[NJRonbo]

Hello Everyone!

So, I have a copy of the Developers Preview 4
Lion OS X.

I had previously installed Developers preview 2
about two months ago but took it out the next
day because too many aspects of it were unstable.

However, now this close to the final release of Lion
in July, I find it very hard to wait to wait. I would like
to again install the Developers Preview and give it a
second go.

So two questions here....

1. Anybody installl DP4? Is it stable enough that
you can run it as a dependable operating system?

I do realize some software will still not work on it,
but I have come across new betas that will.

2. When Lion finally arrives in July, can it easily be
downloaded from the App Store and installed OVER
the Developers release -or- will I have to revert back
to Snow Leopard first?

Thank you in advance for answers.

[Spheric Harlot]

1. Beta software cannot, by Definition, be depended upon. If you depend upon your computer working, you don't run a beta OS. Full stop.

2. We'll know when it's released.

3. How did you live to this day without Lion if waiting six weeks is gonna kill you?

[NJRonbo]

Honestly, don't know how I lived
this long without Lion. When I first
tried the DP2 release two months ago,
I was just astouned at the enhanced
experience of using that OS over Snow
Leopard.

However, at that point, there wasn't
really a problem with the OS not being
stable but rather my favorite programs
that I depend on daily actually working
under it.

Now, most of these companies have LION
betas available so I feel as if I am in
a good position to try again.

I do realize this is beta software, but
as you point out, we are so close to the
final release that I would imagine that
this is as close as we are going to get
to the Gold Master.

I would bet there are people running DP4
as I type this, and I am very interested
to read about their experiences as if I can
beat the 6-week wait and have a working OS
that is somewhat stable, I'm ready to install.

Thanks for the assistance.

[reader50]

NJRonbo, are you posting from a smartphone? The forced line wrapping makes your post hard to read.

[NJRonbo]

My apologies. Just my writing style. Will try to be more mindful of the line breaks in the future.

[Spheric Harlot]

It's not ready.

[CharlesS]

1. Discussing anything specific to Lion on here would be a NDA violation for anyone who legitimately has a copy.

2. In general, however, beta releases of operating systems are not meant to be trusted as your production OS.

3. Also, in general, installing a production OS over a beta OS is usually an unsupported operation. You are generally expected to wipe the drive and reinstall from scratch if it has had a beta OS on it.

4. If you have a legitimate copy, then you have a Mac developer account and thus can access the developer forums where discussion of Lion is fine, and where you're likely to get a lot more answers to your questions, sometimes even from Apple employees.

5. If you have a copy of Lion and don't have a developer account, then you are a pirate. Shame on you.

6. If you have a pirated Lion build, it likely came from a shady site that may have tampered with the installer and included all sorts of malware/spyware. I would be very loath to let such a piece of software touch a machine that had any kind of sensitive data on it.

[msuper69]

Originally Posted by CharlesS 

1. Discussing anything specific to Lion on here would be a NDA violation for anyone who legitimately has a copy.

2. In general, however, beta releases of operating systems are not meant to be trusted as your production OS.

3. Also, in general, installing a production OS over a beta OS is usually an unsupported operation. You are generally expected to wipe the drive and reinstall from scratch if it has had a beta OS on it.

4. If you have a legitimate copy, then you have a Mac developer account and thus can access the developer forums where discussion of Lion is fine, and where you're likely to get a lot more answers to your questions, sometimes even from Apple employees.

5. If you have a copy of Lion and don't have a developer account, then you are a pirate. Shame on you.

6. If you have a pirated Lion build, it likely came from a shady site that may have tampered with the installer and included all sorts of malware/spyware. I would be very loath to let such a piece of software touch a machine that had any kind of sensitive data on it.

This post could be used as template whenever someone tries to discuss unreleased Apple software in other than the supported and approved forums. The free Apple developer forums are currently rife with threads asking questions about Lion and iOS5. Either the posters have unauthorized copies or they are just too dense to be able to follow directions and post in the approved forums.