Inflation Situation

I've carped now and then about the relative merits and downfalls of various computer operating systems - primarily Windows, Linux, and Mac.  Last week, Apple introduced the latest version of their operating system - Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard.   I don't know why Apple insists on naming their systems after large felines - previously, we were treated to Tiger, Panther, Jaguar, Puma, and Cheetah.  They've also got Lynx and Cougar trademarked, so presumably we can look forward to an operating system named after older sluts who chase young men.

Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced their latest operating system - Vista.  That marked their first major public offering since XP almost 7 years ago. Leopard is the first new Mac OS in roughly two years.  The thing that struck me about these two releases is the difference in price.  The Mac OS - unless you're purchasing it for a server - is $130, period.  On the Windows end of things, it gets a little blurry. They offer 5 different versions of Vista - six, if you happen to live in a third world toilet.  But for the sake of discussion, let's say we live in the U.S. of A., so there are only 5 versions. 

If you're really cheap - there's the el-cheapo Vista Home Basic edition, retailing at $199.  With this, though, be warned that you're getting a severely hobbled version of Windows with many limitations.  If you're migrating from XP, it's not really an upgrade.

The next step up is Vista Home Premium, retailing at $239.  This is the first edition that may actually represent an upgrade - from the standard edition of XP, but not from XP Media Center Edition.  There are still some limitations on this one, notably in the area of network connections and hardware support.

The next two are aimed at businesses, one retailing at $299, and the other only available through a bulk licensing agreement, so they don't really apply to the general user.

The final version, Vista Ultimate Edition, retails at a whopping $399.  This is the only version that truly represents an upgrade from the previous consumer level Windows OS, and more or less competes with other modern OS offerings.

Certainly $399 for the top Windows OS versus $130 for the top Mac OS is pretty lopsided.  Why does Microsoft believe it can command such a higher price?  Inflation?  Well, let's look at this historically.  The last major consumer Windows OS was XP, released in 2001, at a retail price of $199.  Mac's offering at the time was OS X 10.1 - retail price, still $130.  The really major Windows release prior to that was Windows 95, released in 1995.  Retail price?  $209.  Mac's offering at that time?  OS 7.5, retailing at...$130.  Back then, there was even a major operating system by IBM known as OS/2.  That also retailed for $130. 

So going back a dozen years, Microsoft has always priced their OS at 50% more than the competition.  Now, though, they're a positively ludicrous 200% higher.  Are we really to believe it's worth three times more than the Mac OS? And worth twice as much as the Windows of a dozen years ago?  Hell, you can get a mighty fine Linux OS for free.  Ubuntu linux is a very nice, comfortable OS, and I'd probably be using it a lot more if I weren't thrilled silly over my MacBook Pro with OS X 10.4.  They say you get what you pay for, but I'd counter that money can't buy happiness.