Mac OS X 10.6 ‘Snow Leopard’ already occupies two of the top three spots in Amazon’s software sales lists, but battle between Microsoft and Apple isn’t solely over technological superiority, but also over price.
Apple has already told Leopard users it will sell them Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopardfor just $29, rising to just $49 for Snow Leopard Family Pack (5-User).
There’s no introductory offer, not complex licensing arrangements – the price is what you see.
Not so for Microsoft, who appears to be hoping Windows 7 will be better-received than its previous attempt at a modern OS, Vista. Industry insiders pointed to Vista’s tiered and complex pricing system as rationale for poor market reception of the software, but it looks like Microsoft plans to repeat its own mistake – once again too many prices and bundles will complicate the buying experience.
Windows 7 Home Premium edition upgrade will cost $50 on launch; while the Professional edition costs $100. However, those prices were introductory – blink twice and you missed them – order now and the full price of the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade is $120 while Windows 7 Professional Upgrade will be $200 as standard.
Will upgrade pricing and the widely-anticipated launch of Apple’s 10-inch tablet computer be sufficient to persuade another batch of Windows users to make a different upgrade?
Walt Mossberg offers a handy chart, below, for those about to upgrade to Windows 7. Notice that, unless you are in one of the few green areas, you’ll be starting completely over:
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