As reported by Macworld last week, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple's next operating system, will ship earlier than expected on Friday 28 August 2009.
The Apple Store was down late this morning, when it reopened for business Snow Leopard took centre stage.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard costs £25.00, while the Family Pack costs £39.00. On the Apple US Store Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard costs $29.00, the Family Pack $49.00.
A new Mac Box Set - featuring Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, iLife ’09, featuring iPhoto ’09, iMovie ’09, GarageBand ’09, iWeb ’09, and iDVD and iWork ’09, Apple’s productivity suite for home and office including Pages ’09, Numbers ’09, and Keynote ’09, costs £129.00 and £179.00 for the Family Pack.
Those running Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger will need to upgrade by purchasing the Mac Box Set.
The Mac Box Set in the US meanwhile is $169.00 and $229.00 for the Family Pack.
Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard - Unlimited Client License costs £399.00, or $499.00 in the US.
The Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Programme scheme, which started on 8 June 2009 runs until 26 December 2009 and offers customers the option to upgrade to Snow Leopard at a discounted price costs £7.95, $9.95 in the US, for Snow Leopard.
Users must request their Up-to-Date upgrade within 90 days of purchase or by December 26, 2009, whichever comes first. For more information please visit www.apple.com/uk/macosx/uptodate.
Snow Leopard will be available from Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers on Friday, while Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders.
Snow Leopard promises to refine, further simplify and speed up the Mac OS X experience.
Snow Leopard requires a Mac computer with an Intel processor. Full system requirements can be found on the Apple Web site at www.apple.com/uk/macosx/specs.html.
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Comments received
Kevin said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
£28 Dollars or £25 pounds!?! Cheers again Apple!!
Chris said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
£39 for family pack is a bargain, I really think this update will help leap OS X further ahead of Windows than it is now.
I am running a RC candiate of 7 and even that is not a match on many levels to Leopard in my opinion
Looking forward to Friday and getting my copy of Snow Leopard
Danny Kelly said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
29.00 USD = 17.5809 GBP on current rates. Ouch!
Michael said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Will the s/w be available to buy in the Apple Stores on Friday? or is it just 'shipping'?
mjd1951 said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Ordered this lunchtime - Family pack a bargain at £39.00!! now lets see if the Post Office can deliver!
Danny Kelly said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
It will be in the Apple store on Friday Michael.
dave said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
think ill wait till after christmas to upgrade.....want to find out if all my software is compatible.....last time i upgraded from tiger to leopard i lost 3 programs that i used a lot.
Not James Donevan said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Ha ha - James Donevan you know nothing - it is August 28th - yes a Bank Holiday - oh my god - all the shops close on Bank Holiday's - you know nothing - and yet slag stories of that are actually correct.
I've ordered mine. Looking forward to seeing what's new over the long weekend.
ojk7 said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Should be about £21 inc VAT based on the US price not too bad I suppose but still being overcharged
backlash said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
i'll wait for the torrent
Ade said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Everybody clap for backlash!
Mark Stickley said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
backlash, it's that kind of attitude - being determined to download no matter how cheap and reasonably priced they make the software - that forces companies to employ draconian DRM solutions, force online product registration and use other similarly undesirably tactics. Don't be an idiot and pony up the £25. It's not going to break the bank and it's good quality software worth paying for.
vader said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
£25? hmm it comes back to the old question of should we be paying for upgrades? and how much? is it an upgrade or an update?
this is not a new version of osx, it is an upgrade of 10.5, so is £25 too much?
oh and the piccy of a leopard with snow on its head is very cheesy....
Vector 209 said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
I think the price reflects it's worth.
More Interesting said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Apple blogger legally unlocks iPhone
www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/24/iphone_legit_unlock_finland/
sip said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
I still have my original Mac OS X 10.0 Beta Installer disk with fancy packaging and instruction booklet (yeah, sad, I know) and that cost me £25.
So, are we being sold a Beta 10.6?
