As noted by Macgasm, Apple has begun notifying at least some MobileMe users of a new upgrade program offering a free copy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard. The offer is being made to provide users of machines running older versions of Mac OS X with a reduced-cost pathway to upgrade to OS X Lion, which is required to take full advantage of the features of iCloud.
With OS X Lion being distributed via the Mac App Store, users need to have Mac OS X Snow Leopard installed on their systems in order to access the store. Consequently, users still on Mac OS X Leopard or earlier would have to pay $29 to upgrade to Snow Leopard via disc and then an additional $29.99 to upgrade to Lion via the Mac App Store in the absence of the new upgrade program. With MobileMe set to be discontinued in favor of iCloud as of June 30, Apple is clearly seeking to encourage MobileMe users to move their accounts to iCloud.
In an article sent to MobileMe customers, Apple has recommended that potential customers get in touch with Apple to receive a free DVD of Snow Leopard so that users can upgrade to Lion, and move to iCloud. All you have to do is follow this link, log in to MobileMe with your Mobile Me account, and fill out your mailing information. Apple will then send you a Snow Leopard DVD for free.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard remains available in the Apple online store for $29, suggesting that the offer is a targeted program intended for MobileMe members who need to upgrade their systems in order to move to iCloud rather than a general price cut for all purchasers of Snow Leopard.
Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device.
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
Tuesday January 14, 2025 11:30 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the 25W MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods and Apple Watch models. The updated firmware is version 2A143, up from the 2A138 firmware that the accessory shipped with. In the Settings app, you'll see a different version number than the internal firmware number.
The 2024 MagSafe charger was...
Monday January 13, 2025 5:33 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18.3 is currently in beta for developers and public beta testers. So far, the upcoming iPhone software update is very minor in scope.
Below, we outline what is new in iOS 18.3 so far.
The only potential new feature coming to iPhones with iOS 18.3 so far is robot vacuum support in the Home app, but this functionality is not yet live. Apple is laying the groundwork for the feature,...
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Thursday January 9, 2025 5:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025:
More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
Tuesday January 14, 2025 3:47 pm PST by Juli Clover
Ahead of the season two premiere of hit TV show Severance, Apple is marketing the show with a fun Severance pop-up at the Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
Apple has assembled a glass cube with workstations that are identical to the setups that Lumon employees use on the show, complete with employees "working," doing yoga, playing catch, throwing paper airplanes, sipping coffee, and...
Wednesday January 8, 2025 7:05 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
There is a good chance that Apple's first product announcement of 2025 will be updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip.
Last month, Apple released macOS Sequoia 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models are coming this year (unsurprisingly).
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the new MacBook Air models will be announced "earlier" than some...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 6:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and now further evidence of the wireless earbuds has surfaced.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
Apple submitted Powerbeats Pro 2 regulatory documents to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in mid-December. The documents were made available to the public this week, and they were spotted by 91M...
Just because it works fine for YOU, doesn't mean it works fine for EVERYONE.
Just go to the Lion and Mountain Lion forums and you'll see a lot of complaints about bugs, lag, etc.
Oh come on, are you telling me people didn't post a lot of complaints in the Leopard/Snow Leopard forums? Back when snow leopard was 10.6.0-10.6.3 (the same number of iterations as Lion today), I saw a lot of problems about crashes and bugs and people complaining about how SL was not a "better Leopard". Same with the Leopard release. You wouldn't believe the amount of Time Machine issues people had. People rarely post about good experiences on those threads. More people will post if they actually have a problem. The rest of us are too busy enjoying Lion to post our experience. :)
I have a 4 year old Macbook Pro. Lion works just fine for me on 4GB of ram. The fact that you compare it with Vista tells me that you didn't experience the enormous amount of troubles the consumers and especially the businesses had to go when they upgraded to Vista. My only criticism of Lion is Mission Control. It sucks compared to Expose but I doubt people who have never tried Expose will notice.
And it's not terribly surprising Apple wants more people on iCloud. iCloud to me is a more complete package than Mobileme ever was. Plus, if the customer has iCloud, Apple can just download their data off of the cloud to make replacements/repairs easier. The consumer in turn benefits from the better experience as well. That's hard when you don't have iCloud.
He's only kidding. Really. No one could post that with a straight face.
Wow, they are really committed to this pretty convoluted update path. The majority of customers will go along with this upgrade path, but can you imagine what it will be like walking through helping customer's back up their Macs (prudent before any software update), helping them install Snow Leopard, then assisting them in updating to the latest SL version, then helping them log into the Mac App Store to download Lion? It may be hard to believe given the proficiency among users here in Mac products, but for some customers, just figuring out how to sign into the Mac App Store will be a 30-minute phone call to Apple: "My Apple ID, is that what I use on the Google? Or is that my 3G password?" When MobileMe shuts down, there is going to be a "bag of hurt," including for the people taking phone calls related to supporting these customers.
I can imagine the calls right now,
Customer: "I have to back-up my computer and install this Snow Leopard just so that I can keep my e-mail I've been paying a $100 a year for for the last 10 years?!?!"
Advisor: "Actually after backing up your computer, installing Snow Leopard, you'll need to buy Lion, and after installing that you can keep your e-mail service."
Customer: (supernova exploding)
Personally, I finally gave in and updated to Lion, but before I did, I frequently contacted Apple to verify my MobileMe (and later iCloud) e-mail would continue functioning with Snow Leopard. I was given cagey answers, but the general consensus was that it would not. I don't believe that is the case, but nonetheless, how difficult would it have been for Apple to update Snow Leopard to work with the iCloud e-mail service and the calendar, contact, syncing, etc? After all, Apple is supporting Windows Vista! Windows Vista is the operating system Apple spent hundreds of millions of dollars lambasting on television. If it's capable of using iCloud, why not Snow Leopard, the OS which Apple advertised as being so much better than Vista?
Apple has historically been pretty bad with maintaining any sort of online services for any length of time (the exception being the iTunes Store). They deprecate services before there's even a fully functional alternative. I have accounts with Tripod from the late 90s and they are still storing all of my files without interruption. I have a Gmail account as a back-up e-mail, and I don't have to worry about losing e-mail if I don't switch to a renamed service or if I am using a slightly older operating system.
Apple should care a little more about polishing Lion rather than trying to get everyone onto it.
With Apple everything is supposed to "just work." But honestly, the upgrade path to iCloud would be more simple if Apple sent all these users a copy of Windows Vista and had them install it via Boot Camp. It would probably require about the same number of steps!
