<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
</head>
<body style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Good afternoon,</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier today, Apple released its newest operating system for the Mac, OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion).</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Based on preliminary testing of prerelease versions of the OS, Information Services and Technology (IS&T) recommends that Mac users
<b>wait</b> to upgrade and continue to use Mac OS X 10.6 or 10.7 while IS&T completes its review and testing of OS X 10.8.</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><b>Why wait?</b></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">As with any new operating system release, there are some incompatibilities, bugs, and an associated learning curve. Also, some applications that are important or critical to productive, safe computing
at MIT do not yet support 10.8. For more information, and a list of known issues and workarounds, please visit the OS X 10.8 Project Wiki at
<a href="https://wikis.mit.edu/confluence/x/3kboB">https://wikis.mit.edu/confluence/x/3kboB</a> (certificates required).</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Based on past releases, IS&T expects that Apple and third-party software vendors will release several updates addressing these incompatibilities and, in the coming months, will officially certify
that their software supports 10.8.</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><b>Limited support</b></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">The IS&T Computing Help Desk is offering limited support for 10.8. This includes getting connected to the MIT network and addressing basic configuration issues for early adopters and for new machines
arriving with 10.8 pre-installed. As critical application issues are resolved, more in-depth support will become available.</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Limited MIT documentation for 10.8 can be found in the Knowledge Base at
<a href="http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/x/XAAPC">http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/x/XAAPC</a>. This page will be updated frequently as testing is completed for applications and features commonly used at MIT.</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">For additional questions or assistance with 10.8, please contact the Help Desk at 617.253.1101 or
<a href="mailto:helpdesk@mit.edu">helpdesk@mit.edu</a>. You can also submit a request online at
<a href="http://ist.mit.edu/help">http://ist.mit.edu/help</a>.</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><b>Licensing</b></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">IS&T will have a limited number of OS X 10.8 licenses available for MIT faculty and staff. We are working with Apple to acquire these licenses and will share more details as they become available.</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, please note that before upgrading on their own, departmental users should first check with their local IT support regarding the roll-out plan of any new operating system.</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">For questions regarding the OS X 10.8 release process, please contact the Software Release Team at
<a href="mailto:swrt@mit.edu">swrt@mit.edu</a>.</font></div>
</div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Thank you on behalf of the OS X 10.8 Release Team.</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Regards,</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif">Dave Conlon</font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri,sans-serif"><br>
</font></div>
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; ">
<div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">--------</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">David J. Conlon</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">Manager, Software Release Team (SWRT)</span></font></div>
Systems Engineering, Information Services & Technology (IS&T)
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building W92-229B</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">Cambridge, MA 02139</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">p. 617.253.5988</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; "><br>
</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">Important: IS&T staff will *NEVER* ask you for your password, nor will MIT</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">send you email requesting your password information. Please ignore any</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Consolas; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas,monospace"><span style="font-family: Calibri; ">email messages that claim to require you to provide such information.</span></font></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>