Meow… Here, Kitty Kitty Kitty…
So, Lion is out. For $29.99 and the easiest OS install ever, it’s gonna be tempting for all of us to click that BUY button. But before you get all click-happy, just a few notes of advice:
- This is a major OS update. That means things will break. Rosetta, for example, is no longer supported, so any legacy PowerPC apps you have laying around simply won’t run anymore. Be aware.
- BACKUP, backup, backup, before you upgrade. If you’re paranoid you could run something like CarbonCopy Cloner to ensure an easy transition back, but at minimum ensure you have a Time Machine backup.
- If you’re in the middle of a major project with a real deadline, you may want to hold off on that update. You don’t really want to lose a day to restoring your system because you didn’t realize that plugin you rely on won’t be Lion-happy until next month before you clicked go.
- It can’t hurt to run a File Vault backup on Aperture in addition to your regular backups, again, just-in-case. If your Aperture Library is as important to you as mine is to me, you can never be too safe.
- When you do buy it, please buy it here. Every teeny tiny affiliate fee helps ApertureExpert grow :)
I’ll update one system (my MacBook Air is downloading now), but probably hold off on the iMac just because I really am working on a deadline-driven project. At least, I’ll test all my recording software on the Air before upgrading the iMac, just in case. Which doesn’t help you lot much, because I’m sure you’d rather see me upgrade before you :)
So if you DO push the button, let us know how you get on in the comments here. It doesn’t have to be Aperture related, but of course that’s what we’re most interested here at ApertureExpert. But any hiccups or victories resulting from Mac OS X Lion, please do let us know!
Comments
on July 21, 2011 - 12:24am
Great tips, and if I may add:
1- Don’t do an upgrade from existing system. I followed this link for a tip on how to create a DVD. http://osxdaily.com/2011/06/08/create-burn-bootable-mac-os-x-lion-instal… since indeed this is a major OS upgrade, I like to get things cleaned up completely with a clean install. My trick is to do exactly what Joseph mentioned: Carbon Copy Cloner and clone your drive FIRST!
2- Since I do a clean install, I usually partition my drive to have dual boot, or use a secondary internal drive if you’re on a MacPro (I have both cases). Yes that means a bit more work if you only have one drive but here is what that gives you:
a- You can restore your system to a partition from the clone you made, so you have 10.6.8
b- You can install Lion fresh and move your apps and user profile stuff over from the other partition at your leisure.
c- You have the best of both worlds and you can test to see what works and doesn’t work without committing to anything, and still have a production ready installation you can lean on.
Also having the DVD burnt means you don’t have to download the 3.5G monster multiple times.
hope that helps.
R
on July 21, 2011 - 12:43am
I am going to try an upgrade first, however I will be doing a fresh install tonight.
I hit the upgrade button but I am at work so no doubt it has brought up a prompt and waiting for me to acknowledge something.
So it will need to wait an hour for me to get home.
Just incase you use frontrow, you should know that it has been reported that Lion has gotten rid of this (no doubt it will hit the app store) however if you want revive this then use this package: http://www.mac-hatter.com/blog/frontrowenablerforlion
I tend to use frontrow when I go to bed and want to watch some movies, so this app missing from Lion was a bit of a shocker for me.
on July 21, 2011 - 12:43am
Like you, I’m downloading Lion to my MacBook Pro first to make sure all the apps I need work okay, then I’ll install it on my iMac. I used CarbonCopyCloner to backup the laptop drive to an external drive I have, that way I can pull files and what not off. I’ll be doing a clean install of Lion.
Here are directions for putting the Lion installer on to a USB flash drive, which is what I’m going to do to install it on the iMac.
Should be faster than working with optical media. Just need a 4GB or larger drive.
on July 21, 2011 - 1:54am
So far so good for me. I’m running through my programs now. Everything seems to be working. Backwards scrolling is funky.
on July 24, 2011 - 9:56pm
Heads up - for those of us using Carbonite, it is not supported yet on Lion.