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I would definitely be considered an early adopter of technology. I am also one of the original Apple fans. Ever since Apple went to Intel processors, I have been moving to get rid of my PCs and for the past year I have done all my computing on a Mac, except for some work at my office where they still live in the PC world and at the Mesa Regional Family History Center where they still have PCs also. So it is with more than mild interest that I read about a new operating system release. I am especially interested because the price for the upgrade is only $29.95.
But here is the catch. I run literally dozens of different applications on a regular basis. I depend heavily on a variety of programs, including Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, and many, many other lesser known, but just a vital to me, programs. I can't afford to have my system down or unusable for a long period of time.
So, if finally got to the point where I was ready to spend the time upgrading my system. Almost as an afterthought I decided to read some reviews. I don't mean the reviews that came out with the announcement of the new operating system, I mean actual customer reviews. Guess what? Apple's has its own store, the "App Store" and it is readily available under the Apple in the upper left-hand corner of the screen on my present operating system, Snow Leopard. The App Store has a direct link to purchase OS X Lion (of course) and so I clicked on the link and was ready to purchase and then download my own copy.
It took me only a few seconds to realize something. I have three computers. The new OS X version is entirely a download version. In reading the software license the download will only work on one (1) (read that again) computer. So my "upgrade" will not cost me $29.95 it will cost $89.85! Hmm. That stops me for a few minutes. Then I look again at the Web site.
A list of customer reviews catches my eye. These are current reviews, not release reviews. The vast majority of the reviews are not only negative, but detailed and anguished complaints about crashed systems and applications. Whoa, I am now not in any mood to download the OS without more investigation. So it is off to RoaringApps, the application compatibility wiki for OS X Lion.
I immediately go to the compatibility table and check on Adobe Photoshop CS5. There is a big red X. This App has been tested and does not work properly. Microsoft Office has some problems. Looks like a whole lot more investigation is necessary before I switch to Lion. Stay tuned. I will continue to look into this issue.
You can install Lion on as many of your computers as you want to (I think they might limit to 10 concurrently). It is not limited to one computer. That's part of the Mac App Store - being able to install any of the programs on as many computers as you want to.
ReplyDeleteThere are some compatibility issues but the great thing is that it really is only $30 to upgrade all your computers.
I updated to Lion 10.7 and, although it took *forever* to download, I haven't really had any problems with it. However, I don't use too many software programs that don't come pre-installed. My web browsers, genealogy applications, tweet deck, gimp, etc all work. The only program that I've lost is Microsoft 2004. Honestly, I never used this anyway (text edit or google docs took it's place a while ago), but for many it would be a big reason not to upgrade. And in the end, there's no real feature in 10.7 that really begs users to upgrade anyway. It's has a few more features, but they are mostly aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteHere is what the App Store says about installing the program on more than one computer:
ReplyDelete"...you are granted a limited, non-exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at any one time." But you are right the software can be installed on all your computers as long as they are running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Which is the problem with one of the other computers.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteI upgraded rather early. Photoshop CS5 was not a problem for me, nor was MS Office 2011.
Good luck to you. --GJ
That license agreement clause only applies to pre-installed versions of Lion. If you purchase it from the Mac App store, there is no restriction on how many computers you can run it on concurrently. Further, you can virtualize up to two additional copies of Lion on your Mac, so you can run 3 licenses of it on one computer at the same time, if needed.
ReplyDeleteHere is the pertinent clause from the agreement (http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html#APPS): "(i) You may download and use an application from the Mac App Store (“Mac App Store Product”) for personal, non-commercial use on any Apple-branded products running Mac OS X (“Mac Computer”) that you own or control."
Because it is purchased from the Mac App Store, it is available to install and use on however many Macs you own or control (unless you are a commercial enterprise or educational institution, then you have slightly different rules). They could all be used at the same time.
I also sent you an email with instructions of either only downloading the update once (and installing it on multiple computers) instead of downloading it multiple times. There are also ways to go from Leopard to Lion directly but that doesn't fit within the licensing requirements, at least not strictly. I'd see no problem legally, ethically, or morally for going from Leopard to Lion if you have a spare license for the Leopard computer (e.g., you have a family pack of Snow Leopard but you never used one of the licenses to upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard).
In any case, as I mentioned earlier, the restriction you cited only applies to computers with Lion pre-installed. Apple is quite generous with their OS licenses now.
What are you waiting for? This is NOT like upgrading to some WinDoze
ReplyDeleteup?grade - this is an AWESOME upgrade and so inexpensive. I nabbed it the minute it was released and have THOROUGHLY enjoyed it!
I use a myriad of applications, usually all going at the same time. I believe I lost a sum total of 2 quite insignificant programs - ones that I no longer used anyway. I have not had the first problem with this marvelous OS Upgrade!
Jared is spot on with his responses! Don't be deterred by erroneous reports. My guess is that most of the negative reports are from those who don't want the Apple users crowd to increase!