Michael said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Thanks Danny
gregorsamsa said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
I'm all for constructive criticism but judging by some posts here (for eg. either it's too much or price merely reflects its worth, etc), Apple can't win whatever they do. £25 for a more streamlined, faster (already brilliant) OS X seems an excellent deal. What more do some people expect?
Chris said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
£39 for family pack is a bargain, I really think this update will help leap OS X further ahead of Windows than it is now.
I am running a RC candiate of 7 and even that is not a match on many levels to Leopard in my opinion
Looking forward to Friday and getting my copy of Snow Leopard
Fred said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
So am I right in thinking the only way to upgrade a machine running Tiger is to buy the Mac Box set? What if I don't want iLife and iWork?
I think they need to update this page:
www.apple.com/uk/macboxset/requirements.html
Mr Weekender said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Already ordered mine and looking forward to owning an operating system about 3 years ahead of anything Micro$oft could ever produce! Onwards>>
Jenks said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Why does the UK Mac customer alwys get ripped off by Apple? I know that £25 is cheap for an operating system (albeit a minor upgrade) but you can't help but be annoyed by the much cheaper US version.
Mark Stickley said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
backlash, it's that kind of attitude - being determined to download no matter how cheap and reasonably priced they make the software - that forces companies to employ draconian DRM solutions, force online product registration and use other similarly undesirably tactics. Don't be an idiot and pony up the £25. It's not going to break the bank and it's good quality software worth paying for.
Ben said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
I will pay £25 for a leaner, faster and optimised OS (of one which is already great). I will be at the Apple Store on Friday for sure.
Chris said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
£39 for family pack is a bargain, I really think this update will help leap OS X further ahead of Windows than it is now.
I am running a RC candiate of 7 and even that is not a match on many levels to Leopard in my opinion
Looking forward to Friday and getting my copy of Snow Leopard
chris said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Apologies for duplicate comments, seems Safari has a little glitch.
Nick said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
£25 will help I think limit piracy, not stop it, but convince some, many hopefully, to go legit rather than look for a torrent etc.
Steve said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
£25 is a great little price, happy with that, although I'll wait for user feedback before getting it straight off the bat!
panny said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
I can't believe that people are complaining about £4 extra (taking VAT into account)... see what sort of value the alternative Microsoft windows 7 is! At least Apple are honest, its just a much better version of leopard instead of pretending its completely new. There's been 10.5.8 - that's 8 updates which are free with leopard. No one is forcing you to upgrade either! There is nothing better value for an amazing operating system on the market. It does cost more to distribute in the UK than the US too.
Dan said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
reverttosaved.com/2009/08/24/helpful-hints-for-mac-users-whining-and-moaning-about-snow-leopard
Helpful hints for Mac users whining and moaning about Snow Leopard
by Craig Grannell
Well worth a read!
D.
Reader said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
I don't have a problem paying £25 to upgrade from Snow Leopard, or even £39 for multiple computers, but I do have a problem paying £129 to upgrade from Tiger, and won't do it for my iMac.
Mark Stickley said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
backlash, it's that kind of attitude - being determined to download no matter how cheap and reasonably priced they make the software - that forces companies to employ draconian DRM solutions, force online product registration and use other similarly undesirably tactics. Don't be an idiot and pony up the £25. It's not going to break the bank and it's good quality software worth paying for.
Mark Stickley said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
My apologies also for the multiple comments. Chris, I don't think it's a bug in Safari. MacWorld, fix your comments please! When you refresh to see new comments after commenting it re-posts your original comment. You can fix this with a simple server-side redirect.
Macdemon said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Getting a new iMac very soon, so Snow Leopard will be a nice touch :)
michael said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
£25 for Snow Leopard, that is still a very good price for the benefits that the new OS will bring. I can't wait
Jeez said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
really people! £25 for a OS update is very very cheap! Directly comparing using exchange rates is completely irrelevant, and even if it weren't a difference of less than £8 is really not worth whingeing about. Keeping up with advancements will always cost money no matter what the industry, if you don't like it then don't buy it
darcon said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Anyone know the time of the UK release? Is it just when the store opens or 6pm again? Can't find anything anywhere! I am in Glasgow but only until 11ish on Friday morning
Bev said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
I will be at the Apple store very excited about the release for my iMac :) I can then focus on buying a MacBook as I waited for Snow Leopard to come installed.
