if os 10.4 comes out will 10.3 be free?

[encrypt3d]

if os 10.4 comes out will 10.3 be free?

[wordmunger]

if os 10.4 comes out will 10.3 be free?
No, it will be unavailable. Try to find a copy of 10.2 these days.

[applemacdude]

Look if Os 8 isnt free what makes you think 10 will be?

[stoid]

Can't get Windows 2000 or 98 or whatever for free either. ;)

[Calvinatir]

theres a copy of 10.2 in my school's computer store...Pepperdine U.

[blue&whiteman]

theres a copy of 10.2 in my school's computer store...Pepperdine U.

10.2 should still be sold because of all the people that have macs that will not run panther. beige G3 and wallstreet pb owners.

[wdlove]

theres a copy of 10.2 in my school's computer store...Pepperdine U.

What are they charging for the 10.2?

[solvs]

You can still find the old software for sale. It isn't free, but it is cheaper.

[arogge]

How about if OS 10.4 comes out, can the "new features" be downloaded for free and as separate packages, and installed without a reboot? Something like "apt-get" would be good. :D

[Krizoitz]

You used to be able to get System 7 for free from Apples website, as well as previous systems. Heck before System 7 the OS was completely free. Those were the days.

[mvc]

You used to be able to get System 7 for free from Apples website, as well as previous systems. Heck before System 7 the OS was completely free. Those were the days.

No, actually, they weren't :rolleyes:

[wordmunger]

You can still find the old software for sale. It isn't free, but it is cheaper.
Not that I'm interested in buying it, but where are you talking about? Yes, you can find old copies for sale on eBay/amazon, but the Apple store doesn't carry it, and neither do the major resellers such as Macconnection, etc. If you use the MacRumors "shop" link, there is one copy for sale, for $112--not much of a discount, from some place I've never heard of.

[mikepctp]

I bought a copy (of 10.2.1) about 2 months ago from an Ebayer in the northern part of the US. He had many copies individually listed. It is new and un-registered and came with OS 9 restore CDs as well. $22.00 US. You just need to look for it and you will find it on Ebay. :D

[MisterMe]

No, actually, they weren't :rolleyes:Actually, they were. Only if you bought a shrinkwrapped version the Macintosh OS up to System 7.0.1 did you pay for it. You had the option to go online and legally download every System up to System 7.0.1. Prior to System 7.0, it was common for developers to include complete working Systems on the distribution floppies for the applications. System 7.0 was the first version that was considered to be a retail product. As I said above, it was also available as a free download from Apple. The complete version of System 7.0.1 was even more available. I downloaded it from Apple's forum on CompuServe. System 7.1 was the first version of the Macintosh operating system that was not legally available through free channels.

[5300cs]

If you dig around Apple's site, you can DL OS 7.5.3 for free, then get the update to 7.5.5. This is legal, Apple released it.

If you dig harder, you can find the many different previous/recent versions, though it isn't legal to DL them :) Hit eBay

[Nny]

Other World Computing carries old OS X upgrades as new, boxed copies. You can get them cheap. Also can buy on eBay to get an inexpensive copy. TNSTAAFL, though.

[KC9AIC]

The reason Apple wouldn't give out 10.3 free is that it would cut into 10.4 sales. Now if you had 10.2, 10.1, or, heaven forbid, 9 or earlier, would you upgrade free to 10.3 or would you pay an extra $129 to go up a single .1? It's just not good for Apple. Also, if 10.3 were for download, it'd take up a huge amount of bandwidth, and even if Apple wan't hosting it, it would still be an obstacle for the end user.

BTW, I've found MegaMacs (http://www.megamacs.com/v1/index.php?cat=15010) to have decent prices on old OS versions.

[Horrortaxi]

When the 2005 model cars come out, the 2004 models will not suddenly be free just because they're old.

[rt_brained]

if os 10.4 comes out will 10.3 be free?
Yes, but only on 3 1/4" floppies.

[arogge]

The reason Apple wouldn't give out 10.3 free is that it would cut into 10.4 sales. Now if you had 10.2, 10.1, or, heaven forbid, 9 or earlier, would you upgrade free to 10.3 or would you pay an extra $129 to go up a single .1?

