I've only been using OS X 10.7
Lion for a few hours, but I'm already loving almost every change
Apple implemented in its design. If you haven't made the jump yet, here
are my favorite features in Lion - and some of the things I feel Apple
could have done better.
Awesome
Mission Control
Yes, I'm an iPad guy, and it shows. My favorite OS X feature yet is
Mission
Control - and it's not just for eye candy reasons. Rather than
using Exposé to have all my windows gathered in one desktop, I
can just swipe between sets of apps and windows I have open.
Mission Control in OS X 10.7 Lion
For instance, I do some desktop publishing for my college newspaper,
so I could have Photoshop, InDesign, Microsoft Word, Safari, and
Dictionary all open at once. Instead of having to use Exposé to
find the windows for each app, I can just have Photoshop and Indesign
in their own separate desktops, Safari running fullscreen in another,
and Microsoft Word and Dictionary side by side in a fourth. Spaces
could have done it, but not as fast and efficiently as Mission Control
and the new gestures.
Launchpad
I taught everyone in our newsroom how to put the applications folder
in the dock, but if we get Magic Trackpads, even that might not be
necessary.
Launchpad in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
Launchpad is
not so much for your frequently-used apps as it is for those apps you
would rather not have in the dock, hogging space for the apps you use
constantly. How many of you, for instance, have a dock that consists of
a myriad of tiny little dots, magnified by a mouseover? Launchpad makes
that method of launching applications look awfully tiresome (provided
you're using a trackpad or have a shortcut key assigned for Launchpad -
clicking the Launchpad icon sort of defeats the purpose).
Full-Screen Apps
Even those who have a thing for having multiple windows open will
like Full-Screen
Apps (when used in conjunction with Mission Control).
Full-Screen Apps let you use the entire display, not just part of
it.
Currently, the full-screen application I'm using most is Safari. I'm
used to running Safari full-screen on my iPad, but it's even better on
the Mac (especially with the two-finger swipe to go back and forward).
Just like on the iPad, the Web seems to come alive when it's not
restricted to a window, even a maximized one.
Reverse Scrolling
Yes, many people made a big stink about this one, but I feel it's a
move for the better. It took a little bit of getting used to, but once
I did, scrolling in reverse felt far more natural, like scrolling on my
iPad.
Not So Awesome
Battery Life
Okay, before you panic and think that I'm about to say that battery
life in Lion is heinous, I'd like to assure you that Lion is just as
efficient as Snow Leopard, perhaps more so.
What bugs me, though, is that the first time I started Lion, the
battery life looked like it was going to be heinous. Apple has
apparently implemented some new battery life calculator algorithm that
takes a little while to become accurate. Readings of 2:00 remaining at
95% on a 15" MacBook Pro Core i5 are enough to make anybody freak out
for a second. Spotlight apparently has to rebuild its index after the
upgrade, leading to a temporary spike in battery-draining disk usage.
After about 30 minutes or so, Spotlight had finished and the battery
life is now reading 7-8 hours at 100%.
Come on, Apple, at least have it read "initial calculation" or
something instead of freaking us out.
Front Row Is Gone
Alas, my favorite media center app, I barely knew thee. Front Row is
gone, creating a void in my heart that even iTunes 10.4 full-screen
can't fill. Maybe we'll meet again, somehow, someday.*
Dock Won't Go Away
Once again, there is no option to kill that oh-so-resilient Dock or
its Dashboard counterpart. Apple, if you're going to create such a
wonderful app launcher as Launchpad, at least give us the option of
permanently banishing the Dock (not just hiding it) to create a
cleaner, more aesthetically-pleasing desktop.
Conclusion
With all of the applications I'd installed on this MBP working great
under Lion (none of which are PowerPC-only), there's almost no reason I
can find not to recommend an upgrade to Lion - the lack of Rosetta
being the exception. So, if you don't have any PowerPC-only apps (make
sure to double-check your drivers as well for Intel compatibility!),
Lion is a great, stable upgrade that is sure not to disappoint.
Austin Leeds is a Mac and iPad user - and a college student in Iowa.
