if they truly ditch the PowerPC with Snow Leopard. Understand, though, that even if the reports about the system requirements of the developer preview are true, that doesn’t mean Apple isn’t going to roll in PowerPC code between now and 10.6’s release date,” Steinberg writes. “But I doubt it. This no advantage in spending extra millions to incorporate support for an older processor platform that can scarcely benefit from Snow Leopard’s enhancements.”
“Personally, I still think Apple has to cope with user psychology. For years, new versions of software that exacted a full upgrade price contained new features to justify the purchase price. While the work Apple is doing admittedly carries equal or better value, I expect many people won’t agree,” Steinberg writes.
“If Apple were to provide Snow Leopard free, almost free, or for a modest purchase price, say $59 or $79. it wouldn’t diminish the Mac OS value equation,” Steinberg writes. “Apple would simply deliver the appropriate spin, claiming it is their gift to millions of loyal customers who have embraced the Mac platform over the years. And they’ll still make a bundle regardless.”
Full article here.
Simple Answer:
Full price to upgrade from Tiger
Discount to upgrade from Leopard
Should auto manufacturers charge extra for brakes, safety belts, and door locks?
charge $129
complainers $149
Apple’s sliding scale purchase plan
suckers $129
switchers $149
idiots $169
cretins $189
morons $209
simpletons $229
half-wits $249
imbeciles $269
pinheads $289
nitwits $309
fanbois $329
@ha ha huh?
That looks awfully similar to Microsofts…
Suckers defined as people who use hardware that works.
Comment from: no – “charge $129 complainers $149”
Perfect buisness plan!
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” /> …Ha! ha!
If Microsoft did this with Wista and their other products, prices would go sky high!
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and don’t forget Radius, microsoft fanbois paying $329 for the Windows Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Who pays three hundred dollars for an OS?
Should Be Free! Charging for a ‘Software Update’ with a fancy name is just wrong. M$ didn’t even charge for XP SP2. Don’t tell me this is different without an explanation that makes sense. I’m not paying for patches!
Skabeetle, no soup for you!
I liked Daniel’s theory of why Snow Leopard will be regular price. Mainly, there is no need to lower it. The people that will benefit from it will happily pay $129 or more and the people that won’t benefit probably wouldn’t upgrade anyways.
@G4Dualie
True, very true. Remember Microsoft’s motto ‘ We paint our customers into a corner, and then squeeze all the cash out of them!’
Hey, Ha,Ha,Huh, Isn’t it great that Microsoft has to give away Apple iPods to get people to use their search system? God, comedy like this just can’t be invented!
Sorry, that would be Daniel Dillenger (sp?) at Roughlydrafted.com
If you don’t read Roughlydrafted.com, who are you?
@skabeetle,
There will be new features in 10.6. They just won’t be of the same magnitude as Spotlight, Dashboard, Spaces, Time Machine, etc.
They could charge for it as normal. For those who do not think it offers any value, guess what? Don’t buy it!! The following version will offer nice bells and whistles, some based on the new foundations, which people will value, and they can upgrade then. Meanwhile, developers have the foundations of future releases to build on. If any of these apps make Snow Leopard desirable after all, then buy it!
Basically it’s simple. If you like it, at release or later, buy it. If not, then don’t.
Apple may entirely expect most users not to bother.
And they don’t want users getting free Leopard upgrades through the back door. Someone said offer discount to Leopard users, but that sounds like work and also hackable. Why bother?
Everything should be free! Everything! Profit should be outlawed! Hang all corporate dogs! Confiscate the wealth of the oligarchy and distribute the money to everyone else! Socialism forever! Long live Marx, Lenin, and Che!
‘Nuff said.
Nah. They should simply have a charge for every new advertised feature.
Peace.
YES, give it away. Or sell it for $49.99. This will show that MS Windows is a total joke!
“Should auto manufacturers charge extra for brakes, safety belts, and door locks?
Sometimes they charge more for good brakes. Sometimes they charge more for Airbags. Cusre you sneeky automakers!
Really, I think $39 – $69 is acceptable. I’d be a bit annoyed at $129.
@Ha, ha, ha
You Missed 2
China $1 to compete with pirates
Government $329,000
personally i’ve never payed for for an OS update because my company always pays for me, but i would happily pay $129 for snow leopard. If Apple is spending millions developing it, it seems more than reasonable to have to pay for it. Anyone asking for it for free just isn’t living in reality. The world is not open source and free.
Annoyed? Why annoyed? Because you want to have the benefits but don’t want to pay for it?
Then don’t buy it, be annoyed, and buy 10.7, when there ARE improvements you can justify to yourself!
Personally, I think that when they are finished, the improvements WILL be worth paying for – I like the idea of faster, smoother, more reliable code – which, by the way, ain’t cheap! And the improvements already mentioned, that are not being called new features, by the way, are already pretty good.
I’ll buy it.
Snow Leopard Home Kitty – $29.95
Snow Leopard Home Tom Cat – $29.95
Snow Leopard Professional Mama Cat – $29.95
Snow Leopard Professional Alley Cat – $29.95
BC
Do car companies charge less, or at all, when they revise one of their models? Apple Inc, like it or not is still in the business of making a profit. This means that they will probably offer Snow Leopard for some charge – afterall, after all the manhours and research that has gone into the product – why shouldn’t Apple get a return for it?
Let’s not be foolish here – Apple doesn’t exist for goodwill alone…
‘Free’ is never really free, in any case, and I expect Apple to charge for Snow Leopard within the range of $79. To me, that’s a fair deal, and I am quite happy to reward Apple for its efforts to give me a damn good OS.
“Should auto manufacturers charge extra for brakes, safety belts, and door locks?”
Actually, they do. And then they hit you for floor mats. I don’t think there is anything in the world more over priced than car dealer floor mats.