Excellent value for full boxed copy looking forward to Snow Leopard enjoyed the anticipation when the store closed today.
darcon said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Anyone know the time of the UK release? Is it just when the store opens or 6pm again? Can't find anything anywhere! I am in Glasgow but only until 11ish on Friday morning
darcon said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Anyone know the time of the UK release? Is it just when the store opens or 6pm again? Can't find anything anywhere! I am in Glasgow but only until 11ish on Friday morning
darcon said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
apologies for the duplicate posts - it's something i've done - i'm not normally that annoying!
Steve Tobs said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
What a great deal!I can hardly wait,its thedeal of the decade.buy it!hell by two!
Al said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
If it were yet-another-Microsoft OS, it would be full of holes and crash. Just like their browser 'flaws' they are using to devalue quality antivirus software companies like Sophos, which they will subsequently buy for a knock-down price, by giving away inferior 'hacked' antivirus products themselves for free.
This is achieved by deliberately compromising countless Windoze users' machines with spy-ware and viruses when entered a system by the web browser.
Come on, do you think it is that hard to virtualize and isolate a browser environment? No, it's all a deliberate cynical ploy, or the work of incompetent programmers.
Apple have pulled out all the stops to optimize their OS, while 'I'm a PC user' is made to feel clever for buying a PC, only to be ripped off by the person selling it to them for later upgrades for features that should have worked in the version they brought.
PC users don't feel so clever now, knowing they are being manipulated I guess.
FAKEJames Donevan said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Hello, my name is FAKEJames Donevan and it seems my prediction on Friday and not very nice words about Macworld was all wrong.
Mummy has sent me to bed without milky milk or Cuddles - my teddy - or even my iPod titchy for bedtime stories. Boo hoo.
Anyway I promise not to have a go at Macworld again and return to my day job as editor in chief of Mac User.
FAKEJames Donevan
Macdemon said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Getting a new iMac very soon, so Snow Leopard will be a nice touch :)
@Al said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Problem is that apple has it's fair share of holes but with less than 5% OS coverage - no one cares.
George said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
On the subject of price. In America they've known the price for several months Apple UK has waited until shipping was announced.
Perhaps because of the vagries of the FX rate but given that the have overcharged by just over £4.00 thats well covered so maybe they knew the prce all along and just wanted to avoid the inevitabe complaints over the price?
Don't get me wrong will be buying it but a quick check of Apple.com's site and Amazon.com show that the product cannot be shipped to the UK
CFC said on Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Amazon.uk selling it at £23.99 including shipping. Why the hell would you ever buy anything from the Apple shop/website.
Sion said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
Getting a new MacBook soon so Snow Leopard will be a nice bonus. And the price is very good, I think. Looking forward to it!
Millypede said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
Its a 9am launch this time, not a 6pm
jb said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
wont bother cos selling my macbook pro to get get a new pc. cost of repairs prohibits me keeping it.
Badger said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
I find it amusing that people are complaining about paying £4 more or so than the Americans when they are paying for hideously over-priced, over-inflated Apple hardware in the first place...if you're counting how much money you're out, it's more likely in the hundreds.
Not a silly tit said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
The US price doesn't include Sales Tax. The UK one does.
Those of you moaning about the price should cmd Q yourselves.
FUD Merchant said said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
"Problem is that apple has it's fair share of holes but with less than 5% OS coverage - no one cares."
Define 'Fair Share' please. Show where you got your 5% from please.
Then post proper stuff, not FUD. Have you had your paycheck from Microsoft yet?
Rob said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
I haven't really followed the info about Snow Leopard, but now it's announced I tool a look. Actually it looks good, I like and will use a lot of the enhancements. It feels like £25 (or £39) is a good price despite poor dollar conversion, so I'll buy it.
