Mac os question

[beachBOYken]

Hi

When it comes to operating system versions do you have to pay to upgrade?

I'm thinking about getting a mac soon and I see the word yosmite, maverick...... Mentioned and I take it these are the OS versions.

So is it like windows where users are expected to pay to go from say windows 7 to 8 or do you get OS updates pushed to imac for free when released.

Thanks

 

[beachBOYken]

Suggestion : Type "OS X" into a Search engine and read for a couple of minutes.

Which I done and it brings up a lot of info, all I wanted was a straight forward answer for a which I thought was a straight forward question for a non Mac user

*OK I see yosmite is free but is this the case all the time?

 

[beachBOYken]

They are free upgrades now, they show up in the apple store and can be downloaded and installed when you like. There's a way to also download the latest version and put it on a usb stick so you can do a fresh install using the latest version.

Has been for the last two releases, previous three were £15 ish. Going forward? Who knows.

Bear in mind you can't run an earlier version of OS X than ships with the Mac.

OK thanks guys

 

[beachBOYken]

Just for the OP's sake if he wants to do this any time soon, the utility used to create the USB stick is createinstallmedia, and is found in the app bundle you download from the App Store. Usage instructions are easily found on the web (Apple website through the Goog).

Many thanks.

By the way do new Imacs come with a load of unwanted bloatware programs like you often get with new dell/hp windows pcs?