can i and if i can how do i update my mac os x 10.6.8 system to the mac os x 10.7??

Go to the Mac App Store and purchase Mac OS X 10.7. If your computer doesn't meet the system requirements for it, it'll tell you when you try.

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Open App Store and buy Lion in it. If you don't need Lion, wait to Mountain Lion (check if your Mac can run it)

1)

OS X Lion system requirements

To use Lion, make sure your computer has the following:

• An Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
• Mac OS X v10.6.6 or later to install via the Mac App Store (v10.6.8 recommended); you can install without Mac OS X v10.6 by using an OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive, available on the Apple Online Store
• 7 GB of available disk space
• 2 GB of RAM

If your Mac does not meet these requirements, you will need to upgrade your Mac before installing Lion.

2)

The Mac APP Store.