14 DAY TRIAL // The latest Lion beta issued by Apple this week bears strong clues that development on the second incremental software update is coming to an end. Here’s what you can expect from this new release as it debuts in tandem with iCloud, and iOS 5.
According to Apple’s developers who were greeted this week with a brand new beta of the 10.7.2 update, the included seed notes bear a striking resemblance to the changelog model for final-grade releases of Mac OS X.
In other words, the seed notes included by Apple with this new beta may well be the official changelog for the shipping version of Mac OS X 10.7.2.
“The 10.7.2 update is recommended for all OS X Lion users and includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac,” reads the documentation.
Apple continues with information about iCloud, which now comes pre-loaded in Lion.
“It [10.7.2] also includes support for iCloud, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that automatically and wirelessly store your content on iCloud and push it to all of your devices.”
A description of each major iCloud service then follows. One of them is Find My Mac, a feature that “helps find a missing Mac by locating it on a map and allows you to remotely lock the Mac or wipe all its data.”
Customers are even instructed on how to get started with the Internet suite, explaining that iCloud will automatically present a setup panel as the system restarts following the installation of OS X 10.7.2.
Users have two options: either to enter an existing Apple ID, or create a new one and then follow the on-screen instructions.
The new Lion update delivers a new version of Safari (5.1.1) which will be thoroughly documented in a new tech note on the Apple Support site.
Several issues will be addressed in OS X 10.7.2, including one that causes the menu bar to not appear in full screen apps, as well as an issue that causes a delay in accessing the network after waking from sleep.
A new feature that enables dragging files between desktop spaces and full screen apps will be included as well, and compatibility of Google contact syncing in Address Book will be improved.
Booting in to Lion Recovery from a locally attached Time Machine backup drive will also be possible, according to the changelog.