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A listing for the latest version of the Mac operating system, OS X 10.7 Lion, which is due for release this summer, has appeared on the German Amazon website. The significance of the listing is that the OS is apparently being offered on DVD, rather than on the USB thumb drive, upon which Apple had begun to offer the Snow Leopard OS with the purchase of the new MacBook Air models last year.
No price or availability date is given on the listing.
Amazon's site is a rather frequent source for product speculation given the company's tendency to post placeholders based on rumor in advance of official release information, and Amazon's German site seems to be one of the most active of Amazon's regional arms in this regard. Consequently, we hesitate to read too much into this speculation and are posting it on Page 2 primarily for interest and discussion at this time.
The distribution mechanism for Mac OS X Lion is certainly up for discussion given recent developments in Apple's hardware and software offerings. With the redesigned MacBook Air lacking an optical drive and proving to be a popular notebook for consumers, Apple's shift to a small USB drive for backup software on the machine has led to speculation that the company could adopt that method entirely for Mac OS X Lion distribution.
In addition, Apple has been delivering developer seeds of Mac OS X Lion via the company's new Mac App Store, which launched in early January. Consequently, it seems likely that Apple will at least offer the option of Mac OS X Lion as a download purchase through that platform.
Top Rated Comments
So riddle me this folks:
IF someone is upgraded to the latest version of Snow Leopard (which includes that 'devil-spawn' of and App Store) and Apple is ONLY going to distribute LION thru the App Store - what the hell do you do after you down load it ?
Seeing as how you cannot be running the primary OS while you are in fact upgrading it ?
OR has Apple decided to run a full blown OS Upgrade like it does it regular updates now?
Why is Apple still including DVD Drives in it's Products ? Why not just completely do away w/ them - they've done it before w/ technology ? Maybe there's a reason why the new laptops that recently came out still have those drives in them beyond just burning disks of your kids playing in a bathtub?
Maybe - Apple will bring back Tape Drives - everyone gets a 50-pound case of Tape Media w/ an install of LION (that includes a free Tape Drive) w/ a Centronix to USB adapter and they will be delivered by purple elephants. Awesome.
Oooooh - let make **** up until the last second before Apple does in fact release it's products on the world w/ an explanation of how and what they are going to do w/ said products.
It will probably be an App Store product. And it'll probably tell you to restart. When it closes down, it'll install the update, and boot back into the OS. It's not rocket science.
Too early to quit dvd altogether:confused:
If its up to me to should throw that medium into the wastebin asap.
Nooo thanks, DVDs are still very very useful.
So riddle me this folks:
Well, let me tell you this: If Apple does indeed distribute Lion via the App Store... Apple has its bases covered, based on what I've seen with the Lion Developer Previews. (What I mean is this: Apple has devised a way to install Lion without a bootable disc in the DVD drive. It works darn well, too.)IF someone is upgraded to the latest version of Snow Leopard (which includes that 'devil-spawn' of and App Store) and Apple is ONLY going to distribute LION thru the App Store - what the hell do you do after you down load it ?
Seeing as how you cannot be running the primary OS while you are in fact upgrading it ?
OR has Apple decided to run a full blown OS Upgrade like it does it regular updates now?
Why is Apple still including DVD Drives in it's Products ? Why not just completely do away w/ them - they've done it before w/ technology ? Maybe there's a reason why the new laptops that recently came out still have those drives in them beyond just burning disks of your kids playing in a bathtub?
Maybe - Apple will bring back Tape Drives - everyone gets a 50-pound case of Tape Media w/ an install of LION (that includes a free Tape Drive) w/ a Centronix to USB adapter and they will be delivered by purple elephants. Awesome.
Oooooh - let make **** up until the last second before Apple does in fact release it's products on the world w/ an explanation of how and what they are going to do w/ said products.
Apple consistently touts how recyclable the machines it makes are and often talks about other green aspects of the company. It wouldn't surprise me if Lion is offered at a discount through the App Store and then a small premium on physical dvd media. Not only are USB sticks still more expensive than a dvd, but probably not as environmentally friendly to manufacture and package.