Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Lion Edition

Appendix A. Installation

If your computer came with Lion already installed on it, you can skip this appendix—for now. But if you’re running an earlier version of the Mac OS and want to savor the Lion experience, this appendix describes how to install the new operating system on your Mac.

As you’ll soon discover, the process isn’t quite like any other operating system you’ve installed before. You can’t buy Lion in a box, or on a DVD; you’re supposed to download it from the Mac App Store.

There are some very attractive elements to the download-only system. For example, there’s no copy protection and no serial numbers to type in. You don’t have to pay extra for multiple copies; your one-time $30 covers as many Macs as you own. (In other words, there’s no Family Plan for Lion.)

And there’s no disc to hunt down later, when you want to install Lion again (onto a new Mac, for example). And when you do need a copy again, you’ll download the latest version—10.7.3 or whatever it is—instead of having to install the updates that have come out since you got your DVD.

(And what if you don’t have a fast Internet connection for downloading Lion? The world won’t come to an end; read on.)