Apple offers Mac OS X Maintenance Program
June 1 - 00:50 ET  Apple is offering a new program that will provide users of Mac OS X the opportunity to receive major releases of the company's industrial strength operating system over a three year period. The Program, which will apply to Mac OS X exclusively and not OS X Server, will allow customers to receive future upgrades to the OS as part of the agreement.

Payment is required up front and covers major releases of Mac OS X that Apple includes in the Program during the three year term, however, education accounts that are legally required to purchase software on an annual basis will be exempt. The minimum purchase for the Program is 10 seats, whether purchased for new or existing hardware. Cancellation refunds will not be accepted during the term, but customers will have 14 days in which to cancel once the agreement is received in the mail. In addition, Apple states that the "Maintenance Program purchase takes place on a transactional basis, like Apple's existing Volume License program." A maintenance agreement, data sheet, and sales presentation will be available in the immediate future.

The pricing structure for the Program is as follows:

Number of Users	Retail price per seat	Education price per seat
10-99	US$69 per year (Three-year total: $207)	$49 per year (Three-year total: $147)
100-999	$59 per year (Three-year total: $177)	$39 per year (Three-year total: $117)
*1000+	$49 per year (Three-year total: $147)	$29 per year (Three-year total: $87)
*Note: Orders of 1000 units or more must be made directly with Apple.

Further information may be obtained by contacting your Apple representative or by calling 800-747-7483.