Each week, The Wall Street Journal’s technology columnist Walter S. Mossberg answers readers’ questions. This week one question asks about Apple’s Snow Leopard upgrade path and cost vs. Microsoft’s Vista service pack, er, “Windows 7.”
“Owners of any Mac with an Intel processor—about 80% of all Macs in use, including yours—will be able to do simple, direct in-place upgrades to the new Snow Leopard edition of the Mac operating system, due out soon,” Mossberg explains. “This method will preserve all programs, files and settings without requiring any of the hard-disk wiping, temporary offloading of files and re-installing of programs that Microsoft is requiring to move to Windows 7 from its most popular current version, Windows XP.
“Not only that, but Snow Leopard will cost you and other Leopard users just $29, which is $90 less than the Home Premium version of Windows 7,” Mossberg writes. “Apple also is claiming that the upgrade will be up to 45% faster than in the past and that it will actually free up an additional 6 gigabytes of hard disk space.”
However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be obstacles or issues for some Mac users. Most important, owners of the other 20% of Macs, those whose models use older PowerPC processors—like the G4 and G5—won’t be able to use Snow Leopard at all. It’s the first Mac OS version that runs only on Intel-based Macs,” Mossberg writes. “Also, although Intel-based Macs running the older Tiger version of the operating system can be directly and simply upgraded to Snow Leopard, Apple is officially requiring their owners to spend more for it. They have to buy Snow Leopard as part of a $169 boxed set that includes other Apple software they may not want.”
Full article, with info about how to “decrapify” a Windows PC of crapware (we chuckle at the Windows PC chuckleheads multiple times per day) here.
MacDailyNews Take: What goes unwritten in Mossberg’s response is the obvious: Leopard users are charged less for Snow Leopard because they already paid for Leopard. Tiger users didn’t. Regardless, Apple gives Tiger to Snow Leopard upgraders an excellent, if forced, deal on iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 which they’re getting for US$20 each.*
*Apple’s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard cost US$129 single license. Mac Box Set including Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard costs $169. That’s $40 total for both iLife ’09 and iWork ’09.
Walt’s Windows 7 upgrade chart is amazing. We Mac users get one disc and no confusion, at a far lower price point. Seriously, check out the Windows 7 upgrade chart: http://mossblog.allthingsd.com/20090804/deciphering-windows-7-upgrades-the-official-chart/
Tiger User: CURSE YOU APPLE for making me upgrade iPhoto to include facial recognition and maps! You rue the day you crossed me.
Well… what are you waiting for, start rueing!
I’ll pay the $29.00 to just get the 6GB of drive space back!!
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I am so happy I converted to a Mac user. I just laugh at all my family members having all their problems with their windows machines. No joke they spent, about an hour to see if their PCs can handle Windows7 and another hour contemplating which one to get, it’s like watching a mouse continually going after the button that shocks them.
MDN is so full of shit, bash M$, yet have ads for M$ products in the site?
M$ product ads? I don’t mind those. It’s the damn Prius ads that I hate!!! Actually, the page I’m looking at now has a Blackberry/Verizon ad. Anyone here apt to click on that Blackberry ad? Not many I think.
How do they certify the “upgrade”? I got my Leopard in Best Buy last year, should I take the box to the store or something to pay just $29 Dlls?
@Troy: No, just buy the $29 box. That disc will only work on your machine if you’re upgrading from Leopard.
Troy – My guess is that the $29 upgrade disc will require Leopard to install. Whether this is an install or previous registration, who knows.
@ Troy,
“should I take the box to the store or something to pay just $29 Dlls?”
No. The upgrade for one computer is just $29.
What are Dlls? That’s something to do with that arcain Windows BS isn’t it?
@MicrosoftDisplayNetwork:
You miss the point. We’re all Apple/Mac users here. So, if Microsoft is paying MDN to display ads, while MDN is allowed to talk trash about everything Microsoft, MDN wins. Microsoft helps provide money to MDN for more Apple products. It’s like PC tech support. lol
What? Get rid of ads and miss out on the “Women of Evony”? Are you mad?
I WISH MAC DAILY NEWS WOULD STOP SAYING “Microsoft Vista service pack, er, Windows 7” so much. All the readers of this site are Mac people, we know windows sucks. Why must you make me read 5 extra words in the headline and again in the article every time you mention Windows 7 for the past 6 months.
Time is money, I use mac to save time. Reading extra unnecessary words is a waste of time. Just say “Windows 7”. The articles you post already discredit the stupid OS, there is no reason to add your own discrediting words to it as well. There is no reason to be redundant. I mean really, there is not reason to be redundant.
Mossberg mentions the requirements for moving from XP to Windows 7. Will those same requirements be in place to move from Vista? If a user “upgraded” from XP to Vista, which is really the current version, will it be any easier?
@REALTORben
Five whole words? Damn you must be a busy booger. Which in this economy is a good thing.
It took me less than 2 seconds to get through those 5 words and (to make it easy) @ $20 an hour = .33333 per minute = .005555 per second, STFU!!!
That’s a potential of 6Gb – if you have a laptop then you’ve probably run Monolingual already to free up some space.
I’ve been considering buying iLife 09 and iWork 09 anyway. (Bough my comp. 2nd hand and it didn’t have niether.) So for me the $169 is like getting Snow Leapard for free! Saves me ~$20, not including taxes. And I will finally have a Leapord install disk.
My external HD combined with Carbon Copy Cloner has saved me from having to do so earlier. Wonder what the transition from iPhoto 06 to 09 will feel like. Probably snappy.
When you have to use a program called PC Decrapifier to fix your new machine that says it all. Must be a hell of a miraculous program!
@Jimithy
Good call on Mossberg’s Windows upgrade chart. I would love to see a Mac/PC Snow Leopard commercial that shows PC with that chart and Mac with the much simpler chart. I would include costs, too, if firm cost info is available for Windows 7.
*That* would be a hard hitting commercial…
I wonder if you have to purchase the right version of PC Decrapifier…
– PC Decrapifier Home Premium
– PC Decrapifier Professional
– PC Decrapifier Ultimate
Sweet. Only $29 for Leopard service pack.
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That being said, it’s a much better deal than the Windows Vista Service Pack price.
According to Wikipedia, Rosetta can be installed as an additional component to retain PowerPC support:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_OS_X
I have a Mac Pro, so it doesn’t matter to me, but, if true, it might be nice for those who don’t.
“Time is money, I use mac to save time.”
How much money did you make posting this screed, REALTORben? That’s a nice gig if you can get it.
Dude, I’m sure the ads are contextual. If you see MS WIndows ads, perhaps, it’s your browsing habits that need to be checked, and not MDN.