If I were to analyse how £25 is worth it in terms of work productivity, I doubt I could. Maybe some marketing geek will tell us how many £££ we'll save over a year by being able to start work after only about 5 seconds rather than 10 seconds after start-up ;-)
Ascylto said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
£25 might not seem like a lot and, when US Sales Tax is considered the true UK price should be about £21. I believe I have every right to moan because I have loads of Apple gear ... 2 iMacs, a MacBook, several iPods and Apple peripherals so the UK loading is NOT an insignificant amount. It'll never make me buy Micro$hit but it's a real pain in the arse. And, what's more, it's unnecessary because it helps alienate an important market sector.
James said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
still a lot for what should be a free update.
Castro said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
Not a silly tit said
"The US price doesn't include Sales Tax. The UK one does. Those of you moaning about the price should cmd Q yourselves."
You beat me to it! If you are all going to moan at least check what you're moaning about. Idiots.
Pay The Money said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
Apple need the money to spend more on stopping products bursting into flames:
www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/08/25/smoking_imac_video/
tony said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
Castro - in the US online prices have no taxes added to them. What you see is what you pay
Arek said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
@Chris: Specifically, in what functionalities is W7 supposedly not a match to Leo?
tony said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
Castro - in the US online prices have no taxes added to them. What you see is what you pay
@ FUD Merchan said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8
VB said on Tue, 25 Aug 2009
Interesting turn:
blog.intego.com/2009/08/25/snow-leopard-contains-an-antivirus/
Sg said on Wed, 26 Aug 2009
To The Complainers "LEARN"
The US Apple Store List for 29.99 for Snow Leopard, Each State Adds its own Tax to the Order, So By Example I Had to Pay 35.98$ US at end Cost.
So We Still Have to pay Sales Tax On top of The Listed Price, And Each State Is Different.
Some States Total price Are MORE.. Get This MORE then What everyone here is Complaining About, Your taxes are Added in at time Of Buying, Ares is Added in At the End Of Purchase.
No Difference in Cost After Exchange and mandatory Import Export Taxes are Paid.
These Complaints are Worth Nothing, Go back and Get an Education and Learn About Exchange Rates Import Export Excise Taxes and Mandatory Shipping Cost on Top of the Skim off Bit your EU Government Lackeys Tax On.
Or Move to the US and Pay the Listed Price Then the Sales Tax By What State You Live In.
Pathetic Complainers have No Clue How Your Own Government Works overseas Do You?
Bob Caygeon said on Wed, 26 Aug 2009
@Vader "oh and the piccy of a leopard with snow on its head is very cheesy...."
That'll be a snow leopard then. Apparently they live in places where it snows... which is maybe where they get their name from... ?
vader said on Wed, 26 Aug 2009
yes bob i worked that out, my point is that it looks really cheesy on the front of the packaging....i didn't ask about why they get their name.
vader said on Wed, 26 Aug 2009
good to see macworld's sales department adding an amazon affiliate link to this news story...christ, can't you cram any more adverts on the page?
George said on Wed, 26 Aug 2009
Its not so much Snow leopard pricing we're worried about but what if Apple now go back to the one to one exchange rate for their more expensive products. That would be really painful hence the protests re Snow leopard
Mr Weekender said on Thu, 27 Aug 2009
@ the tool who keeps calling me Weak Ender - Man you're funny and yes you're right many parts of OS X aren't 3 years in front of Winshite.... I mean IE8, what, still not web standards compliant!? and what about the way it deals with memory addressing - The WOW all my applications just crashed because of a 200k 3rd party plugin starts now.
Richie said on Thu, 27 Aug 2009
i have come across people saying it is just a service pack and should be free, well that is stupid, lets just look at what Microsoft did with Windows, an old now dead OS, Windows 98 & Windows 98 SE they charged, Snow Leopard is not a service like pack but a second edition well work £25 unlike Windows 98 v 98SE that was a bit over charging, now Microsoft is charging daft money for it's NT OS's going way past £300, so Apple has charged to me a fair price.
Bob Caygeon said on Thu, 27 Aug 2009
I like cats.
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