MacOS Panther - join our club and be cool!

The cost of being in an exclusive OS club

Published on November 18, 2003 By Draginol In Personal Computing

So as I get into Panther (OS X 10.3) I'm increasingly annoyed at the $129 upgrade price. Not that Panther isn't a good upgrade but Apple has pretty much made it clear that it is a specialty shop. You're not just buying a computer, you are buying membership into an elite club.

But for most people, cost matters. As a Mac and Windows user, my view is that while the Mac has some nice features, it s not nearly worth the cost involved.

I mean come on, $129 for 10.3 from 10.2? That's ridiculous. 10.3 is a service pack + some nice enhancements but it's pretty hard to justify $129 for it.

To trot out the often used car analogy, MacOS is like a high end BMW convertible. It definitely has some nice perks but it's not terribly compelling for most people over say a $35,000 Lincoln or Pontiac Bonneville or SUV. Especially since it may be impractical for some day to day stuff.

Comments

Steve

on Nov 18, 2003

You are looking at it incorrectly. Panther is not only $129 for an upgrade from 10.2, but it is also a $129 upgrade from those of us still using 9.2.2 And that is a really good deal. And certainly, if you don't want Panther, don't get it. I'm not running OS X, and that works just fine for me. No one has forced me to pay $129 three times to continuously upgrade. If you don't see value in 10.3, don't get it. Wait until 10.4, or 10.5. That is probably what I'll end up doing anyway.

gr00vy0ne

on Nov 19, 2003

If one is upgrading from 9.2.2 to 10.3 then the upgrade price seems justified since you're getting an entirely new operating system with a ton of new features. However, Apple should charge a nominal fee for people who already have OSX. From what I understand about, 10.3 fixes some of the shortcomings of 10.2 while introducing a handful of new features. For users who are accustomed to the Windows world, we see it as a Service Pack. And service packs are free which makes the Panther upgrade seem "expensive".

Of course, the Windows world has seen its share of similar upgrade messes with early versions of Windows. Windows 3.0 -> 3.1? Windows 98 -> 98SE? We got shafted the same way back then...

Tech Cat

on Nov 19, 2003

An upgrade from Windows 2000 (Windows NT 5.0) to Windows XP Pro (Windows NT 5.1) costs $200. Although a 5.0 to 5.1 upgrade seems minor, you do get a lot of new eye candy with the updates plus SP 1 and the upcoming SP 2 are free unless you order the SP CD which is only $10.

Well Windows 2000 was for professional users, so lets look at a home upgrade. An upgrade from Windows 98Tech Cat to Windows XP Home costs $100. This is $30 cheaper than the Mac OS upgrade. The $100 upgrade though is a far better deal than the OS X 10.2 to OS X 10.3 upgrade because you get a entirely new better built OS than you had before.

messybuu

on Nov 19, 2003

Well, I was worried that I would have to purchase an upgrade to 10.4 when it's available, and I see that my worries were just. Where as it looks like it's cheaper than upgrading to the new Windows OS, it's clearly not when you factor in the frequent upgrades as opposed to Windows which only needs one about every two years.

Tech Cat

on Nov 19, 2003

Messy, you don't have to upgrade to 10.4 when it comes out. Apple isn't going to put a gun to your head and force you to upgrade. You either choose to spend the money and upgrade or choose not to upgrade.

Andrew J. Brehm

on Nov 19, 2003

I wonder why Messy Buu actually bought an iBook and worries about OS X, what with his opinion about open source and Free software.

Anyway, it's true you don't have to upgrade. I usually buy every single upgrade, but then I have to tay current for lots of reasons. But most users might not have to do that. 10.2 is working well for most people and most of what 10.3 delivers is really pro stuff that might not even affect most users (with Expose and Fast User Switching being notable exceptions).

Incidentally, I have always seen the fact that new versions of Windows are not out as often as new versions of Mac OS X as a Windows disadvantage. Afterall, with Mac OS X the user at least has the option to upgrade every year.

messybuu

on Nov 19, 2003

I might not have to upgrade, but then again, nobody has to buy a Mac, yet people still complain about its price. Maybe I'm exagerating though. How often does an update to OS X come out? Hopefully not too frequently, because I want to stay up to date, but my wallet needs a break every so often.
Personally, I prefer MS's way of doing it, which is release really big updates about every two years with free service packs in between.

Webmastah87

on Nov 19, 2003

just stop complaining about prices. if u feel like upgrading, do it. if not, then well, dont. me? i prefer windows. im not really a mac fan. im running mac os 10.2 and its not all that great. although i have to praise the dock. its a neat little thing, even though windows has a taskbar, its not the same.

Tech Cat

on Nov 19, 2003

If the animated dock is your only reason for running Mac OS 10.2, then try Stardock Object Dock. It's animated and skinnable. Who needs OS X when you have WinXP with Object Dock?

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