General
Mac OS X Lion (Mac OS 10.7) is the latest release of the Apple operating system. Released on July 20, 2011, Apple lists 250 new features and improvements over the previous version at http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/. A pre-release version of Lion was tested on a late-2007 MacBook for compatibility with typical university applications in order to verify that UVic is ready for OS X Lion's release.
Web browsers
Safari 5.1
The latest version of Safari does not have issue rendering and interacting with the UVic websites tested. My page, Webmail, Outlook Web Access, Moodle, Blackboard, FAST, and Banner all work as expected. Sign on to UVic works across uvic.ca and web.uvic.ca without issue. By default, the Java plugin is not enabled in Safari. When accessing a website that requires Java for the first time (such as Banner), you will be prompted to enable the Java plugin and reboot your browser.
Mozilla Firefox
Firefox has no issues and preforms typically with Mac OS X Lion. Version 5.0 installs normally and exhibits no abnormal behaviour.
Productivity applications
Microsoft Office 2011
Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac does not appear to have any compatibility issues with Mac OS X Lion. Documentation for configuring Outlook 2011 for use with UVic’s Microsoft Exchange Email and Calendaring system is forthcoming.
Mac Mail, Calendar & Address Book
Please note that the following is provided for informational purposes only. University Systems does not support the use of Mac Mail, Calendar, and Address Book with the Microsoft Exchange Email and Calendaring system at UVic.
Mac Mail, Calendar and Contacts' compatibility with Microsoft Exchange has improved over previous versions of Mac OS. When starting Mac Mail for the first time it prompts for a name, email address and password. Once one enters their NetLink id and password Mac Mail will automatically detect UVic's Exchange server. Once an exchange account is setup, Mac Contacts automatically has access to one's Exchange address books and the UVic global address list.
New to Mac Mail in Lion is the ability to configure Exchange Out of Office automatic replies. To configure Out of Office automatic replies select a folder from the mailbox you wish to set a reply for, click the configuration button at the lower left of the Mac Mail window as shown and select “Out of Office…” from the menu which appears.
Although Mac Mail functions with the UVic Exchange servers, it does not implement all of the features of an Outlook client. Exchange server-side rule configuration, mail categories, and mailbox delegation are not supported.
Networking and printing
Wireless
Wireless connectivity with the UVic, UVicOpen and eduroam wireless networks was without issue. When connecting to UVic and eduroam a prompt opened asking for a username and password. Entering netlinkid@uvic.ca and an associated password worked as expected without requiring any certificate configuration.
Network storage
University storage resources work as expected with netdrive.uvic.ca shares setup being identical to previous versions of Mac OS. Apple reports that OS X 10.7 has improved support for the SMB/CIFS protocol netdrive.uvic.ca uses including improved reconnection if a network disconnect is experienced.
Printing
Printing configuration has not changed over the previous release of Mac OS. One improvement has been that the 32-bit drivers provided by Kyocera now function properly in 64-bit applications, removing the need for the 32-bit compatibility workaround for printing. To use a Kyocera printer, install the drivers from Kyocera's website, add the printer in the usual manner and then select the appropriate Kyocera printer under the other print device option.
UVic applications
Tivoli Storage Manager
Tivoli Storage Manager is the official backup service provided by UVic. TSM can be successfully installed using the provided instructions. Unfortunately the configuration instructions require an update as TextEdit refuses to save as .sys and Finder prevents file renaming affecting filename extensions. To resolve this issue, open dsm.sys in TextEdit; once you have edited the node name line, select Save a Version.
This will save the file as dsm.txt. Select this file in Finder, right-click on it, and choose “Get Info.”
In the info dialog for the file, under “Name & Extension,” rename the file to dsm.sys. In the warning dialog that pops up choose “Use .sys”.
VPN client
UVic uses a Cisco Systems virtual private network for securing remote connections to the university's network. The Cisco VPN client version 4.9.01.0180 installs without issue using the instructions available here. A test of connection stability was satisfactory.
Other application compatibility
RoaringApps has created an application compatibility wiki for Mac OS X Lion here:
If you have concerns about a specific application, or a particular version of an application, you can visit RoaringApps to see if other users or the vendor have reported any issues with OS X Lion.
Questions about Lion?
If you have any questions about Mac OS X 10.7, please contact the Computer Help Deskfor additional information.
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