GigaOM’s Darrell Etherington on Lion:
The new operating system is the first to leave some Intel-based Macs out of the party, and even with the minimum specs, you won’t be getting the full experience.
I think this is the case with most OS releases.
[RAM] is the easiest place you can make an improvement with almost any Mac.
True. And it’s a cheap upgrade. But Apple hasn’t posted what the RAM specs are for Lion, so it’s not a stretch to believe it will be 1GB — just like Snow Leopard. Since Snow Leopard is required to update to Lion, no one will have to add more RAM to meet Lion’s requirements.
Note that some Mac mini models and MacBook Airs make upgrading the RAM yourself very difficult or impossible, in which case you might want to consult with an authorized Mac service provider.
Every single MacBook Air ever shipped has the RAM soldered to the logic board.
RAM is easier to upgrade, but for Lion, a hard drive change could make the biggest difference.
[…]
There are a few options available to you here. Like Dave Greenbaum, you could choose to go with a solid-state drive. This is the best possible option, but it’s also the priciest, and you get relatively little storage space for your money.
I’m in love with SSDs in my Air and in my work machine, but on my iMac, with an old-fashioned spinning hard drive, Lion runs great. SSDs have barely made a mark on the hard drive’s market share. And while it’s an great upgrade, an SSD is by no means a reasonable way to enjoy Lion more.
Please remember that DIY modifications to Apple equipment is done at your own risk, and voids your AppleCare warranty.
DIY upgrades do not void AppleCare. Apple allows users to install hard drives in these models:
- Pre-unibody MacBook
- Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro
- Mac Pro
RAM can be upgraded in these models by end users without voiding AppleCare:
- Unibody Mac Mini
- iMac
- Mac Pro
- MacBook
- MacBook Pro
With a little research, Etherington could have really helped users looking to update to Lion later this summer. Instead, he just muddied the waters.