3 ms·

10.9 was the first "free" macOS release, prior to that, it was a paid upgrade.

underseacables 5y ago
Well time to upgrade the 2014 MacBook Pro!
Lammy 5y ago
10.1 was kinda free https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2001/10/macosx-10-1/2/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2001/10/macosx-10-1/2/ "Mac OS X 10.1 was released on September 29th, 2001, but that date depends on your definition of "released." Update CDs were handed out for free after Apple's keynote speech at the Seybold publishing conference in San Francisco. People who did not attend Seybold have several ways to get the update. Starting on the 25th, free update CDs are being handed out at Apple stores and some other retail outlets. This free update does not include the developer tools, but those can be downloaded by all ADC online members (free registration required) from Apple's web site. Finally, owners of Mac OS X 10.0 can order a full update containing a Mac OS 9.2.1 CD, a Mac OS X 10.1 update CD, and a developer tools CD through Apple's Mac OS X Up-to-Date program at a cost of $19.95 (plus state tax). The 10.1 update is not available for free download."
- galago 5y ago
  I picked up the 10.1 CD at my university bookstore. It was still incredibly slow. I'm pretty sure I was using it on a beige G3 PPC with 256MB of RAM. I thought it was super cool, the new version of NeXT, but I was still doing actual work on a PC running RedHat or Win2000.
  - salamandersauce 5y ago
    It didn't really become fast until 10.2 and even then you needed a GPU that supported Quartz Extreme to get that. My G3 Imac never ran it well because of that. I had to disable basically every graphical effect to get anything remotely resembling speed. Mac OS 9 on the same machine even with an eighth the RAM (64MB) was way way more responsive. Unfortunately even by the time I got that machine in 2005, the OS 9 browser situation was a problem for a lot of sites.
- giobox 5y ago
  10.0 was effectively a beta OS, which was probably why Apple felt compelled at that time to offer the 10.1 update for as close to free as they could to those who had suffered through the developer previews. 10.1 still had plenty of issues too. IIRC the next paid upgrade 10.2 was the more typical for the period 129 dollars. I was in a line of three people at my local Apple store for the free disc back in 2001.
kps 5y ago
Remember when people actually wanted updates, so much that they'd pay for them?

Well time to upgrade the 2014 MacBook Pro!

10.1 was kinda free https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2001/10/macosx-10-1/2/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2001/10/macosx-10-1/2/ "Mac OS X 10.1 was released on September 29th, 2001, but that date depends on your definition of "released." Update CDs were handed out for free after Apple's keynote speech at the Seybold publishing conference in San Francisco. People who did not attend Seybold have several ways to get the update. Starting on the 25th, free update CDs are being handed out at Apple stores and some other retail outlets. This free update does not include the developer tools, but those can be downloaded by all ADC online members (free registration required) from Apple's web site. Finally, owners of Mac OS X 10.0 can order a full update containing a Mac OS 9.2.1 CD, a Mac OS X 10.1 update CD, and a developer tools CD through Apple's Mac OS X Up-to-Date program at a cost of $19.95 (plus state tax). The 10.1 update is not available for free download."

galago 5y ago
I picked up the 10.1 CD at my university bookstore. It was still incredibly slow. I'm pretty sure I was using it on a beige G3 PPC with 256MB of RAM. I thought it was super cool, the new version of NeXT, but I was still doing actual work on a PC running RedHat or Win2000.
- salamandersauce 5y ago
  It didn't really become fast until 10.2 and even then you needed a GPU that supported Quartz Extreme to get that. My G3 Imac never ran it well because of that. I had to disable basically every graphical effect to get anything remotely resembling speed. Mac OS 9 on the same machine even with an eighth the RAM (64MB) was way way more responsive. Unfortunately even by the time I got that machine in 2005, the OS 9 browser situation was a problem for a lot of sites.
giobox 5y ago
10.0 was effectively a beta OS, which was probably why Apple felt compelled at that time to offer the 10.1 update for as close to free as they could to those who had suffered through the developer previews. 10.1 still had plenty of issues too. IIRC the next paid upgrade 10.2 was the more typical for the period 129 dollars. I was in a line of three people at my local Apple store for the free disc back in 2001.

kps 5y ago

Remember when people actually wanted updates, so much that they'd pay for them?