This is frankly disingenuous to Mac users especially the new ones that purchased a Mac after June 8th. Why not a FREE upgrade? At least Microsoft is providing a free upgrade to Wnidows 7 to new purchases of Vista.
Upgrading from Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger.
If your Intel-based Mac is running Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, purchase the Mac Box Set (when available), which is a single, affordable package that includes Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard; iLife ’09, with the latest versions of iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD; and iWork ’09, Apple’s productivity suite for home and office including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. NOTE: THIS IS NOT $29 AND THIS IS THE REASON ED BOTTS ARTICLE WAS RELEVANT
Why is it so hard for you to understand that the $29 is for an upgrade to OSX Leopard, not OS X Tiger? Those are two different OSes and two different products.
The people you and Bott are wanting to be able to get to pay $29 own Tiger, they NEVER bought or paid for Leopard, so how can they upgrade it? It is akin to complaining that someone can't install Service Pack 2 for Vista on WindowsXP.
Before you argue that the Windows SP2 is free, but Apple is charging for their upgrade, Snow Leopard has a cost because it adds new functions that a mere service pack does not making a new OS.
As for the $9.95 charge for the Snow Leopard upgrade for those who purchased Macs after June 8th, that has to do with GAAP rules that were put in place in 2004 that require that Apple charge for "new" functionality or be subject to a potential stockholder's lawsuit for improperly transferring company assets without compensation. Apple charges a nominal price for the upgrade to satisfy the requirements of the regulations plus shipping and handling.
Why does this matter to you? You aren't involved.