Where to buy os x mavericks upgrade#
Where to buy os x mavericks software#

ThatвЂ™s been the industry norm: that you get more for the same or less. By eliminating those latter costs, you now pay whatever you pay for a Mac and thatвЂ™s it -В either less or the same for notably more power, more storage, more bells and whistles, etc.

Where to buy os x mavericks upgrade#

Prior to Tuesday, you paid whatever you paid for a Mac, but you also paid ongoing upgrade fees for OS X, plus app costs if you used Apple products like iWork. It ignores the fact that AppleвЂ™s eliminated a consumer cost, however slight. You could argue thatвЂ™s how much AppleвЂ™s now charging for OS X Mavericks, minimum, but I think itвЂ™s the wrong way to characterize whatвЂ™s happened here. The least expensive Mac, the Mac mini, starts at $600. But IвЂ™d wager AppleвЂ™s been folding those costs in for years (and since Apple designs and controls its hardware, itвЂ™s probably been doing so from the start). By eliminating OS XвЂ™s upgrade fee, AppleвЂ™s simply folding its R&D costs into the platform as a whole. To obtain OS X, you need to purchase a Mac, just as you need to purchase an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to obtain iOS (iOS upgrades also cost nothing). SomeoneвЂ™s paying something, somewhere, andВ AppleвЂ™s going to get its piece one way or another. On the other hand, nothingвЂ™s really free. The norm in AppleвЂ™s case was paying $20 a year, and the norm prior to that was paying considerably more. And yes, вЂњfreeвЂќ has qualifications, but when hasnвЂ™t it? When we say something that used to cost money now costs nothing, weвЂ™re saying so in relation to an industry norm. So yes, I think itвЂ™s accurate to say that OS X Mavericks is free.

If you own a Mac runningВ OS X 10.6.8 or later, you just have to click the Mac App Store icon, locate OS X Mavericks (currently listed in вЂњfeaturedвЂќ), click вЂњDownloadвЂќ and run through the particulars. None of thatвЂ™s rocket science.Д«ut with OS X Mavericks, Apple finally eliminated that upgrade fee, making OS X Mavericks free for existing Mac owners. Upgrade fees have been AppleвЂ™s way to recoup some of that investment.

Where to buy os x mavericks software#

But like any self-respecting OS-maker, AppleвЂ™s charged a fee to upgrade, and IвЂ™ve been paying it for years.ДЄpple, of course, has software engineers and designers and project managers who work year in, year out to refine OS X, layering in new features, performance improvements, overhauling the interface and so forth.В These people need to be paid, and Apple itself needs to take its piece for investing substantial time to advance the Mac platform. Not money built into the price of each system - IвЂ™ve paid that, too.

Follow last half-dozen times IвЂ™ve updated OS X between hardware upgrades, IвЂ™ve paid money.