Will I be able to upgrade my Snow Leopard developer seed to final, or will I have to re-install?
I have been a developer for a long time. I am deciding when to just use Snow Leopard as my primary operating system, now or after it is released to the public. In the past I have always had a separate hard drive for testing, and I keep nuking and reloading with the latest seed.
Now with the current seed (SL), Apple is offering updates via Software Update. I know the final release is scheduled for September, but I think I am ready to reload my new MBP-13 and go all Snow Leopard. It would allow me to more conveniently work on and test my applications and I am going to upgrade the first say out anyway.
What really prevents me is the question, will I have to nuke again to install the final release or can I just do an upgrade?
If I recall there the announcement of Snow Leopard recently it was mentioned during the Video that the upgrade is possible. I also know that the our developers have been doing in place upgrades of the test seeds provided by Apple.
According to the official Snow Leopard pages here:
Faster, more reliable installer. The installation process is up to 45 percent faster and more reliable than ever. It checks all your applications and sets aside programs known to be incompatible. And in case a power outage interrupts your installation, it can start again without any danger to your data.
According to the Up-To-Date Program here it will also be possible.
As a tester I personally don't feel "right" if I am using an actual shipping operating system. I would suggest that you just bite the bullet and jump in now.
What makes this extra appealing is that if you use time machine, you can just re-install from your backup if it all goes pear shaped, so your downtime loss would be minimal.