Wesley Hilliard
Users still hanging on to older Macs no longer have to pay $20 for their Mac OS X download thanks to new Apple support documents.
Apple stopped charging for Mac OS X with the release of version 10.9 Mavericks, but users looking for older versions had to pay for the download codes via the Mac App Store. Both Mac OS X Lion and Mac OS X Mountain Lion are still available for purchase for $19.99 each.
In new support documents discovered by Macworld, Apple will allow users to access the download codes for these old operating systems for free.
Those who are feeling nostalgic can download the installers and run the old operating systems on compatible hardware on a partition, or on modern machines in a virtual machine.
Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast — and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too. If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
20 Comments
I wonder if Mountain Lion Server is also available for free. The user (non-server) version will not run in a Virtual Machine. Only the server version is licensed to run in a VM.
Cheapskates rejoice!