Macintosh Operating System upgrade?

Question

OK, here's the deal...
I currently have Mac OS X v10.2.8.
I need to have version 10.3 or later. Is there a software upgrade available on the apple website for this upgrade, or do I have to purchase the new version. (And if I do have to purchase it, where is it available?) It's late, and I'm tired of trying to figure this out on my own. Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

A software "Updates" updates a major version of software, but does not upgrate it to the next major version. For example, you can download a web update to update Mac OSX 10.2 to Mac OSX 10.2.8, but you can't download an "update" to upgrade from OSX 10.2 to OSX 10.3.
Hope that helps. I'm a geek.
Love, Betty