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Snow Leopard Pricing Scheme

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worker201:
Upgrade price:
Single user - $29
Family pack (5) - $49
Computer purchased between now and Snow Leopard's release - $9.95

Retail price:
Single user - $129

May seem weird, but consider that Apple is treating Snow Leopard as an improved Leopard, not as a shiny new OS (although they are sticking with the 10.6 numbering system).  Most people who are still on Tiger don't have any plans to upgrade, and probably don't meet many of the system requirements.  Apple is kinda leaving G4/G5 owners behind, I guess.

Compare this to Vista 2, aka Windows 7.  Right now it's free, but it will stop working next summer when Windows 7 is officially released.  You'll have to pay to keep it, probably using a tiered pricing scheme similar to the one for Vista.

Source:
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2009/06/09/snow-leopard-gets-richer-thinner-cheaper-than-windows-7/

davidnix71:
If Apple were smart, they would offer a "Snow Leopard Lite" for PPC users. I was told plainly by someone who has dealt in Mac parts for over 10 years that Leopard was bloated like Vista and not to bother unless I was using an Intel Mac. I bought Leo to put on a firewire drive, but I won't switch over until I have some practice at hacking it down. There is way too much crappola in it. I don't even use Widgets in Tiger and deleted Dashboard because it was so annoying.

Apple's public announcement about Snow Leopard included the promise of a faster OS, which implies they have been getting complaints about 10.5. Our Mac guy at work didn't seem to like Leo either, unless you need the extra networking features.

The graphics that are becoming common seem to be beyond the G4. The only way I can watch HD Flash is to download it and play it in ffmpegX. The MPlayer can't do it, VLC can't do it and on the web in a browser doesn't work either. All I get is a key frame or two and garbled sound. Converting to an mp4 is fine, but that downgrades the quality.

There are already parts of Garage Band that are greyed out to PPC users because they can't keep up.

worker201:
Well, they are running a hardware business and a software business.  It's their choice to leave behind old machines from 4 years ago.  Personally, I love Leopard.  I think it is fantastic.  My computer is getting up there in years (early 2006), but I have no problem running Leopard at all.

As for the idea of Snow Leopard Lite, it's not going to happen.  Originally, Apple was only planning to add Exchange support for Snow Leopard, and not much else.  However they were criticized for releasing a full-cost OS that added little functionality.  Since then, they have added some new features, and drastically cut the price.  But as a serious version update, it's still a little thin.  It's already Snow Leopard Lite.  If you make it any liter, it will be Leopard.  I probably won't even bother to upgrade, because Leopard should be well-supported until 10.7 comes out.

Lead Head:
Microsoft did the same thing with Vista as well, they had public betas and RCs for free public use far before the actual launch of Vista. It is just that no one seemed to have cared back then.

Do newer versions of OS X have hardware checks that prevents you from installing it on older, slower computers? A few years ago, my school had some late model G3s and some early G4 iMacs with the at the time latest version of OSX, and they were already dog slow. I can't imagine what they would be like with the latest version of OSX.

Is apple planning an entire new OS when they hit the 11.x range, or is it just going to be a continuation off the current code-base?

worker201:
To be honest, I think Apple is almost betting that personal computers will be obsolete by then.  A lot of the software updates recently, especially for iTunes, Quicktime, and Safari, have been geared toward making the desktop experience more similar to the iPhone experience.  Apple hasn't been looking to develop games for the iMac recently, but the iPhone is set to take on the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS as the portable gaming platform of choice.  It all points in one direction - away from the home/office, where what we know as OSX runs.

Of course the iPhone is running a stripped-down version of OSX, so there's no reason not to develop them side by side - for now.

There are hardware checks on OSX, but I don't know what they look for.  Mostly to make sure its a Mac, and that the video card is supported, I guess.  I've heard of Leopard running on G3s, so it can't be that draconian.

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