As with every Mac in late computer storage , Apple ’s latest hardware releases , theMacBook Air ( Mid 2011)and Mac mini ( Mid 2011 ) , include the current versions of Mac OS X and iLife — in this example , Lion ( OS X 10.7 ) and iLife ’ 11 . ( Interestingly , the unexampled models admit only iPhoto , iMovie , and GarageBand . iWeb and iDVD are nowhere to be seen . ) But these new models do n’t include a DVD or thumb drive for reinstalling that software system .
If you ever have a trouble that call for you to reinstall the OS on one of these models , you use the newLion Recoveryfeature to reboot from a conceal recovery partition of your voiceless ride and download Lion on demand . Unlike older Macs go Lion , these newfangled models also have a special version of Lion Recovery , Lion Internet Recovery , that works even if your full gruelling drive went in the south and you had to replace it — you essentially boot your Mac over the Internet , download Lion , and reinstall . When you ’re back up and running , you may launch the Mac App Store and reinstall the iLife apps , which will be name on the Purchases screen .
When you reinstall Lion via Lion Recovery , it seems Apple apply information about your Mac ’s hardware to verify that it has a license for Lion . But what about iLife ? When you first set up one of the raw Macs , you ’re prompted for your Apple ID and password . That information is sent to the Mac App Store , which add licenses for the iLife ’ 11 apps to your Mac App Store account .
But as we’veexplained when covering the Mac App Store , the permit for Mac App Store - purchased software program lets you instal that package onanyof the Macs you own that are authorized with your Apple ID . Purchase an app on your laptop , and you could launch the Mac App Store app on your iMac , click the Purchases clitoris , and instal that same app without having to purchase it again .
The iLife license you get when you set up one of the latest Macs is no different . Which means that if you have n’t yet gotten around to advance to iLife ’ 11 , buying a new Mac mini or MacBook Air basically gets you iPhoto , iMovie , and GarageBand for all your Macs running OS Adam 10.6.6 or later ( since you need at least that version of Snow Leopard to lean the Mac App Store ) . And this is n’t sneaky or dishonest — it ’s right there in the Mac App Store ’s software system licence .
Of of course , this is n’t precisely the same as buying the boxed in version of iLife ’ 11 , since you do n’t get iWeb or iDVD — you might even use the latter if one of your other Macs still has an optical drive . But it ’s ruffianly to complain that you are n’t gettingenoughsoftware for free .
Updated 7/28/2011 , 5:45pm to clarify that the Mac App Store permission lets you instal software program on all Macs youownand authorise .