Many users would probably upgrade to 10.4 anyway. Apple can keep making software that only works on the latest version of OS X, but the real value of software is determined by the buyer. If the new version offers something useful for that $129 expense, people will buy it. When some cars are replaced by new models, the old models can become free :eek:. I saw a few advertisements last year about buying one year-end model at discount and getting a second one free. They really wanted to get rid of those old models because nobody was buying them and the dealers needed more room on the lots for the new models being delivered. This price justification is something that Microsoft is having problems with - trying to get people to pay to upgrade to XP when many people are still using Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4:

http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5189481.html

[benpatient]

the real issue there is that MS continues to support their older OSes for quite a while.

Apple has adopted an "abandonware" approach to their OS...

Just try getting tech help from applecare on a legitimately purchased retail copy of OS 10.1, or *gasp* a security update for it.

They quit supporting their "legitimate retail products" much too quickly considering the mandatory upgrade costs.

There are plenty of new PC programs that have come out in 2004 that run just fine on Win98 or sometimes even Win 95 (if properly software-updated).

Most new Mac software won't even run on anything before Jaguar, and probably next year's stuff won't run on less than Panther.

I understand the "feature addition=incompatibility with old OS" reason for this, but windows, for all its problems, has managed to avoid creating an impossible situation for those that can't afford 130 dollars a year to be able to run the latest Microsoft Word edition and be able to push F9-F11 and see cool graphics.

Funny, after over 300 dollars spent so far on OS X, my Finder is still not as good as the OS 9 one...

[musicpyrite]

if os 10.4 comes out will 10.3 be free?

Ha! Newbies, you gotta love them. ;)

[Horrortaxi]

Ha! Newbies, you gotta love them. ;)
10.3 won't be free after 10.4 is released, but your computer will fail to boot. Likewise, Computers made of titanium fail to operate after the release of computers made of aluminum. Don't buy a G5 because when the G6 comes out, everything older will be instantly obsolete and nonfunctional. It's a known fact that every 1st and 2nd generation iPod stopped working last May when the 3rd generation iPods came out. If you hack the firmware to work around the "death", Steve Jobs will personally come to your house and burn you with a hot poker. It's just a simple matter of fact--Apple sucks. It's all about the money grab.

Yeah, I love the newbies.

[arogge]

benpatient,

"the real issue there is that MS continues to support their older OSes for quite a while. Apple has adopted an "abandonware" approach to their OS..."

So many applications are labeled "Requires OS 10.2 or higher" and some applications like Apple's X11 and Safari are deliberately restricted so that they don't run on anything earlier than 10.3. That looks like a mandatory upgrade scheme, unless you like the bugs that were left in the software.

"Funny, after over 300 dollars spent so far on OS X, my Finder is still not as good as the OS 9 one..."

I don't like the OS X Finder, either. These forced upgrades and a lack of important software support from Apple are moving OS X off my PowerMac, which will get an operating system that doesn't have to be purchased and reinstalled to "stay current" and has a better set of GUIs that are faster and more functional than Aqua. :cool: And then maybe I can also get Wildcat graphics drivers, something else that Apple refuses to support.

[solvs]

Not that I'm interested in buying it, but where are you talking about? Yes, you can find old copies for sale on eBay/amazon, but the Apple store doesn't carry it, and neither do the major resellers such as Macconnection, etc. If you use the MacRumors "shop" link, there is one copy for sale, for $112--not much of a discount, from some place I've never heard of.

The back of MacWorld magazine has ads for all sorts of stuff. A lot of places you can find old software cheap (or cheaper).

And for those complaining about upgrading, you don't have to upgrade. I have an old Beige G3 that won't run 10.3, so I can't use a lot of the newest stuff. But that doesn't mean I can't use OS 9 or 10.2.8. No Safari 1.2, but if you want the latest and greatest, you kinda gotta pay for it.

If you're going to pay to update some software, you got to pay for the newest OS as well. Sucks, but that's the way it is. It's like that in Windows, too. Adobe Premier 7 and AIM with video and iChat support work only with XP. :(