[KC29]

I have an iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

If I go to the App Store and try to buy Mountain Lion I get a message saying OS X Mountain Lion is not compatible with this computer

Should I be able to do this upgrade direct, or do I need to do something else first?

[WAKAMA]

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I have an iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.8.
If I go to the App Store and try to buy Mountain Lion I get a message saying OS X Mountain Lion is not compatible with this computer
Should I be able to do this upgrade direct, or do I need to do something else first?

While searching for some information about the "OS X Mountain Lion is not compatible with this computer" error message I kept getting when trying to purchase Mountain Lion from the App Store on my Mac Pro, I came across this Apple Support Community forum post, https://discussions..../thread/4135260, which explains that if your Mac is older than a certain year (varies per model)... tough luck!! Regardless of how much RAM you have, or your how fast your multi-core-processors are, or how many GB of disk space you have available, you are simply not allowed to even purchase Mountain Lion from the App Store on that computer.
I think this is ridiculous, and I let them know by posting my thoughts about this on that forum mentined above. Sure enough though, Apple quickly removed it (literally within a few minutes), because it contained "Discussion of Apple Policies, Procedures or Decisions". So I've decided to re-post that comment they deleted on every single online news article, blog, & forum I can find out there on this topic.

Here's a copy of that post that Apple deleted with my thoughts on this...

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Seriously Apple??!! You’ve GOT TO BE KIDDING!! If you're looking to loose clientele fast, this is a GREAT WAY to do it!

I completely agree that you need to have minimum requirements such as OS X v10.6.8 or later, 2GB of memory, 8GB of available space in order to upgrade to the latest OS. That’s perfectly reasonable. BUT… telling us that we need to have a Mac from a more recent year, even if our current one far exceeds those other minimum hardware/software requirements… THAT’S ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS APPLE!!! That’s just a way to try to milk your past customers for new cash and its UNACCEPTABLE! Take for example the system that MHaddon mentions in his post above, which has:

2 x 3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Memory: 16 GB
Graphics: ATI Radeo HD 5770 1024 MB
Software: Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4

Are you SERIOUSLY expecting folks to spend another $4,000 on a new system with similar specs simply because they bought theirs prior to 2008 or whatever date is it???!!! I DON’T THINK SO! THIS IS ABSURD APPLE! Seriously, GET A GRIP!

If anyone else thinks similarly, please let Apple know at http://www.apple.com...ack/macosx.html

Also, here are a few of those other places where I've re-posted a copy of that comment that Apple deleted from their forum, with the purpose of trying to get a wider discussion going on this topic. Feel free to join in on any of them:

• Twitter: #mountainlion
  
• http://forums.macrum...+not+compatible
  
• http://arstechnica.c...hat-good-night/
  
• http://emptyhammock....r-purchase.html
  
• http://techcrunch.co...ew/#comment-box
  
• http://www.reuters.c...E86O1GX20120725
  
• http://gadgetbox-dis...n-lion#comments
  
• http://abcnews.go.co...ory&id=16846796
  
• http://www.npr.org/t...32#commentBlock
  
• http://www.computerw...r_digital_world
  
• http://www.wired.com...1&viewall=true#
  
• http://www.wired.com...oud-developers/

[KC29]

Thanks for that information WAKAMA. I've done a bit more digging around and discovered the same kind of answer you came up with.

My iMac is a very early Intel model - I bought it in September 2006 - and because of that it seems I fall outside the scope of a Mountain Lion update.

So if I have to buy something new in order to update my system, will I be buying Apple again.........?