Mac OS X Lion Set for July Debut Priced at $29.99, Mac App Store Exclusive

[AppleMacDudeG4]

Stupid decision

I was looking forward to obtaining Mac OS Lion but given the size and the fact that it will only be obtainable from the App Store, it is not going to happen. I am not sure who in Apple made this decision but whoever did should be fired. Restricting consumer choice is just a bad idea.

Given the fact that not everyone has high speed bandwidth and the fact that some ISPs charge so much for going over a certain amount of usage, it is going to result in a smaller number of sales then if they gave options to the consumer. I rather pay a higher cost and have a DVD rather than just restrict to the App Store. I have multiple devices and having to download a huge file multiple times is not going happen.

This is going to make a lot of people unhappy.

 

[BlackMangoTree]

im sure if you have slow internet connections or data caps then you will be able to take it to an apple store and do the download over their wi-fi connection

No worries, i'll drag my iMac to an Apple Store.

 

[nofunsir]

Looks good.
Can't wait until late 2012 when it is stable and reliable.

Yep! That timeframe coincides with when they plan on forcing anyone who wants iTools, a.k.a. MobileMe, a.k.a. iCloud, to upgrade to Lion.

 

[AidenShaw]

Since both OSX versions together will cost 50% of the Win7 upgrade price and offer 2x or more the new features, it sounds completely irrelevant to me...

You're not accounting for the fact that you had to buy a PC at Apple's prices for industry-standard x64 hardware, without the ability to choose the configuration (Blu-ray, internal 3G/4G modems, ...).

That fact makes Win7 a bargain in comparison....

 

[AppleScruff1]

This is a great deal. I'm impressed.

 

[daveslc]

No Rosetta...



No Rosetta = no Lion.

Apple, the company that has reinvented planned obsolescence.

How hard would it be for them to recompile rosetta to work with Lion? What would it take, may an hour or two?

 

[mark28]

No DVD install

For a company that has $65 billion in cash, they are incredibly cheap.

 

[ModerateFKR]

All these new touch gestures to learn! How very cruel of Apple!! Those nice people at HP only gave up pinch and resize and that odd little tilt image sideways. And they let us do all this by smearing the screen with our fingers - directly!!! Isn't that better?

NO of course it isn't. It never was. You can already buy those HP [not so] Touchsmart desktops at half price locally. They will be free to fish out of the dumpster tomorrow!!!!

 

[Bernard SG]

Honestly, how will this work? We have 5 Macs in our home. Apple is telling me we have to waste 20GB of bandwidth (Comcast data cap here) to update all our machines? The idea of downloading the same thing over and over again really irks me. I'd much rather download it once, and create a bootable USB stick or DVD. And, as others have mentioned, how will we perform clean installs should the need arise (new HDD, fresh start, etc)? Will I have to install 10.6 only to have to re-download the 4GB Lion? This is bogus.

Installing 10.6 is inevitable.
For the rest we can only speculate, but Apps in the Mac AppStore give you license for 5 computers. You can just download once and copy-paste the downloaded App, then at first launch the system prompts you to "authorize" the installation on the other computer with input of the relevant Apple Id password.
It's possible that the Lion upgrade will work that way. Not sure though.

 

[miki66]

Cant wait for lion

 

[cav23j]

No worries, i'll drag my iMac to an Apple Store.

no different then taking it in to service it

 

[mbp17xxx]

No DVD! sucks for me, i only have 20gb limit per month, and 2 macs to install.

 

[Cougarcat]

No DVD! sucks for me, i only have 20gb limit per month, and 2 macs to install.

You can install it once and copy it over.

 

[Eidorian]

Installing 10.6 is inevitable.
For the rest we can only speculate, but Apps in the Mac AppStore give you license for 5 computers. You can just download once and copy-paste the downloaded App, then at first launch the system prompts you to "authorize" the installation on the other computer with input of the relevant Apple Id password.
It's possible that the Lion upgrade will work that way. Not sure though.

The disc image is more than likely stored somewhere on the package as mentioned before with those that have the Developer Preview. Though that also brings to question if the installer on that phones home as well and requires your Apple ID.

 

[lovedakota]

This article states, "Customers who purchase a Mac between today and the Lion launch in July will get the upgrade free from the App Store."

