Apple Expands Testing of OS X Mountain Lion to Select Retail Store Staff - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Expands Testing of OS X Mountain Lion to Select Retail Store Staff

by

With OS X Mountain Lion set to launch to the public sometime next month, 9to5Mac reports that Apple has asked select members of its retail store staff to begin testing the software.

In an e-mail to Apple Store Genius Bar members and Creatives, Apple has provided access to its OS X Mountain Lion AppleSeed testing program…

This testing is to be done on personal Macs belonging to employees, and is not standardized in-store OS X Mountain Lion training.

Not only will the program provide additional testers for Apple as it expands beyond registered Mac developers, but it will also give retail store staff a head start on gaining familiarity with the forthcoming operating system before formal training begins.

mountain lion seeding invite
Apple is almost certainly wrapping up work on OS X Mountain Lion, if it hasn't completed it already, with the company issuing a "near-final" build to developers at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. With OS X Mountain Lion being a Mac App Store exclusive, Apple can continue to work on the operating system until relatively close to the launch date given that it does not need to build in time for pressing millions of DVDs, but the company will want some time to ensure that the golden master build is behaving properly before it is released to the public.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...
Read Full Article
iOS 26

Apple Says iOS 26.5 Adds Three New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday May 5, 2026 7:36 am PDT by
iOS 26.5 includes three new features for iPhones, according to Apple's release notes for the update, which is expected to be released next week. As discovered during beta testing, iOS 26.5 enables end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging between iOS and Android devices. Apple says this security upgrade is limited to supported carriers around the world and will continue to roll out....
Read Full Article • 27 comments
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
Read Full Article • 54 comments

Top Rated Comments

R
rafaltrus
181 months ago
So regular employees now serve as beta testers as well?
Developers focus on debugging, noticing performance issues and their causes, etc.
"Regular" users, such as Apple Store employees, will look at the Mac OS X and report daily-usage bugs and inconveniences.

I think it's pretty cool.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
mogzieee
181 months ago
I really hope there is one Apple employee out there who can feedback the dual screening issue with fullscreen apps that is currently such a bane in Lion. I seriously hope there's a fix to this in Mountain Lion! Pleeeeease?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
ckelley
181 months ago
I am running developer preview 4 with the latest update that came out earlier this week. What is the issue you are having so I can see if it still exists?
I think his issue is this: Let's say you have multiple monitors, say a 27" display and a 17" MacBook Display... you're doing work on the 27" but want to use the full-screen feature of an app on the 17" display. You click the icon in the upper-right to make it full screen and it turns your 27" display into a huge screen of linen!

If you could full-screen apps on one display and still allow you to have access to working on the other display, that would be tremendous, but as of now (Lion), you can't.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghostface147 Avatar
ghostface147
181 months ago
I really hope there is one Apple employee out there who can feedback the dual screening issue with fullscreen apps that is currently such a bane in Lion. I seriously hope there's a fix to this in Mountain Lion! Pleeeeease?

I am running developer preview 4 with the latest update that came out earlier this week. What is the issue you are having so I can see if it still exists?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N
newagemac
181 months ago


With OS X Mountain Lion being a Mac App Store exclusive, Apple can continue to work on the operating system until relatively close to the launch date given that it does not need to build in time for pressing millions of DVDs

The ability to fix last minute bugs and shorter lead times. Another nice benefit of digital delivery systems like the Mac App Store. :)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RoelJuun Avatar
RoelJuun
181 months ago
What a great perk!

You can buy that perk for $100. Just sign up for the developer program.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments