Apple seeds another OS X Lion 10.7.2 beta to developers

As we approach the launch of iCloud this autumn – alongside the release of iOS 5 – Apple continues to prepare its software for the new service. Although we’re yet to see the eighth beta – or even the Gold Master release – of iOS 5, the Cupertino company has seeded another OS X Lion 10.7.2 beta to its developers.

The new seed is labelled ‘Build 11C62’, and like the last, has no known issues, according to Apple – though it does contain a great deal of fixes for previous issues. The release also comes with a Safari 5.1.1 beta, which has also been vastly improved.

Here are Apple’s release notes for OS X 10.7.2 and Safari 5.1.1:

The 10.7.2 update is recommended for all OS X Lion users and includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac. It also includes support for iCloud, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that automatically and wirelessly store your content on iCloud and push it to all of your devices. iCloud on OS X Lion includes the following features:

• iCloud stores your email, calendars, contacts, Safari bookmarks, and Safari Reading List and automatically pushes them to all your devices.
• Back to My Mac provides remote access to your Mac from another Mac anywhere on the Internet.
• Find My Mac helps find a missing Mac by locating it on a map and allows you to remotely lock the Mac or wipe all its data.

Getting started with iCloud is easy. After installing the update, OS X will automatically present an iCloud setup panel. Simply enter an existing Apple ID or create a new one and then follow the on screen instructions. To learn more about iCloud visit http://www.apple.com/icloud.

The 10.7.2 update also includes Safari 5.1.1 as well as fixes that:

• Allow reordering of desktop spaces and full screen apps in Mission Control.
• Enable dragging files between desktop spaces and full screen apps.
• Address an issue that causes the menu bar to not appear in full screen apps.
• Improve the compatibility of Google contact syncing in Address Book.
• Address an issue that causes Keynote to become temporarily unresponsive.
• Improve VoiceOver compatibility with Launchpad.
• Address an issue that causes a delay in accessing the network after waking from sleep.
• Enable booting in to Lion Recovery from a locally attached Time Machine backup drive.
• Resolve an issue that causes screen zoom to stop working.
• Improve Active Directory integration.

The fact that Apple has listed no known issues for these releases is a good sign, and suggests that the second OS X Lion update is nearing its public launch. Apple is likely to release this before iCloud actually goes live, so we can expect to see it within the coming weeks.

If you’re a registered developer and you’d like to get your hands on these updates, you can download them now from Apple’s dev centre.