What confirmation do you have of this MacRumors? Here is a chat with Apple from just a few minutes ago. Of course I got the standard company line:


• You are chatting with Radeyah M, an Apple Expert
• Hi, my name is Radeyah M. Welcome to Apple!
• Greetings
• Good evening! Welcome to the Apple Online store!
• if I buy an iMac today, will I get the upgrade to Lion in July at no charge?
• Hi there!
• I'm happy to help with your question!
• However, we have no information available on whether Lion will be offered discounted to customers purchasing a Mac today.
• ok thanks... that delays purchase decisions, so I hope you get some info quickly
• Even if it's not available as a free upgrade, it is being offered at a great price!
• So upgrading wouldn't cost much.
• sure, but it's a month away... thanks, but not interested in throwing $30 away
• have a great night
• Thanks!
• You too!
• Thank you for visiting the Apple Store. We appreciate your business. If you would like more help, please chat with us again.
• Thank you for choosing the Apple Store. If you have any additional questions, please chat us again.

Here's what I got a couple of seconds ago from the live chat.


Hi, my name is Manuel L. Welcome to Apple!

Good evening! How are you doing today?

I'm doing well thanks if I buy a MacBook pro tomorrow, will I get the upgrade to lion for free?

Mac OS X Lion will be available to you at no additional charge via the Mac App Store to all customers who purchase a new Mac! You'll be able to download the OS X Lion upgrade this July.

Great, thanks!

You're welcome!

 

[Cougarcat]

Though that also brings to question if the installer on that phones home as well and requires your Apple ID.

On the DP at least, there's no copy protection.

How hard would it be for them to recompile rosetta to work with Lion? What would it take, may an hour or two?

A lot longer than that, all of Lion's system files are now intel only. Rosetta is more than just the tiny app you download.

 

[BlackMangoTree]

no different then taking it in to service it

Get real,no one wants to bring the computer to a store to upgrade the OS.

 

[jive turkey]

I bet there is some built in function to burn a DVD that allows you to boot and restore (or something similar). Given how much emphasis today was placed on making things easier and "it just works," I can't imagine Apple would have us reinstall SL, update SL to get App Store access, and download Lion all over again when needed. I will be surprised if there isn't an option to burn a disk.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Given that you need to buy much higher spec machines to get decent performance out of Windows, a Mac + an upgrade to Lion is a bargain.

Of course some people believe a $300 computer is just fine.

 

[AidenShaw]

Get real,no one wants to bring the computer to a store to upgrade the OS.

And hardly anyone wants to throw away a perfectly good computer because the monitor died. And hardly anyone wants to throw away a perfectly good monitor to upgrade or fix the computer.

That's why a lot of people don't want all-in-ones - and why Apple finds them so profitable.

Given that you need to buy much higher spec machines to get decent performance out of Windows...

Umm, would you care to support that claim? Gamers certainly wouldn't believe it, since Win7 on Apple hardware is much faster for many games that Apple OSX on Apple hardware.

Win7 and Apple OSX both like lots of RAM - but RAM is pretty cheap.

Your comment is just more FUD....

 

[ten-oak-druid]

While Lion will be much cheaper that Windows 7 or 8, there are many who will seek pirated copies of Windows. This is in fact a great source of malware in the Windows world as Microsoft has stated. Don't support software piracy.

 

[Eidorian]

Of course some people believe a $300 computer is just fine.

I can build a quad core for about that much. What does the Mac mini have again?

 

[ten-oak-druid]

While Jobs' comment about "PC free" iOS devices is for all PC users regardless of OS, I imagine that given the trends in PC sales, "PC free" will apply more to Windows' users. Add the price difference for OS upgrades and it becomes more attractive.

 

[AidenShaw]

While Lion will be much cheaper that Windows 7 or 8, there are many who will seek pirated copies of Windows. This is in fact a great source of malware in the Windows world as Microsoft has stated.

And no one will torrent Apple OSX 10.7? LOL.

Don't support software piracy.

Agreed. And don't pirate 1080p video - although there's no legal alternative in the Apple world.

 

[AidenShaw]

I can build a quad core for about that much. What does the Mac mini have again?

Five year old processors....