Apple yesterday put a value on its decision to give away future OS X upgrades to all Mac users and offer the iWork and iLife suites for free to new Mac and iOS device buyers.Coincidentally, the $900 million that Apple will defer to account for the free software was exactly the same as the amount that its Redmond, Wash. rival wrote off its books in July.But unlike Microsoft, which crossed off $900 million in revenue to account for an over-supply of Surface RT tablets, Apple's number was not a loss, but instead a long-term deferral of revenue: The money will eventually be recorded on Apple's books.During an earnings call with Wall Street analysts Monday, Apple's CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, said that the company would defer an additional $900 million in revenue from th
