No. Hardware can be commoditized as with the PC market. Apple has an incentive to sell Mountain Lion at $19 which is to increase the adoption of new OS version

No. Hardware can be commoditized as with the PC market. Apple has an incentive to sell Mountain Lion at $19 which is to increase the adoption of new OS versions. They also make money predominantly on hardware so a lower software cost isn't such a financial hit. Lowering the price of their newer OS also depresses the value of operating system software in the eyes of consumers. This is important with the upcoming release of Windows 8. Innovation and market differentiation is essentially what you are looking for. And ultimately you need a good product and resulting sales.