Lion to require software activation?

[wrldwzrd89]

Linkity: http://www.hardmac.com/news/2011/02/25/lion-requires-an-online-activation-step

If this makes it into the final version of Lion... I don't know how I'll react. I'm not liking this one bit, though.

 

[0007776]

I doubt it will be in the final version, it's probably just to try to prevent piracy of the beta. They don't want non developers using it, and if I remember right before 10.6 came out a lot of people pirated betas so I think they just want to try to avoid a repeat of that.

 

[rorschach]

There is NO online activation.

The reason it cannot be freely distributed is that the installer is downloaded from the App Store. Therefore the installer -- like any app from the App Store -- can only be run on computers that have been authorized with the iTunes account.

You could install it onto a hard drive and then clone the HD onto someone else's computer and it would run no problem.

 

[Phil A.]

^^ This

The article is very, very misleading: There is no online activation of Lion at all: You need to authenticate against the App store to download it and the resulting installer will be tagged with the id of the person downloading it (as with all Mac Store downloads), but it doesn't need activating beyond that. It is no different at all to any other application downloaded from the App Store

I actually think this would be a good step: it help allow Apple to track people who load it onto torrent sites but won't interfere at all with honest users.

 

[kepner]

Once you download the installer from the App Store, there's a disk image inside the app bundle (Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg) that looks like it could be burned to a DVD and used to install it on any Mac you want. I haven't tried it though.