"So, what's this Apple Lion that I'm hearing all about then?" …
Is what a lot of my clients are saying. Well in short, Lion is the brand new spanking version of OS X and is due to be with us all in July.
"Shall we do this article as a set of questions and Answers?" they would almost certainly be asking next. So yes, lets do that. It's probably going to make it easier to read. And write.
So, do I need Lion?
No. None "needs" a new OS, but it makes sense if you want to be bang up to date with the latest system, use the latest features and have a Mac that can run Lion.
Aah, do I have a Mac that can do that thing that you just slipped in there?
Lion will only run on Intel Macs, so if you have a G5 or G4 machine I'm going to have to stop you there. You'll want to be upgrading your machine I'm afraid. Also Lion will not run on all Intel Macs, only those with a Core2Duo or i series. Early Macs that came with the Core Solo or Core Duo chip are also excluded from the party.
Anything else I'll need to upgrade?
Probably, you know how these things go. The minimum RAM requirement for Lion is 1GB, but you don't want to be doing that. No, really you don't. Treat the minimum as 2GB. You may need to buy some more RAM
And?
Check your HD. It may be a bit full. Empty it or get a bigger one.
Where can I get Lion?
Now this is new. Lion will only be available from the Apple App store. In order to have access to the App store you will need to be running OS X 10.6.6 or higher, that's Snow Leopard to the non number types. If you are still running 10.5 or even 10.4 on your Intel Mac then you'll have to upgrade to 10.6. You can't get to here from there.
OK, How much?
Lion is a bit of a bargain actually. It's going to be £20.99. You'll need an iTunes ID in order to buy it so be prepared to give Apple your credit card details. If you are still a 10.5 user you'll have to budget for getting that first (it's £26), if you are still on 10.4 then you'll need to get 10.5 first (officially) and that's £85, then 10.6, then 10.7.
Any installation issues?
It's a bit early to say, but the installer is pretty smart. It should be a painless experience.
And the benefits?
Lion introduces a whole slew on new things. There's a full list on the Apple website. Have a look. A lot of the new Lion features are based around ease of sharing documents and files as well as automatic backup and versioning, making it harder for you to accidentally loose your data, which is great. It's also going to make your Mac look and work a bit more like you iPhone or iPad. Opinion on this is fairly divided at the moment.
Can you help with all this?
Of course :-) I can come and help you through the upgrade if you want, or sell you a Mac that can cope with Lion, or just answer any more questions that you might have.
And this Server thing?
Lion also comes in a server version. It's going to be £49, which is a total bargain, but, unless you are already happy to run and administer a server then it's probably not for you. Unless you have a spare Mac and a willingness to learn, in which case it's a great opportunity to learn all about server software.
So, that seems painless enough. I'm actually quite looking forward to Lion, there's going to be plenty of new things to learn. As ever, if you want to know more just give me a call.
